Years ago I traded for a beat up old New Holland 68 baler. After screwing around with the Wisconsin engine for a few years I took a risk and switched it over to PTO drive, even though everyone assured me there was NO WAY I could run it without a tractor with live PTO. Well, you can and it's easy. You just have to have your head in gear is all, same for a haybine. Anyway, I made new slides for the plunger, put new pickup teeth on it and a few knotter parts. It did good with the 800 Ford. Had to feed it like it was going to choke up, but it worked okay. The other day I stuck the DB990 on it and decided to try for the 50-60 strokes a minute I was told to run it at by an old timer. That old girl did 400 bales and never missed a beat. I could have done more but the help was wearing out in the heat and humidity and the boy still has a lot to learn about raking so it took a lot longer than it should have. The live PTO on the DB makes things easier, but it's the gearing that makes the difference.
I'm a happy camper with some real nice hay in the barn. I may even paint the old girl up I'm so happy with her!
I'm a happy camper with some real nice hay in the barn. I may even paint the old girl up I'm so happy with her!