Whenever a major seasonal farm project rolls around , it ’s overbold to examine any necessary equipment before workplace gets afoot , just in type there are any unforeseen issues that require fixing .
Baling hay is a stark instance project . Baling hay is a seasonal farm activity requiringlots of specialized equipmentthat goes unused many months out of the year . When the fields are marvelous and it ’s time to start cutting , you want to be confident your equipment is in crest - top shape . Giving everything a tryout run well before the first hay involve to be switch off will provide you fourth dimension to address any problems that pop up .
With hay season go up on my northern Wisconsin farm , I needed tobale up some loose hayon the floor of my hay barn to clear a goodly blank for reinvigorated hay Basle . bale up loose hay ply a perfect chance tofire up the Massey Ferguson 135 tractorand the New Holland hay baler and make certain they were in working order .
Troubleshooting Farm Equipment in Time
It ’s a secure affair I test them out , because both had egress . Bumblebees had take up residence inside the clapper of the hay baler and had to be carefully removed .
Then it turn out the baler ’s telescope PTO shaft of light had freeze in the closed posture and was too poor to confiscate to the tractor . It took close to 15 minute to get it moving freely again . As we all sleep together , losing 15 second on a in use bale mean solar day can be baffling ( especially if you ’re trying to puzzle even pelting ) , so I was glad to get that straightened out during a less meter - raw situation .
But the troubles were n’t over . The Massey Ferguson 135 started without issue and was running smoothly when I purloin up the baler . But when I tried to increase the throttle to baling speed , the throttle lever tumbler would n’t hold in the needed position . Instead , it sprang repeatedly back to a middle position too dense for bale hay .
I couldlowerthe throttle just fine — it would restrain in a slower perspective . And if I bring up the throttle and hold the lever in place myself , the engine would respond . But something was intelligibly preventing the throttle lever from staying at in high spirits focal ratio .
Read more : hold out these 5 ways to meliorate the fuel economy of your farm machines .
Finding Fix
An test of the entire throttle mechanism let on the culprit : a confused bounce . as luck would have it , the Massey ’s manual include an exploded diagram of the gas pedal mechanics with every part labeled and identified . It was n’t hard to find the broken saltation , wait up the part number , and ordain a replenishment .
This account also illustrates the grandness of receive backup farm equipment when possible . The Massey was n’t in any stead to bale the wanton hay that sidereal day , but my John Deere Model 40 — a smaller tractor that ordinarily skim hay and pulls wagons around — is warm enough to bale a small hay in a hint . Before long , I had the loose hay dealt with and the hay barn clean for another season .
If I had n’t test my equipment beforehand , I would have been in a tough berth when the first three - day hay windowopened up and I discover both tractor and baler had return in need of fixing . alternatively , I was able-bodied to forge through the issues on my own fourth dimension , leaving me ahead of the game and ready for a meddling summer of hay production .
