How to Maintain Your Hay Baler
You use your baler to manage and transport your crops for storing them safely and efficiently. If your machine is not in shape, it can taint your yield and lead to your loss of productivity. That’s why you’ll want to make sure your farm machinery is in good working order, so your operations remain as smooth as possible.
Refer to Your Owner’s Manual
Start your maintenance process by referring to your baler’s owner’s manual. It is the best resource to find specific information about your machine’s make and model and your manufacturer’s recommendations for products you should or shouldn’t use. The manual will also include a maintenance log of your service history, which you can produce at the time of trade-in of the machine.
Inspect Your Machine
Visual inspections of your machine can help you identify issues that have the potential to become critical problems down the line. You’ll want to examine your baler inside and out to look for signs that suggest excessive or premature wear and tear and any unwanted buildup that might interfere with its operations. While you’re at it, test the mechanisms on your piece of equipment to see if they are performing optimally.
It’ll be helpful to prepare a checklist highlighting the parts and mechanisms you’ll want to check daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Doing this will let you be in control of your maintenance schedule.
Clean Your Baler
One of the essential aspects of hay baler maintenance is cleaning your machine, ideally after each use. While in use, your baler will gather a lot of mud, debris, and grime, which can wear down its parts and affect its performance. When you allow dirt to stay on for longer, it can slowly reduce your machine’s lifespan, too. So, try getting rid of any grime by hosing your baler down as often as required.
Have Spare Parts on Hand
To maintain the uptime of your farm machinery, ensure that you’re stocked up on spare parts for your baler. They will help you fix problems that might arise with your machine and enable you to meet your goals as planned. Some spare parts that you’ll want to keep handy include hoses, spark plugs, tines, nuts and bolts. If there are parts in your baler that are rarer to find, it’ll be a good idea to order them from your dealer in advance rather than wait for them to break.
Points to Consider
Here are a few preventive maintenance measures that you’ll want to follow regularly:
- Tighten lug bolts as needed.
- Look for leaks in tanks and hoses.
- Keep all moving parts well-lubricated.
- Inspect your chains and belts for tension and cracks.
- Change filters regularly, including those in the hydraulic system.
If you need more ideas, connect with our service experts at West Hills Tractor. We can address your concerns and show you our latest collection of hay balers for sale. Our friendly team can suggest models for your budget and help you choose a piece of farm machinery that suits your requirements. To look at our inventory, come down to our dealership in Jonesborough, TN, where we proudly serve those from Johnson City and Greeneville.