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Rob R
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Mistress Rose
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Barefoot Andrew Downsizer Moderator
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Rob R
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Rob R
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Rob R
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Mistress Rose
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Behemoth
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Rob R
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Behemoth
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sgt.colon
Joined: 27 Jul 2009 Posts: 7380 Location: Just south of north.
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Rob R
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 31902 Location: York
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Rob R
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 31902 Location: York
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 15 11:27 am Post subject: |
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sgt.colon wrote: |
I know this might be a silly question but why did bales change from oblong to round? |
Not at all silly - originally, at the beginning of last century, balers were big stationary machines that followed the threshing machines around the countryside, powered by steam and produced wire tied bales that could be handled by one man (in the days before health and safety).
Then when combines really took over in the 1940's/50's they needed a pickup baler that could feed itself by going along the swath behind the combine but mechanical handling was rarer and less sophisticated until hydraulics became more advanced.
In the 1970's round baler development had moved on, alongside hydraulics, which enabled mechanical handling. The advantage of a round baler is that it is a relatively simple machine, compared to a square one. The chamber can be fixed (with rollers forming the bale & resulting in a soft centre) or variable (with moving belts, which allows for a tighter bale that stacks better, and also less air in the middle so it makes silage better). It doesn't require any knotters for the string which is fed into the chamber and wraps around the bale ine one long, continuous string until the whole bale is covered.
The disadvantage with round bales is that you can't bale continuously - you have to stop to put the string on (although we use netwrap these days which is the same width as the bale chamber & so takes fewer revolutions to form a bale) and to eject the bale.
The development of large square balers in the 1980's means we now have a choice of shape in all sizes, but the round is better for us for several reasons;
- they shed water better so don't need to be sheeted when stored outside
- if mechanical handling isn't available one or two people can usually push a bale along
- when feeding or bedding by hand you can push the bale along, whereas the sections of square bales have to be carried.
The main disadvantages are that they take up more space than squares, especially for storage and transport and can roll down hills to kill members of ELO (not a massive problem round here, mind). |
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