1. Life in the Fast Lane with Vicon FastBale

Life in the fast lane

Investment in a combination baler-wrapper has enabled Devon contractor Graham Hill not only to speed up operations, but also free up a tractor and man for other work

While contractor Graham Hill didn’t set out to break any records, baling and wrapping 956 round bales with a Vicon FastBale, on nine different farms in 24 hours will take some beating WORDS MICK ROBERTS IMAGES GEOFF ASHCROFT

COVER STORY

change in the weather in July this year left Graham Hill, a contractor from Patchacott, near Holsworthy, Devon, without any option but to keep on baling and wrapping.

“If the grass is down and it looks to come wet, it’s got to be done. I started at 9am and finished at the same time the next day – I didn’t have a choice.

There is no doubt that I could not have done that with a separate baler and wrapper or without the speed of the FastBale combination. With any other baler I would have had to stop 956 times during that period to eject the bale, but I was able to just keep going. I literally didn’t stop,” he says.

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Although he is now well aware of the benefits of running the non-stop baler-wrapper combination, it wasn’t on his shopping list when he was looking to replace his previous Vicon RF 355 machine last year. Normally he would change the baler then the wrapper a year or so later.

“I didn’t even look at Vicon first.

I went to all the different dealers on an industrial estate in Holsworthy, which sell a wide choice including Krone, Lely, John Deere and Vicon.

I told them all what I was after and asked for their best price. Basically, I wanted a good deal without any

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Above: “There is no doubt I could not have baled and wrapped 956 bales in 24 hours with a separate baler and wrapper,” says Graham Hill

hassle,” he explains.

Remarkably some dealers didn’t seem too keen to seriously engage and one didn’t even get back to him. “But Dave Stanbury from Vincent Tractors & Plant was on it straight away. Nobody came close to showing the same level of interest, or explaining what they could offer. And the commitment has continued; I’ve had outstanding service from the dealer,” he remarks.

Pay more and save Dave Stanbury introduced Graham to the idea of using the Vicon FastBale, rather than replacing just the baler.

Reproduced by permission of Sundial Magazines Ltd

Front Link First Impression // Vicon FastBale After the bale has been wrapped the frame lowers and the rear roller rises to gently release the bale. This is said to prevent damaging the film

“Every time a bale comes out I’m saving and earning money elsewhere”

Above: Film dispensers stop in the horizontal position, which makes it easier to re-load without having to lift hefty rolls over vertical poles

While the capital cost is not much more than a combination bought separately, the difference is a big outlay in one go,” remarks Graham.

“It doesn’t take much to work out that by combining the baling and wrapping in one operation I would be saving one man, a tractor and associated diesel. But you need also to consider that they are then

Below left: Maintenance is eased with this rapid-fill grease system.

Grease is pumped via one central point and all operators need to do is pump it and change the cartridge

Below: A 800mmdiameter, full-width rotor is equipped with 50 tines, which work against a knife bank.

Chop length is altered by engaging six, 12 or 13 or all 25 knives

available to go out and do other work to earn more. I can now offer a service to quickly collect and transport the bales, which helps protect them from birds pecking the plastic, which can be a big problem.

“As a contractor it makes a huge amount of sense financially – that’s what it’s all about – every time a bale comes out of the chamber I’m saving

Reproduced by permission of Sundial Magazines Ltd

and earning money elsewhere,” he adds.

Graham runs the machine behind a John Deere 7530, which at 205hp he says has plenty of power and it would operate with less. But it is also the main tractor to power the business’s triple mowers and with the combination weighing up to 8.5t, carrying nearly two bales, it is often needed on some steeper ground.

Transport on the road isn’t as difficult as he first feared. “I do have to travel a lot in nearly a 50-mile radius, but I find it’s perfect on the road. When I first picked it up it looked massive and I thought I’d made a mistake! It is a bit wider on its single axle with flotation tyres, but I have not had a problem accessing any of the fields I have worked in before. If the 9m rake can get in the field, so can I,” he adds.

While the Deere does have an ISObus terminal that is capable of running the baler-wrapper, he also chose to specify the Vicon Tellus terminal. “It means it remains an independent, stand-alone unit that can be operated by other tractors if necessary. It is easy to use, just like any other ISO machine. The control screen is shown on the top of the display, while the images from two cameras on the wrapper are displayed below,” he explains.

In the field the swaths are

TECHSPECS

Vicon FastBale Bale size 1.26m x 1.27m (variable chamber) Pick-up 2.2m Intake rotor diameter 800mm Chopper 25 knives Chop lengths 6mm/12mm/ 13mm/25mm Single-axle tyres 600/55-26.5 (std); 710/50-26.5 (option) Width 2.76m (std tyres) 2.94m (opt tyres) Length 5.85m Height 3.5m Weight 7990kg

Left: Swath width on the rakes is set so it completely fills the 2.2m-wide pick-up, which Graham says provides a smooth and even feed

Above: On optional flotation tyres the FastBale is 2.94m wide. Graham says while it looks like a massive machine, he is able to access all the fields he worked in before

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Front Link First Impression // Vicon FastBale prepared by one or two 9m-wide Reco Fella rakes, which keep ahead of the baler and wrapper. “We tend to try not to leave the baler man on his own for safety reasons. We try to keep as close to the rake as we can and usually it works,” he explains.

Superb support While, as expected, he did have a few teething problems at first, Graham says these were mainly tweaks and a bit of attention required to the set-up.

“But I have no doubt in my mind – the support we have had from Vincents has been brilliant, outstanding.

They even brought mechanics from

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other branches to learn about the machine and see it working to ensure they could provide the same support wherever I was working. It’s exceptional service – it doesn’t normally happen to me and I respect them for that, so I also treat them well I hope,” he says.

As Graham says, he never planned to have his mega baling and wrapping marathon. It just happened because he needed to get the work done.

“I did not, however, use the machine any differently to how I would normally,” he says. “It does take a bit of getting used to at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. It is all about

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Below left inset: When a bale is complete and netted the wrapper rises to its working position and when the chamber opens it rolls into place under gravity Below: Operators can hold a bale on the wrapper and drop it in a more convenient position, to stop it rolling down a hill, or dump it close to another to speed up collection

setting the right forward speed to balance the time it takes to fill the chamber with how long it takes to net the complete bale,” he explains.

Graham explains the process: “It fills the main chamber and when it’s netting the crop flow switches to the front and the complete bale moves on to the wrapper. When the front chamber is full, the bale and crop then go to the back chamber to finish the bale.

“This is all done automatically and without stopping. All the operator needs to do is keep at the optimum speed so the system runs smoothly.

It does beep warnings, but provided you operate at the correct speed it works without you having to do

Reproduced by permission of Sundial Magazines Ltd

Above: A spare roll of net is stored vertically on the machine. This holder is also a hydraulically-operated lift that, once raised, only requires the operator to slide it into place

Non-stop operation

– how it works

Above right: The machine has the capacity to hold eight spare rolls of film.

Graham supplements stocks with a further ten carried on the tractor’s front linkage

1 Bales are formed in the rear, main chamber until they reach the required size and density.

2 When the bale is fully formed, the crop flow switches to the front pre-chamber while net is applied to the completed bale.

3 The rear chamber opens and the netted, completed bale rolls on to the wrapper under gravity.

4 The wrapper rises to its working position and wrapping starts, while the pre-chamber continues to fill.

5 When the bale in the pre-chamber reaches its set density, the incomplete bale and crop flow transfer to the rear chamber.

“Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. It is all about setting the right speed” anything and without interruption.

“There is a facility to hold the bale on the wrapper. This allows me to choose when to offload it – to stop it running off down a hill or leave it closer to other bales to make them faster to collect,” he explains.

The combination works behind a 9m rake, which is set to completely fill the full width of the pick-up. “This keeps a good even flow, without any need to weave. The machine makes really good quality bales that are really solid – right through to the centre,” he adds.

Lift and slide

Above inset: One or two 9m-wide Reco Fella rakes prepare the swaths ahead of the FastBale. The rakes usually work just ahead of the baler, which also means the operator is not working alone

Reproduced by permission of Sundial Magazines Ltd

Graham also praises how easy it is to change the net roll.

“On the previous baler I had to put it on my shoulder, climb up and slide it under a bar. On this machine I simply flick a lever,” he says.

This is because the FastBale has a hydraulically-operated lift. It holds a spare roll of film and rises to the correct position so all the operator needs to do is slide it off and into place. There is also a folding ladder to make it easier to reach, if necessary.

“It’s not only faster and easier, it’s much safer too,” says Graham.

“Struggling over a machine with a roll of net is the last thing you want to do when you are tired, it’s dark and possibly a bit slippery. It’s also a risk if you are on your own.”

Up to eight rolls of spare film are held on the machine, which Graham supplements with a further ten on a carrier on the tractor’s front linkage.

They are changed manually, although the vertical wrapper means the holder is horizontal, parallel to the ground and low down so rolls don’t need to be lifted up and over vertical dispenser arms.

“I run a small business, with just me and my son, who joined last year, and with the help of two others we work in two teams. Baling and wrapping are important parts of our business.

Last year we did about 10,000 bales with a Vicon RF 355 and McHale HS 2000. This season we are likely to do the same, but this baler has freed up a tractor and man to allow us to take on extra work,” he says.

According to Vicon, non-stop baling saves 15-18 seconds for every bale that’s made. So in Graham’s 24-hour stint he saved about four hours, simply by not stopping for the bale to be wrapped and ejected. Add to this the fact the bales also emerge fully wrapped, it’s obvious why the Devonshire contractor is happy with his investment.

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