"Continuous Drive" Bale Wrapper Works Faster

"Continuous Drive" Bale Wrapper Works Faster BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 26-4-4 The high cost and slow operation of commercial bale wrappers prompted dairyman Glenn Zimmerman, Arbela, Mo., to build a "continuous drive" self-propelled rig with the help of a neighbor. It's designed to wrap either round or big square bales on-the-go without stopping. Bales are placed against each other and wrapped in a long continuous tube. The machine can wrap big square bales up to 7 ft. long and placed crosswise, or round bales that measure up to 6 by 6 ft. "We do custom wrapping for farmers within a 50-mile radius. It works fast and can wrap up to 120 big square bales per hour," says Zimmerman. The hydraulic-operated machine rides on a pair of big flotation tires on front and a pair of truck tires on back. It has a 10-ft. long apron chain deck on back and a bale wrapper on front that's attached to a steel arch. Power is supplied by a 13 hp Honda gas engine that operates a hydraulic pump, which drives both the apron chain and the bale wrapper. Both sides of the deck are equipped with side rails that keep the bale centered as it moves forward with the apron chain. By pulling a pair of pins, the rails can be angled inward or outward and also raised or lowered depending on the size and shape of the bale. A front-end loader is used to place each bale on the deck. To wrap bales, the operator stands alongside the machine and uses one hydraulic lever to activate the apron chain and another lever to operate the wrapper. As the bale goes under the arch it gets wrapped. Once it reaches the end of the deck it stops until the following bale pushes it down a 10-ft. long ramp that leads to the ground. "It's a very efficient machine - the bales are wrapped as fast as one man can load them onto the deck," says Zimmerman. "The machine is built strong. It has to be because when we're wrapping square bales there can be up to 12 bales on the machine at one time. We came up with the idea five years ago and went through 10 different designs while perfecting it. We have machines working in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. It sells for $17,000. Commercial machines somewhat comparable to ours sell for at least $23,000. Those machines work slower and require more maintenance because the wrapper has to start and stop all the time. Also, because of the starting and stopping motion, the plastic is far more likely to break. Our rig can't wrap bales individually." The wrapper is equipped with a gooseneck hitch on front that allows it to be pulled by a pickup at high speeds on the road. To transport the rig, a 6-ft. long hinged section of the ramp locks up into a vertical position. The rig steers via a hydraulic lever. A variable flow valve is used to adjust the speed at which the bales flow through. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Glenn Zimmerman, Rt. 1, Box 40, Arbela, Mo. 63432 (ph 660 945-3889).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.