Baler knotter questions

303 baler

Should there be any slop in the wiper arm pivot? I have end play and run out wobble.

How do I know what bill hook I have? What is used for plastic and what for sisal? I have 3 new ones with pn 502423 ES but one is built drastically different and that pn doesn't show up in any parts list I can find.

Edited by im4racin - 29 Jun 2024 at 9:12am

All the Allis balers used the same Rasspe knotters that NH did. Several types of bill hooks were available, and lots were modified to work better with one type of twine. You could get different hooks for sisal versus plastic if you wanted, but you could usually make either work. The ones for Sisal had a shorter 'knub' on the end and a slightly different profile to let the twine slide off easier, but as long as your wiper arm was adjusted close, either hook would work. There really shouldn't be any play in the wiper arm (neither axial or runout), but within reason: At this age, most will have a little play, but it shouldn't be anything appreciable. Perhaps post a picture of your bill hooks and folks here can better identify them? The good news is that parts are very readily available from any NH dealer or NH donor baler.

The bigger throat is for sisal I believe 

Well I switched to plastic because the sisal was to inconsistent lately. In the middle of the roll it would mess up. Got tired of throwing away half rolls of twine. Tried many different brands. And I can’t get out to fix myself. Now the only twine trouble is the knot between rolls rarely lands in knotter

Gosh mike you whiner. You use it for an excuse for everything! Lol

captaindana wrote: I switched to blue plastic BIG BALLS (lol) they barely fit in the 570 compartments. Less chance of tying on a splice. Ian still runs sisal in the 575 as per some customer requests. We use plastic in the back up 315 and the 311. No inconsistencies with the blue! Lots of inconsistencies with the sisal.

not to mention the cost of plastic is way way way way way less! But I do have to pick up those blue tails especially where I blow the knotters off!

The top one is the conventional bill hook that works for sisal. The lower one with the taller 'knub' is one you could get for plastic. The idea being that plastic slips off easier while the sisal has some gription to it, so the taler knub makes sure the plastic doesn't slip off too early. Usually you can make the top hooks work for both plastic/sisal if they're adjusted right. What I can't understand is why the shank of the lower one looks like it hasn't been finished: It looks like the raw casting that hasn't yet been turned on a lathe to the final diameter, whereas the top one is more what you'd expect.

Edited by DanielW - 8 hours 34 minutes ago at 6:15pm

Sorry we took your post over im4racin.