Case IH revamps round balers for a better pick-up
Case IH has revamped its RB5 round balers with a heavily revamped feeding system and other technical advancements. Here’s how it works.
Case IH has given its large square and round baler line-ups a refresh for 2020.
LB4 large-square balers pick up a new knotting system and other refinements but the real attention has been lavished on RB5 Series round balers, which introduce a heavily revamped feeding system and other notable tech advancements.
Case IH says the updated variable-chamber round balers are perfect for operators who need to produce bales of varying size and density.
“You can set the diameter and density you want and do all that from the cab,” says Case IH Australia and New Zealand product manager for hay and harvest Tim Slater.
“If you want to put it through a mix feeder you can make a soft-core bale but if you want to roll it out on the ground you can have the density come on from the absolute start, and you can easily change that from bale to bale,” Tim says.
“That’s the real gun feature of the RB5, that adaptability to the bale and ability to create exactly the bale you want.”
The two-tiered RB5 range kicks off from $67,215 (+GST) for the RB455, which can produce 1.2m-wide (4ft) bales between 90cm (3ft) and 1.5m (5ft) in diameter.
INTEGRATED MOISTURE SENSOR
RB5 balers can now be optioned with an integrated moisture sensor, delivering real-time information on crop moisture to operators in the cab. It’s the first time this technology has been offered on Case IH round balers.
“It tells you, ‘Maybe I should be in here’, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t be in here’ or ‘Maybe I should have been in here yesterday’ and gives you a real-time idea of what that windrow looks like without having to get out and probe it so much,” Tim says.
RB465 – THE CONTRACTOR’S RB5
If a 1.5m-diameter bale isn’t big enough, you’ll want the second of the two RB5 models, the RB465. It starts from $77,858 (+GST) and can produce bales from 1.2m (4ft) up to 1.8m (6ft) in diameter.
“You can make anything from a 3ft-diameter bale with either machine, but contractors tend to like the 6ft baler,”
Tim says. “It gives you that extra flexibility and everything is built a little bit heavier, too.”
AFS PRO 700 DISPLAY
RB5 balers now come with Case IH’s AFS Pro 700 touch-screen colour display as standard. It has a larger screen than the previous AFS Pro 300 unit (26.4cm versus 17.8cm) for a clearer view and easier control of baler functions.
“If you’ve had a previous model, everything still looks and operates exactly the same, it’s just that little bit easier to read off and navigate around due to size,” Tim says. “It also gives you the flexibility of up to three camera inputs.”
REVISED PICK-UP AND WINDGUARD ROLLER
The RB5’s feeding system introduces a revised pick-up end-flare shape and heavily revamped windguard roller for improved feeding in all crop conditions.
“We made the roller a larger diameter and moved it further forward and down,” Tim says. “Moving it further down allows the windrow to go under that windguard, so you’ve got better control and it feeds into the pick-up a lot better.”
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