Knowledge Centre

When a bale gets stuck in the chamber instead of ejecting cleanly, it can scuff the net on the rollers and cause issues with the first bales of the season. Fresh paint or rusty patches on the side walls can also stop those early bales from turning smoothly. To prevent this, disengage the PTO before ejecting until the side walls have polished in. It’s a small step that helps you start the season smoothly and avoid unnecessary trouble.

Linking twine spools takes time, so it’s worth doing it right. Joining the spools gives you a flatter, cleaner knot that moves smoothly through the guides and tensioners, helping prevent problems later on.

It’s normal for the first 10–20 metres of twine on a spool to look uneven or kinked, it’s simply down to how the twine is wound during production. Once you pull it tight, it straightens out. As it moves toward the knotter, the twine passes through the spring clamps in the twine box and the twine brakes just before the knotter, and these need to be set to the correct tension. When everything is adjusted properly, that early twisted twine won’t cause any issues at all.

Handle your twine spools with care, they’re surprisingly fragile. Any drop, crush, or shock can disturb the winding pattern inside, causing the spool to break down as it runs. Keeping the spools in good condition ensures the twine feeds smoothly from the first metre to the last.

When you pull twine from the spool, make sure you’re pulling from the correct end; the one that unwinds counter clockwise from the inside. If you pull from the wrong end, the twine will twist into a big knot, which can quickly lead to problems in the knotter.