McHale will unveil a new four-model range of F5 fixed chamber balers at next week’s National Ploughing Championships.
Superseding the long-standing F5000 series, the four new models, which are all available now, are the F5-540 (non-chopper), F5-550 (15 knife chopper/semi-automatic), F5-560 (25 knife chopper/fully automatic) and F5-560 Plus (25 knife chopper/fully automatic film binding).
All four are fitted with the newly designed Profi-Flo pick-up. Designed to increase crop intake through more efficient crop flow, buyers can choose between a five-tine bar cam track pick-up or, the optional, wider six-tine bar camless pick-up.
The new tapered feed channel encourages the crop to flow towards the rotor and into the bale chamber to maximise throughput. There are also a number of changes behind the tines to improve the flow of crop into the chamber. Adaptive Intake is also new. This allows the intake area to automatically adjust to changes in material flow.
The standard gearbox on all F5s is 540rpm. The 1000rpm option increases the PTO speed with substantially reduced torque to reduce sharp loads on the drive line. The company says that this provides the clutch setting with 10% more capacity to reduce the risk of blockages.
The 1000rpm option also leads to better fuel economy. This is achieved due to lower tractor engine revs by running the machine at the recommended PTO speed of 890rpm when using the 1000rpm gearbox.
Other new F5 features include improved performance on both Net or NRF binding mechanisms when operating at high densities. Dual Feed Netting increases net tension on all F5-540, F5-550 and F5-560 machines. Net is applied to the bale using a rubber feed roller while a steel roller clamps the net to the chosen tension.
In-cab bale density adjustment, which was always on the F5-560 and F5-560 Plus, is now available on all F5-550 variants through i-Control 5 console which allows the operator to choose from settings 1-10 for improved bale density and shape depending on their working conditions. Bale Size Adjustment capability is new on the F5-550, F5-560 and F5-560 Plus. This allows the operator to alter the bale size (from 1.25m to 1.30m) for different crops.
One of the design briefs during the development phase of the F5 was ease of operation. One example developed by the engineering team are the quick attach wheels. By simply pulling the lever, wheels can be quickly and easily fitted to the pick-up and removed without the need for any pins. Access to the wheels has also improved when in storage.
Other examples include chain adjustment. This is carried out using spring tension system which allows for quick self-adjustment to ensure chains are tensioned correctly. The new and larger 8.0l capacity oil tank allows the for increased maintenance intervals, and al F5s have hydraulic hose grips for easy attachment to the tractor.
ISO-bus options
The F5-560 and F5-560 Plus machines are ISObus compatible as standard (option on the F5-550), meaning they can be plugged into any ISObus tractor connection and operated via the tractor’s own terminal in the cab.
An ISObus controlled machine can also be operated behind with a non-ISObus compatible tractor using the optional McHale ISO-Play 7 or ISO-Play 12 console. An additional tractor wiring loom is required to do this. Depending on machine specification, there are a number of additional features available for ISObus balers. These include auto unblock, automatic drop floor reset, auto knife drop and knife cleaning cycle along with the optional internal panel lighting.
“The new F5 range has focused on higher output and comfort for the operator,” comments Martin McHale, McHale marketing and sales director. “There is a significant increase in throughput thanks to the new Profi-Flo pick-up along with higher bale density and overall machine performance. The design team have also enhanced the baling experience for the operator using the new i-Control 5 console or ISObus options.”
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