Power requirements and bale characteristics for a fixed and a variable chamber baler

Tremblay, D., Savoie, P. and LePhat, Q. 1997. Power requirements and bale characteristics for a fixed and a variable chamber baler. Can. Agric. Eng. 39:073-076. A variable-chamber baler (VCB) and a fixed-chamber baler (FCB) were compared with respect to power requirements, field capacity, and bale mass. The fixed-chamber baler was operated with and without a coarse cutting mechanism (FCB/C and FCB, respectively). Average PTO power requirements were similar (10 to 15 kW) but peak power requirements were considerably greater with the FeB (38 kW) and the FCB/C (42 kW) than with the VCB (15 kW). The VCB had a material flow of 4.1 tonne of dry matter (DM) per hour (t/h) compared to 4.8 and 4.6 t/h with the FCB and FCB/C respectively. Bale dry matter mass was not affected by baler type nor by cutting and averaged 263 kg for a standard 1.22 m wide by 1.22 m diameter bale. Bale dry matter density varied, however, between 152 and 192 kg/m3 because of variations in material flow and moisture. Forage chopped with the FCB/C had an average length of cut of 150 mm.