John Deere 449

MegaWide Plus pickup

A MegaWide Plus pickup is available on 449, 459, 559, and 569 Round Balers. It is base equipment on the 459 Silage Special, 559 Silage Special, 469, 469 Silage Special, and 569 Silage Special Balers.

This pickup makes baling easier, especially in wide or windblown windrows, and increases productivity; more hay volume means more bales per hour.

• Flare-to-flare width of 1.8 m (5.9 ft) on balers with a 1.2 m (4-ft) wide bale chamber
• Flare-to-flare width of 2.2 m (7.2 ft) on balers with a 1.5-m (5-ft) wide bale chamber
• MegaWide Plus pickup makes it easier to produce better-shaped bales and improves crop pickup in wide, windblown, or scattered windrows
• Mega teeth, located at the ends of the pickup, pull crop around the flares when baling wide or windblown windrows
• MegaTough pickup teeth provide greater strength and durability
• Exclusive square design handles high-impact loads without yielding
• Sturdy toothbar design
• Self-adjusting roller baffle
• Spiral rotor-feed system improves feeding in all crop conditions
• Chain driven for positive feeding
• Cutout clutch protected
• Semi-pneumatic gauge wheels

MegaTough pickup teeth

Mega and MegaTough pickup teeth are base equipment:

• Mega teeth, at the ends of the pickup, are heavy-duty for long life and improved crop retrieval
• MegaTough pickup teeth are designed to withstand the harshest baling conditions and provide long service life

Toothbars on 1.5-m (5-ft) baler

The 1.2-m (4-ft) balers use a full-length, reinforced toothbar design.

The 1.5-m (5-ft) balers use a heavy, C-channel construction. The pickup toothbars are divided into two half-sections that mount to a center spider for increased strength and even crop feeding.

Roller baffle

Available only on the MegaWide Plus pickup, the patented roller baffle is self-adjusting and produces smoother crop flow across the pickup. The roller also improves crop pickup in small windrows and prevents roll ahead of crop.

When combined with the MegaWide Plus pickup, this feeding system allows increased ground speed with less chance of plugging, for increased productivity in all field conditions.

• Self-adjusting
• Smoothes crop for even flow across pickup
• Allows for faster ground speed with less chance of plugging
• Increases operator productivity

Spiral rotor

Auger and rotor feed system

The MegaWide Plus pickup uses a rotor feeding assembly, which mounts behind the pickup for smooth and even crop flow into the bale chamber.

• Augers and rotor teeth are driven on the same shaft, eliminating the need for additional drives.
• The rotor is fixed to the baler frame, allowing positive and even feeding into the bale chamber.
• Large-diameter converging augers have high crop-flow capacity, and auger scrolls help to force crop into the chamber.
• Spiral design enhances feeding in uneven windrows and reduces loading on the rotor.

Rotor stripper

Rotor strippers allow crop to be lifted from the rotor teeth into the chamber without cutting or wrapping the crop.

Cutout clutch protection and feeder-drive chain

The MegaWide Plus pickups are chain-driven for positive bale starts with cutout clutch protection. The pickup is now being driven off the drive roll and bypasses the starter roll. This will allow for reduced wear and breakage of the starter roll chain.

Semi-pneumatic gauge wheel

Semi-pneumatic gauge wheels provide smooth ground gauging over uneven terrain and protection to the pickup.

• Stiffer rubber sidewalls
• No air pressure to maintain, which mean no flat tires
• Adjustable to meet pickup tooth-to-stubble height requirements

The pickup float springs are positioned for excellent flotation.

• Adjustable to meet varying field conditions
• Float springs only support the pickup reel
  • Rotor assembly is fixed to the baler frame, eliminating additional weight on the pickup system

Adjustable crank handle

The adjusting crank positions the pickup to the desired operating height to match crop or field conditions.

An optional hydraulic pickup lift cylinder is available as an attachment.

• Makes raising for transport or clearing obstructions easy
• Crank handle serves as a down stop
• Adapts to regular, MegaTooth and MegaWide™ Plus pickups
• Hydraulic pickup lift comes standard on premium machines

Staggered belts

John Deere's 17.8-cm (7-in.) wide diamond-tread design ensures fast bale starts and grips the bale to prevent slippage and reduce chaffing. The treads are self-cleaning to reduce carryover.

The belts are staggered to reduce the loss of fine material and are closely spaced to contain the hay for fast, easy starts.

The belts enclose 91 percent of the bale width to reduce the loss of fine material and retain hay quality.

The staggered belt roll design enables any loose hay under or behind the belts to be returned to the pickup and into the baler.

This design helps to prevent buildup at the front of the baler, which could cause hay loss and belt or splice damage.

Three-ply belts

The 449 and 459E Balers use three-ply belts. The belts are constructed of three-ply nylon-polyester combination:

• They have the strength to handle heavy-shock loads and help to maintain consistent belt length.
• Polyester is used for increased strength and reduced belt stretch.

Extra-service-life belt splices

Extra-service-life splices

The 449 and 459E Balers use extra-service-life, rectangular, wire-belt splices:

• Flat surface reduces wear on the splice as the belt travels around the rolls.
• Strong hook shape increases the splice life as the belt flexes.

The material thickness and bend radius resist the opening of hook points and reduce metal fatigue.

Manual bale size adjustment

On the 449 Baler Round Baler with hydraulic double-twine option, the near-full bale size warning can be adjusted by moving the nut (1) in the slot to match harvest requirements.

BaleTrak Pro bale size adjustment

The bale size on 459, 459E with automatic electric tie, 459 Silage Special, 559, 469, 469 Silage Special, and 569 Round Balers can be adjusted from the operator's station with the BaleTrak™ Pro monitor-controller by pressing symbol 2, then pushing the +/- symbol.

Bale-starting diagram

As the hay enters the forming chamber from the pickup, belts turn the hay immediately to form a tight, dense core.
 
Incoming hay then feeds between the bale and the lower-gate roll. Hay is tightly compressed into smooth, dense layers as it enters the bale.
 
Chaffing is greatly reduced to prevent loss and retain hay quality in the bale.

Full-sized bale in bale chamber

The idler arm rises with bale growth, forcing oil from the hydraulic cylinder through a pressure-relief valve:

• Maintains uniform bale density throughout the bale-forming process

Side view of adjustable hitch

Front view of adjustable hitch

The 9 Series Round Balers come standard with an adjustable hitch. This feature allows the hitch height to be adjusted to optimize crop-feeding performance. Due to the wide array of tractor tire sizes and drawbar heights, hitch adjustment may be necessary to get the proper feed opening of the baler. The adjustable hitch eliminates the need for the 51-mm (2-in.) thick tractor drawbar kit (AE57344) because it has a wider opening.

Benefits of the adjustable hitch:

• Ability to match baler to numerous tire sizes
• Allows for drawbar height to fall within 330 mm to 559 mm (13 in. to 22 in.) from top of drawbar to the ground
• Eliminates narrow feed opening on baler which can cause plugging
• Allows pickup head to follow terrain without missing crop

All eight bolts must be used when adjusting the hitch. There are four different positions as shown below:

Position 1 (top) - Regular and MegaTooth© pickups

Position 2

Position 3 (factory setting) - MegaWide© Plus pickups

Position 4 (bottom)

Also standard on all 9 Series Round Balers except the 459E is the drawbar flap. This helps to eliminate hay from getting caught on the hitch of the baler. The drawbar flap is designed to allow the operator to remove or attach the flap without having to unhook the baler from the tractor.

Drawbar flap

Drawbar flap installed on baler

Larger shafts ™ 8 Series, 9 Series, 9 Series Premium

The 9 Series Round Balers have increased their durability by increasing the shafts and bearings on the top and bottom rolls of the baler. The size of the shafts and bearings are listed below:

• 8 Series - 31.8-mm (1.25-in.) shaft and 90-mm (3.5-in.) outside diameter (OD) bearing (this bearing requires a quill assembly to fit in the roll)
• 9 Series - 38.1-mm (1.5-in.) shaft and 130-mm (5.1-in.) OD bearing (this bearing does not require a quill assembly to fit in the roll)
• 9 Series Premium - 44.5-mm (1.75-in.) shaft and 130-mm (5.1-in.) OD bearing

The #9 and #11 rolls receive the most wear and stress since they have the most surface area contact with the belts. The lower gate roll also carries the weight of the bale. By increasing the shaft size, strength is added to the baler. The larger bearings will run cooler, therefore, increasing the life of the bearings.

Diagram of rolls on baler