F5500

F5500 – 15 Knife Fixed Chamber Baler

Over the last decade the McHale range of balers have been operating in over 5 continents in some of the world’s most difficult conditions. McHale balers have developed a reputation for providing high output, excellent reliability, operator comfort and top resale value.

The F5000 range of balers brings baling to a new level with features like progressive greasing and oiling, our drop floor unblocking system which combined with our high specification components, ensures long life, reliability and a machine that is rugged enough to handle the toughest of crops and ground conditions.

The McHale F5500 is a semi-automatic, 15 knife chopper Fixed Chamber Baler, which comes fitted with automatic progressive greasing as standard. It is equipped with a Wizard Plus Control Box, which allows the operator to control features such as drop floor and knife position. Bale density can also be adjusted on the machine. The machine is fitted with 500/50-17 tyres as standard.

Built To Last

Pick-Up

Over the last decade, McHale has designed and developed various types of pick-ups. After extensive testing, McHale decided it will offer customers the choice of 2 pick-up options depending on their working conditions:

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Cam Pick-Up

As standard, a cam operated 2.1m high-intake galvanised pick-up ensures excellent ground cleaning in all types of crop. The cam pick-up runs on a cam track that is fitted with double raced cam bearings to stand up to the most testing of conditions.

All cam pick-ups across the McHale Fixed Chamber Baler Range are fitted with 5 tine bars for excellent ground cleaning and delivery of crop to the bale chamber. A side inspection port allows the operator to quickly check and change the cam bearings if needed.

All McHale cam pick-ups have heavy-duty tine bar supports to ensure long service life. McHale have also developed a pick-up tine designed to lift even the shortest of crop

Camless Pick-Up

A 2.1m camless pick-up is available as an option on all machines in the McHale Fixed Chamber Baler Range. Six tine bars are fitted to all McHale camless pick-ups to provide excellent ground cleaning and fast delivery of crop to the bale chamber.

The camless pick-up has been designed to increase output, reduce levels of maintenance and perform better in certain conditions.

All camless pick-ups are fitted with a fully welded tine bar. McHale have also developed a pick-up tine designed to lift even the shortest of crop

Heavy-Duty Pick-Up

The specially designed McHale pick-up is positioned close to the rotor to improve delivery of the crop through the rotor to the bale chamber. Large diameter lateral feed augers help direct crop to the bale chamber ensuring a consistent and even crop flow for producing high density bales.

Adaptive Intake

Over the course of a baling season, machines have to work with different volumes of crop. McHale have designed an adaptive intake which allows the intake area to automatically adjust for light and heavy crops to facilitate a smooth crop flow into the chamber.

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The adaptive intake plate sits higher in low volumes of crop and can adjust to a lower position for higher volumes of crop. This avoids peak loads and results in higher daily throughput regardless of working condition.

Split Drive GearBox

A 540rpm Split Drive Gearbox is fitted to all machines in the McHale Fixed Chamber Range as standard. The gearbox design ensures that power is evenly distributed to both sides of the mac

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Optimal Power Distribution

The rollers in the bale chamber are driven from the left-hand side of the machine and the pick-up and chopper unit are driven from the right-hand side of the machine. This system ensures direct, short transfer paths, leading to optimal power distribution.

1000rpm Gearbox (Optional)

In order to optimise machine performance, a 1000rpm gearbox is available as an optional upgrade on all machines in the McHale fixed chamber baler range. We recommend you speak with your local dealer or distributor regarding which gearbox is best suited to your requirements, based on your working conditions.

Rotor

The star shaped, twin finger feed rotor ensures a high-capacity flow of crop into the bale chamber.

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The flights on the rotor are laid out in a spiral formation to achieve consistent crop flow. As crop enters the rotor, rotating flights feeds it to the bale chamber. These ensure high output, while the star layout reduces the load peaks as the machines work in heavy swaths.

  • The feed rotor or chopping unit boasts a heavy-duty rotor and comb.
  • The flights are welded on both sides for superior strength and on the drive side the rotor is fitted with a double row bearing with a long service life.

 

 

F5500 Rotor Types

15 Knife Chopper Rotor (Standard)

Rotor Formation Spiral
Flight Thickness

Inner: 8mm

 

Outer: 12mm
Number of Knives 15
Selectable Knives Optional

 

25 Knife Chopper Rotor (Optional)

Rotor Formation Spiral
Flight Thickness

Inner: 6mm

 

Outer: 12mm
Number of Knives 25
Selectable Knives Optional

 

Chopper Unit

To ensure a consistent and even chop quality, two chopping options have been developed for the McHale fixed chamber machines.

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Chopper Units

15 Knife Chopper Unit (Standard)

The 15 knife chopper unit is the standard chopper unit on the McHale F5500. A bank of 15 knives provides a chop length of approximately 65mm.

Flight Thickness

Inner: 8mm

Outer: 12mm

Number of Knives

15

Selectable Knives

Optional

 

25 Knife Chopper Unit (Optional)

The 25 knife chopper unit is available as an option on the McHale F5500. A bank of 25 knives provides a chop length of approximately 46mm.

Flight Thickness

Inner: 6mm

Outer: 12mm

Number of Knives

25

Selectable Knives

Optional

 

Selectable Knife System

All McHale F5500 machines have the option to be fitted with a selectable knife system. Various knife configurations can be chosen depending on the knife bank specification.

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15 Knife Bank Options 

0, 7, 8, 15 Knifes

25 Knife Bank Options

0, 12, 13, 25 Knifes

BENEFITS OF SELECTABLE KNIVES

ADJUSTABLE CHOP LENGTH

With selectable knives, the operator can vary the chop length by engaging or disengaging either knife bank. If fine chopping is required, the operator can choose to engage both knife banks. Should a longer chop length be required, the operator can disengage one bank of knives from the comfort and safety of the tractor cab.

REDUCED SHARPENING INTERVALS

When using both knife banks separately, if the first bank of knives become blunt, the operator can lower the first knife bank and raise the second bank. This reduces the downtime and allows the operator to continue working. By having consistently sharp knives, fuel consumption is reduced and the machine always delivers optimum chop.

OPERATOR COMFORT & SAFETY

A new sharp set of knives can be engaged, without the operator having to physically replace knives, ensuring a well chopped crop and continued high output. Should different chop lengths be required the operator can make the adjustments by engaging or disengaging the knife bank without having to leave the tractor cab.

Drop Floor Unblocking

For over a decade, all machines in the fixed chamber baler range are fitted with the McHale Drop Floor Unblocking System, a feature which operators have come to love for it’s simplicity of use and effective unblocking cycle.

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The McHale fixed chamber baler range is fitted with a drop floor unblocking system, which means blockages can be fed through in three simple steps.

1 – Drop the Floor

Should a blockage occur, the sound of the slip clutch alerts the operator, who can hydraulically lower the floor from the tractor cab. When operating the drop floor cycle, the knives and the drop floor drop together during the unblocking process, giving even more clearance to allow the blockage to be fed through.

2 – Re-engage the PTO

This widens the feed channel at both the front and rear of the drop floor where the blockage is more likely to occur. By lowering the front and rear of the drop floor, the blockage can be fed through and effectively cleared when the PTO is re-engaged.

3 – Reset the Floor

The floor can then be reset to its original position and baling can resume. On the F5500,F5600 and F5600 Plus the drop floor is equipped with a drop floor sensor to ensure the chop quality is consistent by indicating to the operator via the control box if the drop floor is open and the knives are down.

Bale Chamber

The bale chamber on the McHale F5500 is comprised of an 18 roller bale chamber. It has a diameter of 1.23m x 1.25m (4′ ½” x 4′ 1¼”) and is formed from heavy duty rollers.

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The 18 rollers are formed from high-grade tubular steel delivering maximum traction, improved bale rotation, enhanced machine performance and produces well-shaped, uniform bales. As a result, the F5000 range is noted for superior performance in dry crops such as hay and straw.

Heavy Duty Chains

High quality heavy-duty chains ensure reliable operation all around the machine. The main drive chain coming off the gearbox is a high tensile, heavy duty 100H endless chain for maximum strength. All other chains on the drive side of the bale chamber are inch and a quarter (20B). The rotor chain is inch duplex (16 B2) and all pick-up chains are three quarter inch (ASA 60H).

Chamber Bearings

Single sprocket rollers on the chamber drive side are equipped with 50 mm shafts and bearings. Rollers under the most load are fitted with double row bearings. All rollers fitted with double sprockets are equipped with 55 mm shafts and double row 55 mm bearings. The non drive side of the bale chamber is also fitted with heavy duty 50 mm bearings.

Bale Density Adjustment

On the F5400 and F5500 balers the chamber pre charge pressure can be easily adjusted on the density control valve on the machine platform. By adjusting the handle in a clockwise direction density can be increased, while rotating the handle in the opposite direction reduces density.

Roller Design & Sealing

Bale chamber rollers are fitted with 50 mm bearings on the drive and non-drive side. Rollers fitted with double sprockets are equipped with 55 mm shafts and double row bearings. All roller ends are fitted with high performance self-cleaning seals that have a unique reverse-thread sealing system that prevents crop from getting into the bearings. The seals prevent the grease around the bearings from becoming contaminated by crop resulting in increased reliability.

Oiling & Greasing

The McHale fixed chamber range of balers are all fitted with a continuous oiling system. Once the PTO is engaged, the continuous oiling system constantly lubricates the chains to ensure a long lifetime. A lube alarm sounds after 300 bales to inform the operator to refill the oil tank.

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Continuous Oiling System

The continuous oiling system on the machine is driven off the gearbox and delivers oil to the following chains:

  • Chamber Drive Side Chains
  • Rotor Drive Chain
  • Pick-Up – Drive Chains
  • Pick-Up – Cam Track
  • Pick-Up – Drive Gears

Greasing

All machines come fitted with a number of manual greasing points which are easily accessible throughout the baler either individually or through a centralised greasing block. The following bearings highlighted below are greased:

  • Bale Chamber – Drive Side
  • Bale Chamber – Non-Drive Side
  • Rotor Bearings – Drive Side
  • Rotor Bearings – Non-Drive Side.

Automatic Greasing

With the exception of the McHale F5400, all machines in the McHale Fixed Chamber Baler Range are fitted with automatic greasing as standard. A pressurised system delivers a measured amount of grease every time a bale is ejected from the bale chamber. Automatic greasing saves time as it reduces the amount of manual greasing to be done by the operator. A lube alarm sounds after 300 bales to inform the operator to refill the grease cartridge.

Vario Stretch Net System

A high performance netter has been designed and developed for the F5000 range. The net tension can be simply adjusted on a variable pulley on the right hand side of the machine.

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This simple, yet effective net binding system applies net to the barrel of the bale ensuring efficient net usage and that a tight layer of net is evenly applied to the bale. The net tension can be adjusted on the machine depending on the operator’s requirements. The number of layers of net being used can be easily adjusted as the machine passes through different crop conditions. On the F5400 and F5500 , by simply moving the net adjustment handle down, more net will be applied, while by moving the handle up, less net can be applied. On the F5600 and F5600 Plus, net adjustment can be controlled from the control box in the tractor cab.

The high performance netter is extremely reliable and features:

Endless Adjustment

Endless adjustment of tension to ensure optimum bind material usage and bale shape

Up to 1300 mm

Capacity to take rolls of net wrap up to 1300 mm in width and 4500m in length.

180-Degree Wrap

180-degree wrap around on the rubber feed roller, eliminating any net or film slippage while feeding

Net Loading & Storage

Net loading has been optimised on the F5000 baler range by the simple yet very effective rock and roll net loading system.

The operator simply releases the straps on the spare roll of net on the machine platform and rocks the net roll from its storage position over the lip in the platform and rolls it into the net box. Storage for an extra roll of net is provided on the baler platform.

Wizard Plus Control Console

The F5500 is equipped with the Wizard Plus Control Box. This contains a large graphic display which allows the operator to control machine features such as drop floor and knife position

The Wizard Plus Control Console features:

  • Floor Position
  • Knife Pressure
  • Knife Position
  • Tailgate Position
  • Net Feed Indicator
  • Voltage Supply 

The operator can also select from 10 bale counts and check the machine total either for the day or the machine’s life. The F5500 Wizard Plus Control Console is also equipped with a lube check alarm, which reminds the operator to check the grease and oil levels. The alarm signals after a set number of bales.

Technical Specification

Dimensions & Weight
Width 2.55 (8’4″)*
Length 4.05 m (13’3″)
Weight 3500 kg (7,716 lbs)
Height 2.45 m (8′)
*Width will depend on tyre selection
 
Pick-Up
Working Width 2100 mm (6’11”)
Pick Up Guide Wheels Standard
Pick Up Lift Hydraulic
Crop Roller Optional
Short Crop Guard Standard
Tine Spacing 70 mm (2 3/4”)
Tine Bars
 5
 
Bale Chamber
Width 1.23 m (4′)
Diameter 1.25 m (4’1”)
Greasing Automatic Progressive
Bearings 50 mm**

Number of Rollers

 18
Bale Chamber Feed Baler Rotor
**Bearings are 55mm double raced on the main load points
 
Net Wrap
Net Adjustment Manual on Baler
Net System Vario Stretch
Net Roll Capacity
 1 + 1 Storage
Control Manual or Automatic
 
Drives
Gearbox Split Drive
Main Drive Protection Cam Clutch
Pick Up Protection Slip Clutch
Chain Lubrication Continuous
 
Control
Control System Wizard Plus Control Console
Operation Semi Automatic
Density Adjustment On Baler Valve
 
Other
Axle 8 Stud
Tyres Standard 500/50 – 17
Tyres Optional 500/50 – 22.5
Bale Kicker Indicator N/A
Road Lights Standard
 
Tractor
Minimum Power Requirement 67kW (90hp)
Hydraulics 2 Double Acting Spools
 

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