Farmhand Ltd, Krone importers in Ireland, has announced that the Krone Comprima X-treme Series will be available for this grass season. This baler was designed in conjunction with Farmhand and Krone using the standard Comprima as a base to work from.

Together, they developed a heavy-duty beefed-up baler to suit the tough Irish conditions and exceptionally heavy grass crops.

According to David Borland of Farmhand, The X-treme version offers customers heavy-duty chains and sprockets which are more robust and stronger to cope with the Irish grass. The fixed rollers have larger diameter shafts and heavy-duty bearings which, when coupled with the wider, thicker heavy-duty NovaGrip belt with guide rollers and heavy duty roller bearings, ensure performance and reliability no matter what the conditions. The overall machine width remains the same, with increased safety due to hydraulic brakes now fitted as standard.

The Comprima X-treme Series takes a lot of the unique features from the standard Comprima baler, including the EasyFlow pickup, which is simple by design and does without a cam track, meaning there are fewer moving parts.

Low maintenance

According to Krone, the camless pickup is both low maintenance and also runs 30% quicker than conventional pickup systems. This allows the baler to get the crop into the machine quicker and more efficiently, leading to increased productivity over the working day.

The baler’s feed intake is designed with a five-tine pickup reel which is 2,150mm in width and is greaseable on both sides. The reel is chain-driven and capable of 900nm of torque which is unique to the Krone Comprima.

The drive is protected by a star ratchet clutch. The 530mm rotor cutter has three rows of double tines welded in a chevron formation. This rotor is driven by a large spur gear. The arrangement guides the grass over the knives for a clean cut with an option of 17 or 26 knives that are double-sided and individually sprung for added protection. All the Comprima X-treme balers feature a hydraulic drop floor as standard.

The Comprima X-treme uses a unique NovoGrip system. The new belt is far quieter. The belt on the new model is 40mm wider and stronger, according to Krone.

David commented that he has never seen one fail on a machine. Krone says that the belts are only ever exposed to approximately 10% of their rated tear strength in baling. The belts have a double-tread profile design, using layers of polyester and polyamide fabric with vulcanised rubber to create an endless belt that can take full loading at any point.

Variable bale size

The belt design offers Krone the advantage of variable bale size and no difficulty in baling dry, brittle crops of hay and straw in terms of bale formation. The slats on the belt mesh in with the material in the chamber that keeps the bale rolling at all times, creating a positive bale feed.

The new machine has also received updates on the pulleys and guides to keep the belt in position. David also commented that maintenance is low with the system – one belt and six chains drive the machine.

The Comprima has the advantage of the variable chamber, which allows the baler to make bales 4-5ft depending on farmer preference. According to David, these larger bales can reduce handling and plastic usage.

When empty, the variable chamber is 3ft in diameter. As soon as grass enters the baler, it fills and packs this 3ft chamber first, which allows it achieve a very tight core, even when operating at high forward speeds. Then the bale chamber increases as the bale is tightened up to the predetermined size before being netted and released.

Compacted bale

This system ensures a well-formed and compacted bale in all conditions. The bale is always 4ft wide and the density of the bale is set manually by adjusting the tension of the stop rods on the back of the machine.

Setting the bale size is relatively easy – a simple pin placed in the telescopic rods govern the size of the bale.

The Comprima X-treme is available in fixed and semi-variable chamber models as a standard baler or integrated baler wrapper unit. Krone now also offers the film wrapping system which replaces standard net wrap with their roundwrap plastic system, which they claim improves the silage quality.

The Krone Comprima X-treme costs €30,000 plus VAT for the F 155 XC. The finance offer on the machine is 0% with a 1+4 payment plan by Farmhand. The baler comes with a 12-month warranty from the manufacturer. In simple terms, David believes that this new machine is far better suited to Irish conditions now, and is confident it will be a hit with contractors and farmers as everybody knows Krone makes the best bales.