Alongside managing a 220-ewe sheep flock, Pat O’Sullivan operates an agricultural contracting and plant hire business near Milltown, Co Kerry.
Together from the seasonal baling, slurry and hedge cutting work, Pat and his team are kept busy throughout the year with digger hire and forestry work.
Previously running a 2004 Welger RP 235 baler inside a Goweil G5040 Kombi wrapping unit, last year Pat fitted it with a new GÖweil G-1 F125 fixed-chamber baler.
Background
In 2004, Pat set out baling on hire with a new Welger RP 235 baler and a McHale wrapper. However, Come 2009/2010 Pat was contemplating the move to a baler wrapper combination to make more efficient use of labour and the additional wrapper tractor.
The sectioned roller behind the rotor is designed for good bale rotation early on and to prevent grass built up.
Being fond of the Welger baler and slightly put off by the price of a new combination baler wrapper he weighed up his options. “I came across the Göweil G5040 Kombi baler wrapper unit attachment, this was pretty much the ideal solution. It essentially allowed me to turn my existing baler into a combi machine for a much lower cost compared to buying a standard combi unit,” Pat said.
Left to right: Padraig, Pat and Donnacha O'Sullivan and Mike Fell.
“At the time there was no official Göweil presence in the country, leaving these units a bit of a rarity in Ireland. However, Buckleys in Listowel sourced me a new G5040 Kombi baler unit which they fitted my baler into.”
Göweil
Pat said the baler and wrapper unit worked really well together for the next 10 years. “In 2021, the baler was in its 17th season, and pretty much worn out but the wrapper unit was still as good as ever. All I needed was to replace the baler.”
Pat said the latest Massey Ferguson (formerly Lely Welger) and some other balers no longer suited his particular wrapper unit, so his options became slightly more limited in terms of a new machine.
To his advantage, the Cooney Furlong Machinery Company had been appointed Irish importer for the Austrian-built range. Being the original manufacturer of the wrapper unit, its G-1 F125 baler was fully compatible with the G5040 Kombi wrapper attachment.
As Pat only required the bare baler unit without an axle, he said it worked out the cheapest and most logical solution.
“Having seen the Göweil baler, it impressed me. The fact that there was now a dealer in the country was an added benefit so I bought the baler.”
Pickup and rotor
The G-1 F125 baler is fitted with a 2.2m-wide pendulum-type pickup with a swing range of 150mm. Being a camless pickup, it is equipped with six tine bars and heavy-duty tines. Between the tines are plastic bands which Pat had great praise for over the traditional steel type.
The plastic pickup bands are much more durable compared with steel bands according to Pat.
The pickup is also fitted with two crop rollers and an accelerator infeed roller to help pre-compress and aid crop flow towards the rotor. Similar to his previous Welger, Pat said the close proximity between the pickup and rotor was a major selling point.
Göweil takes a different approach to most manufacturers when it comes to crop flow. Instead of the rotor pulling crop under it and through the knife bank, the crop instead passes up and over the rotor and through the knife bank. One of the advantages of this setup according to Pat is that the knife bank is much more easily accessed. The six-star rotor is 570mm in diameter with Hardox tines.
The infeed roller helps pre-compress and aid crop flow into the rotor.
The chopping unit is fitted with 30 double-sided knives capable of a 35mm theoretical chop length. Pat tends to operate with 28 knives, leaving out the outer knives on either side. Each knife is hydraulically protected in the event of contacting a foreign object.
The Auto Flow Control (AFC) feature monitors the flow of crop into the pickup and rotor and intervenes automatically in the event of blockage. When the pickup blocks, the infeed roller which is normally mechanically driven receives hydraulic support while at the same time the drop floor swivels, allowing material to pass into the chamber before working position is resumed. When the rotor clogs, the top door above the knives opens, the knives raise out of working position and allow the blockage through before resuming working position.
Chamber and wrapper unit
Seated just behind the rotor is the starter roller, which is different in that it has a sectioned profile, which Göweil claims prevents grass build-up and allows for good bale rotation early on. In terms of running gear, Pat complimented the heavy duty chains and bearings used.
The chamber’s 18 ribbed rollers are constructed using 4mm-thick steel with inner reinforcing. Both the 60mm (driven) and 65mm (driver) diameter roller shafts run on double-row pendulum roller bearings.
The G5040 twin satelite automatic wrapping unit.
Although Göweil offers an optional dual binding unit, Pat found little need for it. That said, as standard the baler was compatible with film-on-film binding.
Now in its 12th year, the wrapper unit according to Pat is still working 100%. Bale transfer he said is fast and smooth. Before, the wrapper had its own terminal but now all its baler and wrapper functions are controlled using the baler’s terminal. Manual wrapper movements can be made from its valve chest while beside the machine.
“The tandem bogey axle is very stable with good weight distribution in softer conditions. The tandem axle machine is much easier to reverse too,” Pat said.
“The concept may not suit everybody’s situation but it certainly suited mine moving from a standard baler. Without a substantial outlay of money, it allowed me to step up to a combi unit using my own baler. Last year, its benefits became apparent again when I upgraded just the baler at much less of a cost than if I was to upgrade to a new standard combination baler wrapper.
The one crontrol terminal now operates both the baler and the wrapping unit.
In terms of the baler, I was always a Welger man and knew them inside out but the Göweil is a super machine to handle grass. We’d usually lift 20ft swaths but have lifted 30fts no bother with it. I like the concept in that the grass passes over the rotor as opposed to under. It produces very even consistent bales regardless of the crop or swath. It’s definitely one of the best thought out and built balers on the market.
Model: G-1 F125.
Knives: 30.
Rollers: 18 rollers (4mm thick).
Binding: Net and film on film.
Weight:5,580kg (without wrapper unit).
Width: 2.5m (without wrapper unit).
Wheel size: 500/60 R22.5 (standard).
List price: €59,000 plus VAT (without wrapper unit).
Alongside managing a 220-ewe sheep flock, Pat O’Sullivan operates an agricultural contracting and plant hire business near Milltown, Co Kerry.
Together from the seasonal baling, slurry and hedge cutting work, Pat and his team are kept busy throughout the year with digger hire and forestry work.
Previously running a 2004 Welger RP 235 baler inside a Goweil G5040 Kombi wrapping unit, last year Pat fitted it with a new GÖweil G-1 F125 fixed-chamber baler.
Background
In 2004, Pat set out baling on hire with a new Welger RP 235 baler and a McHale wrapper. However, Come 2009/2010 Pat was contemplating the move to a baler wrapper combination to make more efficient use of labour and the additional wrapper tractor.
The sectioned roller behind the rotor is designed for good bale rotation early on and to prevent grass built up.
Being fond of the Welger baler and slightly put off by the price of a new combination baler wrapper he weighed up his options. “I came across the Göweil G5040 Kombi baler wrapper unit attachment, this was pretty much the ideal solution. It essentially allowed me to turn my existing baler into a combi machine for a much lower cost compared to buying a standard combi unit,” Pat said.
Left to right: Padraig, Pat and Donnacha O'Sullivan and Mike Fell.
“At the time there was no official Göweil presence in the country, leaving these units a bit of a rarity in Ireland. However, Buckleys in Listowel sourced me a new G5040 Kombi baler unit which they fitted my baler into.”
Göweil
Pat said the baler and wrapper unit worked really well together for the next 10 years. “In 2021, the baler was in its 17th season, and pretty much worn out but the wrapper unit was still as good as ever. All I needed was to replace the baler.”
Pat said the latest Massey Ferguson (formerly Lely Welger) and some other balers no longer suited his particular wrapper unit, so his options became slightly more limited in terms of a new machine.
To his advantage, the Cooney Furlong Machinery Company had been appointed Irish importer for the Austrian-built range. Being the original manufacturer of the wrapper unit, its G-1 F125 baler was fully compatible with the G5040 Kombi wrapper attachment.
As Pat only required the bare baler unit without an axle, he said it worked out the cheapest and most logical solution.
“Having seen the Göweil baler, it impressed me. The fact that there was now a dealer in the country was an added benefit so I bought the baler.”
Pickup and rotor
The G-1 F125 baler is fitted with a 2.2m-wide pendulum-type pickup with a swing range of 150mm. Being a camless pickup, it is equipped with six tine bars and heavy-duty tines. Between the tines are plastic bands which Pat had great praise for over the traditional steel type.
The plastic pickup bands are much more durable compared with steel bands according to Pat.
The pickup is also fitted with two crop rollers and an accelerator infeed roller to help pre-compress and aid crop flow towards the rotor. Similar to his previous Welger, Pat said the close proximity between the pickup and rotor was a major selling point.
Göweil takes a different approach to most manufacturers when it comes to crop flow. Instead of the rotor pulling crop under it and through the knife bank, the crop instead passes up and over the rotor and through the knife bank. One of the advantages of this setup according to Pat is that the knife bank is much more easily accessed. The six-star rotor is 570mm in diameter with Hardox tines.
The infeed roller helps pre-compress and aid crop flow into the rotor.
The chopping unit is fitted with 30 double-sided knives capable of a 35mm theoretical chop length. Pat tends to operate with 28 knives, leaving out the outer knives on either side. Each knife is hydraulically protected in the event of contacting a foreign object.
The Auto Flow Control (AFC) feature monitors the flow of crop into the pickup and rotor and intervenes automatically in the event of blockage. When the pickup blocks, the infeed roller which is normally mechanically driven receives hydraulic support while at the same time the drop floor swivels, allowing material to pass into the chamber before working position is resumed. When the rotor clogs, the top door above the knives opens, the knives raise out of working position and allow the blockage through before resuming working position.
Chamber and wrapper unit
Seated just behind the rotor is the starter roller, which is different in that it has a sectioned profile, which Göweil claims prevents grass build-up and allows for good bale rotation early on. In terms of running gear, Pat complimented the heavy duty chains and bearings used.
The chamber’s 18 ribbed rollers are constructed using 4mm-thick steel with inner reinforcing. Both the 60mm (driven) and 65mm (driver) diameter roller shafts run on double-row pendulum roller bearings.
The G5040 twin satelite automatic wrapping unit.
Although Göweil offers an optional dual binding unit, Pat found little need for it. That said, as standard the baler was compatible with film-on-film binding.
Now in its 12th year, the wrapper unit according to Pat is still working 100%. Bale transfer he said is fast and smooth. Before, the wrapper had its own terminal but now all its baler and wrapper functions are controlled using the baler’s terminal. Manual wrapper movements can be made from its valve chest while beside the machine.
“The tandem bogey axle is very stable with good weight distribution in softer conditions. The tandem axle machine is much easier to reverse too,” Pat said.
“The concept may not suit everybody’s situation but it certainly suited mine moving from a standard baler. Without a substantial outlay of money, it allowed me to step up to a combi unit using my own baler. Last year, its benefits became apparent again when I upgraded just the baler at much less of a cost than if I was to upgrade to a new standard combination baler wrapper.
The one crontrol terminal now operates both the baler and the wrapping unit.
In terms of the baler, I was always a Welger man and knew them inside out but the Göweil is a super machine to handle grass. We’d usually lift 20ft swaths but have lifted 30fts no bother with it. I like the concept in that the grass passes over the rotor as opposed to under. It produces very even consistent bales regardless of the crop or swath. It’s definitely one of the best thought out and built balers on the market.
Model: G-1 F125.
Knives: 30.
Rollers: 18 rollers (4mm thick).
Binding: Net and film on film.
Weight:5,580kg (without wrapper unit).
Width: 2.5m (without wrapper unit).
Wheel size: 500/60 R22.5 (standard).
List price: €59,000 plus VAT (without wrapper unit).
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