Baler-wrapper ‘faultless’ on hills

Notably, the new machine is “faultless on hills,” says Graeme Leigh, general manager of distributor Power Farming’s machinery division.

To create the Fusion Vario, McHale combined technology from its fixed-chamber Fusion baler-wrappers and its V660 Vario round balers, Leigh says.

The Fusion Vario produces straw bales of 0.7m to 1.7m diameter and silage bales of 1.1m to 1.45m diameter.

The Fusion Vario is said to offer contractors and farmers more versatility in the type of crops they can bale and wrap and the size of bales they can produce.

“The Fusion Vario was trialled in New Zealand while it was under development. It has proven to be a consistent performer and its netwrap system is fast and reliable,” Leigh says.

“Some patented features give the McHale Fusion Vario speed and sophistication…. They include the high speed transfer system that has reduced the vertical distance the bale has to move to get to the wrapper. The transfer system is faultless on hills, which makes it ideal for New Zealand conditions.”

Former Cambridge contractor Frank Williams took part in testing by McHale engineers on the prototype of the Fusion Vario. His company at the time, Langsford Contracting, used the new concept baler for a season as the engineers perfected it.

“A big part of the testing was transfer on hills. Initially we had a bit of an issue on hills during a transfer but the McHale representatives made a number of modifications and fixed it to where it was very reliable,” Frank Williams says.

“The only other real issue we had was the netting system. They made a number of changes during the season and came up with a system we were happy with. It worked every time.” The new Vario is compact, reliable and easy to operate, he says.

Among its patented features is its tip roller, designed to handle the wide range bale sizes the Fusion Vario produces.

The wrapping ring can apply four layers of film to a 1.25m bale in 20 second and six layers in 30 seconds. In normal conditions, wrapping is faster than baling so the wrapping platform is always ready to accept the next bale.

Standard features on the McHale Fusion Vario are the 2.0m five-tine bar pick-up, 15 knife chopper system with heavy duty rotor, drop floor unblocking, double drive variable bale chamber, and three-belt chamber with endless belts.

The maker’s iTouch control system uses touch-screen controls and shows images from cameras that show how the bale is being transferred and tipped. The operator can choose to use the iTouch console in combination with a load sensing valve to make baling and wrapping fully automatic.

Leigh points out that the Fusion Vario joins McHales 2013-launched Fusion 3 Plus baler-wrapper that uses ‘film-on-film’ technology, to produce better silage than conventional balers and save operators time and money.

“By applying plastic directly onto the bale in the bale chamber, Fusion 3 Plus eliminates netwrap. The plastic wrap applied in the bale chamber does not stretch, so more air is excluded from the bale, the bale is denser and the quality of the silage is better.”