2024 Art's Way Bale Processors 664 Top Spread

2024 Art's Way Bale Processors 664 Top Spread

The 664 bale processor is built with tight spaces in mind. The full length across your skid steer is 103 inches. It extends out from your skid steer 67 inches – holding up to a 5' x 6' round bale or a 4' x 6' square bale. The deflector door is adjustable to lower during transport and raise up when spreading. The 664 weighs 2,060 pounds.

A loader with at least 2,500 pounds lift capacity and 20 gpm of hydraulic flow or more is required to operate this machine. Generally this is a mid-sized skid steer such as a John Deere 325, Bobcat 650, Kubota 75, etc.

Standard connections include a set of flat face standard flow hydraulic ends. The system has a built in “case-drain” return line, so no third line is needed on your machine. A standard 14 pin electrical connection is included to connect directly to your loader, if you have one available (please keep in mind you can NOT connect directly to a Bobcat – they require a signal adapter.) Easily change the pin position to match the brand of your loader. If you do not have an electrical connection, add a wiring harness that installs a bump switch in your cab to move the floor chain back and forth.

To load a round bale, use the legs of the TOP-SPREAD to tip a bale so the flat face is sitting on the ground. The tines are welded at an angle so your machine does not have to be at 90 degrees to load. The tines should be flat on the ground when loading. Use the site holes in the floor to see the bottom of the bale while you load. Roll the machine back to the cab on the ground to reduce the stress on your loader. Bale should be sitting in the machine with the flat face toward you in the cab and the round side toward the rotors in the machine. The bale will unroll while it processes the material.

Once you have your bale loaded, you may choose to remove the netwrap prior to processing. Using safe practices including shutting off your machine, cut the netwrap at the bottom most point under the rotors and under the flop bar support. Peel the netwrap off the top 80% of the bale. The pieces that is underneath the bale will slide along the floor and drop out to pick up at the end. You may also choose to leave it on and remove it from the rotors afterwards.

Adjusting the bale: Make sure the bale is sitting squarely in the machine. You can use your joysticks to manually shift the machine to position the bale so it isn’t caught on edges and starts away from the rotors. When engaging your hydraulics – slowly roll the auxiliary hydraulics on. Don’t just push the lock in button to start. As you start the hydraulics, move the apron chain away from the rotors with your joystick button. Be sure your throttle increases to maximize the machine power. Slowly bump the switch to move the apron chain toward the rotors engaging the bale. “Slugging” the bale gets more distance, while slowly feeding achieves better processing. If you pass a waterer or other area you don’t want covered, simply don’t push the button to move the chain. You can move the apron back and forth to get better processing from the rotors. We suggest practicing with a dry cornstalk bale to get the feel for the movement before tackling tougher material such as hay.