A revamp of Vicon’s two variable chamber round balers promises to deliver more bales an hour and better feed-in consistency.

Both VariBale models – the 160 producing 1.65m rounds and the 180 for 1.85m – have been beefed up to handle the power of the bigger tractors they are increasingly coupled with.

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This includes a wider 2.3m pick-up and bigger 520mm rotor, 15% up on the previous generation.

To improve reliability, the firm has opted for a one-piece gearbox and internal pick-up chain drive at the front, and larger rollers and drive sprockets further back.

The chain routing has also been simplified, external bearings are easier to grease, and there’s the option of an automatic lubrication system.

As before, each model is available with or without the firm’s PowerFeed plain rotor and ChopFeed knife bank, the latter now armed with 15 blades – one more than was previously offered.

The net binding system is unchanged, but quicker cycle times on it and the tailgate should mean bales are jettisoned in spritelier fashion.

Other updates include easier access to the pair of net roll holders, fewer ledges to harbour crop debris, and new tail light clusters neatly integrated into the ends of the side panels.

© MAG/Oliver Mark

Automatic control

There is also a ruck of automatic features introduced as part of the Tim Pack 2.0 package.

For starters, the tractor implement management (TIM) system will automatically bring the tractor to a halt for bale binding and discharge, cutting the number of manual operations from 10 to two.

And there’s a novel “auto feed control” function, which shifts the baler’s pivoting drawbar left or right to load the bale chamber evenly.

The company says this will help make better shaped bales without the operator having to weave along the swath and drive over neatly prepared forage rows.

Should they get overzealous with their forward speed, there’s an automatic blockage control function that monitors crop flow and stops the tractor when a bung-up is detected.