Not All Baling Wire Is Created Equal

It is tempting to shop for baling wire on price alone. Cheap baling wire can save you money in the short term, but can wind up costing more in breakages, damage to equipment and costly down time. We thought it would be helpful to set out some of the advantages of high-quality baling wire, and why you should consider more factors than just price when making buying decisions. Here’s what you need to look for when buying baling wire.

Single-loop bale ties Single-loop baling wire is used in vertical balers, where the wire is pushed through slots in the baler and then tied by hand. Poor-quality wire can make bale ties difficult to feed and tie, and cause them to snap under pressure. This leads to wasted ties and spilled material that must be rebaled. Additional factors to consider when it comes to single-loop bale ties:

 Cheaper baling ties can be inconsistent in gauge, length and count per bundle.

The wire ties need to have the right balance between being stiff enough so that you can easily push them through the slots, and malleable enough so that you can tie them tightly by hand.

They also need to have the correct elongation and tensile strength, so that they don’t snap when the platen eases off the bale. The correct tensile strength also ensures that the bale maintains its shape after it’s tied, which allows for safer stacking and optimized shipping.

High-quality single-loop ties are consistent in loop size and in the number of twists creating the loop. If the loop isn’t twisted properly, it can become unravelled once the bale is tied and the wire is under pressure.

Lower-quality single-loop ties may also not have the correct finish, causing them to rust and making them harder to feed and more likely to break.

Double-loop bale ties

The same considerations that apply to single-loop ties apply to double-loop ties as well. A few factors to consider are:

The loops on double-loop bale ties have to be perfectly formed so that they link together easily and stay connected.

It’s critical that the ties are exactly the same length and have the correct tensile strength, so that all the ties on each bale stretch at the same rate. Lower-quality double-loop ties can stretch or snap more easily, causing bale distortion or breakage.

Automatic baling wire

Automatic baling wire is designed for use with high-precision automatic wire tiers. It’s fed through finely tuned rollers, grippers and twisters inside the tier. The same factors mentioned above apply here. Poor-quality baling wire can cause damage to your tier, costing you big money in terms of repairs and down time.

The highest-quality automatic baling wire will have totally consistent gauge, tensile strength and finish. If your wiretier is set for 12 gauge and you try to use wire that’s too large, your tier will likely jam. Similarly using a gauge that’s too small will cause accelerated wear or damage to the tier, necessitating costly repairs and down time.

Boxed wire

Automatic boxed baling wire is typically black annealed. This oiled coating allows the wire to slide easily and not get tangled as it is pulled around the bales by the automatic tier. The oiled coating also prevents rust. Again, the same factors above apply to boxed wire. It’s important that automatic boxed wire be accurate and consistent in all these parameters to maximize baler throughput and profit.