Practical test: Tanco 1514 Twin Autowrap bale wrapper While most will associate bale wrapping with either trailed or rear-mounted machines, these are by no means the only configuration options. Other suggestions? Well, here’s one: A wrapper for the tractor’s front linkage. We test the 1514 Twin Autowrap model from Irish manufacturer Tanco.
Unlike packaging up your Christmas pressies, machine wrapping something round, as a rule, is much simpler than if wrapping square. It’s a matter of corners – or, rather, the lack of them. Whereas a round bale shape lends itself to being spun and covered in film, the edges of a square bale package present much more of a mechanical challenge.
Today, of course, there are a number of machines that are capable of wrapping up both, and into this category falls the Tanco 1514 T Autowrap featured here.
Novelty of this particular wrapper is that it can be mounted on either the tractor’s front or rear linkage, and as a further option it can go on a front-end loader or telehandler. When up front on a linkage, it rests on a robust support roller, which is perhaps just as well bearing in mind that our test 1514 weighed in unladen at a hefty 1,240kg – substantially more than Tanco’s literature claim. This is a factor that needs to be taken into account when deciding on the 1514 T’s tractor partner, because even though most front linkages should be able to comfortably cope with 1,240kg, the hoisting operation takes on altogether different proportions once 1,000kg wet silage bale is added into the load-carrying equation.
Other tractor requirements ideally run to a hydraulic top link, which not only helps when hitching on the machine but also comes into its own for carrying out adjustments in work. Where a hydraulic top link is not available, the operator ends up to having to block the machine up to make any wrapper angle tweaks, and that’s clearly to be avoided where at all possible. In short, a modern hydraulic top link makes sense. The only other requirements are for a single-acting oil supply, free-flow return and electrics. Grumbles? Just that Tanco could do with adding some form of stowage for all the assorted pipework, although to its credit the firm does effectively label the hoses and also fit a standard check valve.
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