Second baler fire I've had in two years.

[dixiedrifter]

This is the second baler I have to burn on me in two years. Fortunately I didn't own either one of them nor was I operating them at the time the caught on fire so I'm not on the hook, but still it is pretty odd for such a thing to happen two haying seasons in a row. Not for sure exactly what happened to cause it to catch fire, thinking one of the drive chains broke and caused something to heat up. Luckily we got the tractor unhitched in time, the field didn't catch on fire, and most importantly nobody got hurt. It still amazes me that an empty hay baler can turn into an inferno with flames shooting up twenty feet high within less than 3 minutes. And yes, we did have to call the fire department to come and put everything out. Next haying season my spray rig is going to be converted into a makeshift firefighting rig and someone will be on standby in case anything happens.

Pictures of the carnage:

 

[Timm250]

Did it belong to someone else that was baling your hay for you?

I had a neighbor who was baling a few years ago & he finished parked the equipment got in his truck & drove off. He said when he got to the house he looked back & could see smoke. By the time he got back to the equipment it was too late. He lost his tractor, baler & part of the field & rolls of hay just fished baling.

 

[dixiedrifter]

Did it belong to someone else that was baling your hay for you?

I had a neighbor who was baling a few years ago & he finished parked the equipment got in his truck & drove off. He said when he got to the house he looked back & could see smoke. By the time he got back to the equipment it was too late. He lost his tractor, baler & part of the field & rolls of hay just fished baling.

The baler belonged to a friend. We work together getting each others hay up. I usually do the cutting and raking as my Kubota is easier on fuel, he does the baling part. The baler itself had seen much better days... it was a 1986 model Vermeer 504G with a lot of wear and tear. We had been having trouble with one of the drive chains wanting to jump off earlier in the day and noticed that the baler didn't seem to want to "spin up" as easily as it normally does. Kinda hard to tell when your running it off a 1086.

That's the thing with round balers that I don't like. You can have a bearing go down and not know it until you see smoke. By then it's too late.

 

[bigbull338]

sounds like that baler blew a bearing when it caught on fire.but old or new balers you hate to see a baler fire.your right bad bearings are sometimes hard to find on a baler.weve got a heat gun to check for hot bearing on a baler.

 

[Tx Jim]

3 very important things to have when rd baling are water fire extinguisher with "fire out" installed in it,laser thermometer to check brgs and insurance. One thing in common about rd balers is they all have the capability of catching on fire no matter what the brand(color). Local custom baler burn't 4 balers in 2 yrs. As previously stated common fire cause is a faulty brg.

 

[Texasmark]

3 very important things to have when rd baling are water fire extinguisher with "fire out" installed in it,laser thermometer to check brgs and insurance. One thing in common about rd balers is they all have the capability of catching on fire no matter what the brand(color). Local custom baler burn't 4 balers in 2 yrs. As previously stated common fire cause is a faulty brg.

Great idea on the thermometer. I use mine for quite a few things and they are very handy and accurate. For those reading, Harbor Freight sells them and they are a great buy. I had been checking them with my hand in the past. I think I paid $30 for my last one. It has a laser pointer you can turn on or off, but the viewing area is printed on it. It's conical so the smaller the surface to be measured the closer you need to be.

So, if the combustible hay product is not in the baler, unless its in a wad like on the rear of the JD gate, as long as the belt is rotating it disperses the heat. Once stopped, the belt sitting on the bad roller overheats and starts the fire....ya think?

Mark

 

[Tx Jim]

The baler that I had catch on fire and burn up was caused by hot brg catching hay on fire. I thought I had the fire extinguished 3 times then I ran out of water in the extinguisher that's when a belt catch fire and I disconnected tractor to save it.