Not a good start to the day

NEIADan · Sep 17, 2015

This is what I found in the field this morning at 6:30.. I had baled til 10 pm last night and spent 45 minutes loading the truck before coming home nothing unusual. Went back TO THE FIELD, 12 MILES away this morning to get the last bales before rain and had this surprise.

Hank ABAB · Sep 17, 2015

Hope you had insurance!
Do you suspect arson?

David G · Sep 17, 2015

That thought crossed my mind.

NEIADan · Sep 17, 2015

I dont think arson. Insurance company thinks tractor wiring. I suspect a hot bearing on the baler. just considering the wind and heat flow.

Rick Kr · Sep 17, 2015

Nobody around driving past to call the FD or anything? Stop at a neighboring house?

I cant believe someone would light it up, but you never know now days.

Let us know what you find out.

Rick

dgasper · Sep 17, 2015

Now that is about as sucky as it gets.

shaun wallace · Sep 17, 2015

You didn't leave a roll it did you.

ray hofstetter · Sep 17, 2015

I'm no arson investigator, but if it spread from one piece of equipment to the other wouldn't the paint be burned off the hitch?

old · Sep 17, 2015

Was the baler empty or did it still have a bale in it?? I know I NEVER leave a round bale in my baler and do a walk around when I park it and check for hot spots

David G · Sep 17, 2015

Whatever it was HOT.

Cory Schmidt · Sep 17, 2015

Not necessarily. The fire could of traveled down hydraulic or electric lines, across the ground through the chaff/stubble, or jumped when something (like tires) blew. Then lost fuel/ was put out before burning off the rest of the paint.

Note there is still paint on the one wheel and the tractor steps and that side of the baler is cooked thoroughly as well.

jon f mn · Sep 17, 2015

That's ugly! Hope your insured.

wvfarmboy · Sep 17, 2015

my heart goes out to u friend i been there had that to happen .had that to happen last year balled 10 acres of second cutting backed balor and tractor in shed around 230 and around 5 had a heck of a fire lost all 3 big tractors all my hay eq and no insurance. now i am a year older and 5 yars deeper in debt .i learned buy insurance and leave tractor out side for at least 3 hours before puting in in shed.

Traditional Farmer · Sep 17, 2015

Hard to see how its not arson.

oldtanker · Sep 17, 2015

That is hard to deal with even with insurance. My BIL got stuck and while he was waiting for my nephew to get there with another tractor his AC tractor started burning. Cause was faulty wiring. He had good insurance. He said it was the most helpless feeling he ever had standing there, cell phone in hand on 911 and watching it burn. Took the volunteer fire department 14 minutes to respond and the firs was burning itself out as they arrived.

Hope everything works out for you.

Rick

NEIADan · Sep 17, 2015

I fortunately have replacement coverage insurance. I am sure glad I wasnt close to home and just drove into the hay shed for the night. Cant imagine what a 1000 big squares and 250 round bales could have heated. We had strong winds most of the night so it is easy to conclude that the burning rubber belts and tires would have torched anything within a few feet to catch the tires. I had two other tractors and the big square baler and bale trailers all sitting in the same area no issues.

Tom OConnor · Sep 17, 2015

Dan,
Those pictures are almost sickening. I was trying to tell which model of tractor it was. MFWD indicates a 50 series or newer and after-cooler says it must be 4450 or larger. I am retiring from farming this year and have a real nice 4850 MFWD for sale that would make a good replacement. If you would have any interest just call or e-mail me at 810-655-4859. [email protected] Sure sorry for your loss but thankful no one was hurt. There is a lot of replacement machinery out there.

donjr · Sep 17, 2015

I kind of agree with you. The burn pattern suggests the wind was coming from behind, and the fire started in the baler and moved towards the tractor in the grass and beyond. Sure is a good way to ruin a day......

fixerupper · Sep 17, 2015

Sorry for your loss. Even with insurance the financial loss can set a person back quite a ways. I hope everything turns out OK for you.

2x4 · Sep 17, 2015

That's been known to happen on some hydrostatic tractors. Sometime after its parked, an oil line bursts & sprays oil over a hot engine part or wiring, which shorts it out. Guy I knew shut down for the day & went home. Some hours later noticed smoke on the horizon. Drove back there but it was already gone.

chuck from neb · Sep 17, 2015

good friend of mines baler burned up...he went to replace a pickup tooth while baling went and looked at it ..then went to the toolbox on the side of the tractor and he heard a big poof ..and his baler was in flames ..did not get the tractor ..was a case ih baler

37chief · Sep 17, 2015

I guess that is about as bad as it can get. One good thing you weren't there to get hurt. Stan

RodinNS · Sep 17, 2015

I've been looking at the pics now for 15 min.... and the more I look the more questions I get...
Was this a yellow baler or is the hitch just burned and rusted already? I would be more inclined to think the origin is the tractor... or possibly two separate origins. The burn patterns don't make a lot of sense, especially with the hay that's left laying around...

Rod

sotxbill · Sep 17, 2015

had to have left a bale in the baler. Thats a NO NO.

black · Sep 17, 2015

Holy cow !! that looks scary . My brother had his 3/4 ton dodge cummins stolen about 9 years ago . Found it in a gulley burnt just like that , the officials said someone dumped fuel/gas on the surface and lit it up . Good luck with your settlement , hoping for the best .

Larry --ont.

phil_n · Sep 17, 2015

How come the hay around the back wheels of the baler isn't burnt?

Gary in NY · Sep 17, 2015

]Wow. It got hot. Glad it wasn't in the barn.

Mike M · Sep 18, 2015

I can just see the For Sale ad. Ran when parked !

Sorry for your loss. I hope you don't have another mess over insurance.

lenray · Sep 18, 2015

Just a perspective---My doc. told me yesterday that I have kidney cancer. Sorry for your loss................

WI Dan · Sep 18, 2015

Sorry for your loss NEIA Dan. That's a shame.

J.Wondergem · Sep 18, 2015

Looking at the ground, it looks to me like the wind was coming from the back of the baler towards the front if the tractor. So I'm guessing it started at the baler. I still can't believe nobody saw the fire as big as it was. That had to be a red glow in the sky at night for a while. Maybe nobody lives a few miles around there?

dr sportster · Sep 18, 2015

And " ran when parked " is rewally an honest descri[pion in this case. . After all it ran when he parked.

dr sportster · Sep 18, 2015

Any ideas as to the cause of the fire ?

Angle Iron · Sep 18, 2015

(quoted from post at 07:23:35 09/18/15) Just a perspective---My doc. told me yesterday that I have kidney cancer. Sorry for your loss................

hope all goes well with the treatment. It is a survivable thing but not pleasant news.

Married2Allis · Sep 18, 2015

I'm no Sherlock Holmes but it kind of looks like arson because of the way the grass is burned, like there was fuel all over the ground around it. You don't see scorched grass from the heat like you might if the the grass was dry when the tractor burned. The grass around is black like it was soaked with fuel before it burned. Also unless someone tried to extinguish it, the ground and grass looks damp. Unusual for wet grass to burn that far away.

JimIA · Sep 18, 2015

Sorry for you loss, that is my worst nightmare.

NEIADan · Sep 18, 2015

Yes you are right. I am still enjoying health. My prayers go out to you. I only have a pile of rubber and plastic to replace.

NEIADan · Sep 18, 2015

Funny the grass is wet and there is hay behind the baler. I bet the fire department had finished hosing it off less than 5 minutes before pics were taken. It is agreed
by the insurance company that there was no suspected arson. Burn patterns are consistent with the wind direction and the theory that the fire started from the baler.
This area is isolated with no residents within in a mile and a half. Campers were 3/4 mile up wind and did not have a straight view with trees. Also it happened after
10:45 pm and before 6:30 on a windy heavily clouded night in a dark valley.

RodinNS · Sep 18, 2015

Has anyone reconciled why the baler tires burned to the ground yet there is hay almost right up to the wheels?

Rod

lenray · Sep 18, 2015

Thank you for your Prayers---I wasn't making lite-light of your large loss ,but you have shown your business skills by being fully insured.

Not a good start to the day

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