Sparks from diesel exhaust can and will start wildfires. Years ago, my Dad had one start in the late Spring when he was plowing and it burned more than 10 acres of woods and pasture before the fire department got it controlled. About 15 years ago, I had a little fire start in dry grass, but luckily, I saw it get going and was able to put it out with the front loader. When it is really dry here, in August and September, I hardly use my diesel tractor.
When I was in college, I was a fireman. Every Summer, we would get wildfires caused by diesel locomotives. What we thought was happening was that the locomotives would sit in the yards idling for hours while a train was being assembled, and then that same locomotive would be worked hard accelerating and climbing the grade out of the Spokane Valley. I have seen as many as 20 different small fires along the tracks in the distance of a mile. If the red-hot piece of carbon from the diesel exhaust happens to land on something that will burn, you get a fire. It cost the railroad some money every time it happened, but I really don't remember any big fires getting started that way.
My Ford 641d will pop out little sparks any time it is worked hard. In the daytime, they are hardly visible, but at night, they show up easily. I don't worry much about those little sparks, as they cool down fast enough to not be a problem. The sparks I have had trouble with occur soon after I start working the tractor hard, like plowing or disking after it has not been worked hard for months. Obviously there is quite a bit of carbon buildup in the exhaust system while the tractor is used lightly, and that buildup gets hot and is blasted out when the machine is worked hard for a while. I also have noticed that the diesel tractor seems to run better and have more power after it has been worked hard for a few hours.
I would be real careful about running a diesel tractor hard in extremely dry weather, and for sure if it was windy. A wildfire on a calm day can be scary, a wildfire on a windy day can very quickly get away from you and end up causing all kinds of expensive problems.
Our weather around Spokane appears to have changed to our usual damp, cool Fall season. But last week was another story. It was about as dry as it ever gets here and hot, and I was concerned about the possibility of fire. Hopefully the fire season here is over with about 1/2" of rain the last 2 days. Good luck with your tractor.
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Today's Featured Article - The Nuts and Bolts of Fasteners - Part 2 - by Curtis Von Fange. In our previous article we discussed capscrews, bolts, and nuts along with their relative hardness and thread sizes. In this segment we will finish up on our fasteners and then work with ways to keep them from loosening up in the field. Capscrews, bolts and nuts are not the only means of holding two parts together. When dealing with thinner metals like sheet tin, a long bolt and
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