All Time Baling Record?

[redman135]

Personally, no. However a neighbours shed burned due to damp hay. They had a choice, bale damp and green and risk fire or get drowned for the next three days. The forecast turned out to be right. BUT they lost the gamble as the hay cooked up and caught fire and destroyed the shed(1/2 round steel frame/corrugated iron cladding). At least there was only 400 bale in there. The shed could take 1200 bales.

 

[Tx Jim]

--- In the meantime... have any of you ever had a fire that you were pretty sure came from wet/spontaneous combustion of bales?

I've heard of hay burning from spontaneous combustion but since I utilize a moisture tester and refuse to bale any hay that's much over 15% moisture fires by spontaneous combustion aren't happening here.

 

[hawkeye08]

Yes, growing up. we had neighbors loose haystacks of hay baled too green or too wet.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I have heard of it, but never witnessed actual flames. Had to unload some wet stuff that was so hot I couldn't touch the pitch fork when I was done. We used to bale ALOT of mulch hay for reclamation work and anytime we baled wet, there was a 6 gallon bucket of salt that got alot of use. I have picked up bales that were so heavy with hay and moisture that the strings exploded before I could take a step or two. Never did make much lighter than a 70lb bale though IIRC. And I know very well what a traditional 50lb bale of hay feels like.

 

[vsteel]

Little squares you can bale pretty wet, you just can't stack them wet. Big rounds and loose needs to be really dry or it will catch fire.

We baled little squares while it still had plenty of moisture in the hay, we did it to keep the leaves on the alfalfa, we would then let it sit in the bale and dry in the field. Dry land crop so no hurry to get the bales off of the field, one cutting is all we would be getting.