Risk of fire with DD

[Alistair Nelson]

Random one I know but having lost 150 acres of straw early in harvest with sparks off a small bale sledge, we were going to DD in with our disc coulterbar some cover crops ahead of the rain next week and then suddenly my operator said what about the risk of sparks of the discs when they hit flints. Never thought of it till this year what are other peoples thoughts?

Alistair

 

[powerontheland]

Slow down???

 

[tw15]

Go slow and have a cultivator out with you and may be a sprayer ,It may be better to drill after this thunder has passed if more rain latter is due .

 

[Courier]

Random one I know but having lost 150 acres of straw early in harvest with sparks off a small bale sledge, we were going to DD in with our disc coulterbar some cover crops ahead of the rain next week and then suddenly my operator said what about the risk of sparks of the discs when they hit flints. Never thought of it till this year what are other peoples thoughts?

Alistair

Have a siesta and do the drilling out of the worst of the heat - any fire will show up quicker in the dark anyway.

 

[Kevtherev]

Drilling would be very low risk I would think ?
Compared to combine or baler that is

 

[sjt01]

For us the risk of drilling into dry soil, then having enough moisture to chit the seed before another dry spell, stops us drilling before even considering fire risk.

 

[Alistair Nelson]

We’ve sat on our hands but interestingly with in half an hour of writing this last night a neighbour started a small fire straw harrowing nothing serious but makes you think

 

[Hesstondriver]

start on the parts of the farm with the worst black grass , (having conveniently cultivated around them first )

 

[Danllan]

Random one I know but having lost 150 acres of straw early in harvest with sparks off a small bale sledge, we were going to DD in with our disc coulterbar some cover crops ahead of the rain next week and then suddenly my operator said what about the risk of sparks of the discs when they hit flints. Never thought of it till this year what are other peoples thoughts?

Alistair

No experience of it over here, despite being on flint in the Chilterns as a kid, but in Zim... in some cases we had to work when the ground was driest. No flint there, but still occasional sparks from hitting quartz and, very rarely, something from machines. As @Courier wrote above, you'll see more of sparks in the dark, but less of the work... If possible, we'd start when there was dew on the ground.

But a 'fire' really isn't a big deal if you get to it quickly. You don't need to have a bowser following all the work done all the time. Just have one a hundred yards away and a jerry of water on the working vehicle for immediate use. Douse anything you see and then circle it with the bowser.

Anyway, the risk is pretty slight - if you want to convince yourself of this, sit down with a flint and a bit of steel and do your best to try and start a fire. You'll get there, eventually, but the time and effort taken should reassure you that it's a remote possibility rather than a significant probability.

 

[hollister]

OP states in both posts of fires that have occurred due to machinery and flint. I think his worries are valid? But as you say, containment is key

 

[Courier]

No experience of it over here, despite being on flint in the Chilterns as a kid, but in Zim... in some cases we had to work when the ground was driest. No flint there, but still occasional sparks from hitting quartz and, very rarely, something from machines. As @Courier wrote above, you'll see more of sparks in the dark, but less of the work... If possible, we'd start when there was dew on the ground.

But a 'fire' really isn't a big deal if you get to it quickly. You don't need to have a bowser following all the work done all the time. Just have one a hundred yards away and a jerry of water on the working vehicle for immediate use. Douse anything you see and then circle it with the bowser.

Anyway, the risk is pretty slight - if you want to convince yourself of this, sit down with a flint and a bit of steel and do your best to try and start a fire. You'll get there, eventually, but the time and effort taken should reassure you that it's a remote possibility rather than a significant probability.

Of course back in the good old days of straw burning the first operation after the combine was to clear the headland of straw by baling and then round with a chisel plough or preferably heavy discs to create a fire break wether or not the straw was to be burned .

If the order of the day was to burn the straw then after informing the local fire brigade then the fire would be started against the wind to widen the fire break - the preferred method was to bring out a T20 or 135 with a steel belted radial tyre behind on a longish chain and pour a couple of pints of petrol into the tyre before chucking a match in there and driving back and forth across the swaths dropping lumps of flaming rubber to widen the firebreak further.

 

[E_B]

I'm not doing anything at the moment. Would like to flail some verges but not worth the risk, I would also like to run over a couple of fields with an ultra mulcher at speed. I wouldn't risk straw harrowing either. Perhaps on an overcast day I'd consider it.

 

[wurzell1976]

Random one I know but having lost 150 acres of straw early in harvest with sparks off a small bale sledge, we were going to DD in with our disc coulterbar some cover crops ahead of the rain next week and then suddenly my operator said what about the risk of sparks of the discs when they hit flints. Never thought of it till this year what are other peoples thoughts?

Alistair

I have had sparks from the stubble rake,but not drilled cover crops yet as my drill is likely to smash every window in the cab as hard as it is.

 

[willyorkshire]

Random one I know but having lost 150 acres of straw early in harvest with sparks off a small bale sledge, we were going to DD in with our disc coulterbar some cover crops ahead of the rain next week and then suddenly my operator said what about the risk of sparks of the discs when they hit flints. Never thought of it till this year what are other peoples thoughts?

Alistair

Raked all our stubbles on land much flintier than yours. No issues, had tanker in field though! Just bad luck Alistair.

 

[snarling bee]

We've started fires with a moledrainer on bare fallow, burning the dead volunteers and BG. Its dry out there!

 

[Farmer Roy]

Err

we are a much hotter & drier environment

zero till is also the standard / default farming system here

we don’t have an issue . . .

 

[Courier]

Err

we are a much hotter & drier environment

zero till is also the standard / default farming system here

we don’t have an issue . . .

Maybe there is less combustible trash where DD is taking place in Aus - - (Don’s tin hat)

 

[Farmer Roy]

Maybe there is less combustible trash where DD is taking place in Aus - - (Don’s tin hat)

you try 40 C days, strong winds & less than 10% humidity, for weeks or even months on end . . .

 

[Courier]

you try 40 C days, strong winds & less than 10% humidity, for weeks or even months on end . . .

Would that affect the amounts of combustible material ?

Would Aus farmers create firebreaks as routine ?

(Just throwing in the thought to create discussion)

 

[Farmer Roy]

Would that affect the amounts of combustible material ?

Would Aus farmers create firebreaks as routine ?

(Just throwing in the thought to create discussion)

the risk of fire is GREATLY influenced by heat & humidity

you can have all the combustible material in the world, but if its damp & cold it wont burn









and for the record, we have more than enough combustible material to burn.

a stubble fire here is a frightening experience