# Baler Fire



## belezar (Jun 27, 2012)

Howdy all. New to forum. I bought my first round baler for a new property and got a JD 567 which was in excellent condition, so it appeared. I have used it about 250 bales and it caught fire yesterday. I have not seen it yet but the top roller had flames coming out I heard. Anyone hear of this? Comments on the 567? A bummer in many ways...


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

belezar said:


> Howdy all. New to forum. I bought my first round baler for a new property and got a JD 567 which was in excellent condition, so it appeared. I have used it about 250 bales and it caught fire yesterday. I have not seen it yet but the top roller had flames coming out I heard. Anyone hear of this? Comments on the 567? A bummer in many ways...


Sorry to hear of your misfortune, but yes this happens and it very likely was caused by a seized bearing. If you can get it going and it was caused by a bearing, it would be a good idea to replace all of the roller bearings. Good Luck.

Regards, Mike


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

Hope that's all that got burnt, one bearing.
I've heard about it enough when I bought my 530 I also went & purchased a no-contact thermometer. That way I don't have to crawl all over the baler to feel if a bearing is running hot. Also mounted a water pressure fire extinguisher on the tractor so I'd have it with any equipment I was running.


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## Colby (Mar 5, 2012)

Yeah it's a bearing. Sure is disappointing but it happens more often than you think.


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## rhh1127 (Sep 7, 2011)

_lucky if just bearing I lost a8460 case last year in 10 minutes from first smoke to totaled_


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## stonegrownllc (Jul 31, 2011)

JD balers seem to catch on fire, at least where I live. I know of at least three.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

stonegrownllc said:


> JD balers seem to catch on fire, at least where I live. I know of at least three.


Strange, I've had three NH balers and never had a fire.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

stonegrownllc said:


> JD balers seem to catch on fire, at least where I live. I know of at least three.


Strange, I have had three John Deere balers and I have never had a fire.....although I did watch a neighbors hesston burn last year. I do try to keep an eye on my bearings about heat generated.

Regards, Mike


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## Iowa hay guy (Jul 29, 2010)

i have heard of a lot of fires and the color dont matter they can all burn but in our area the common factor was the automatic chain oiler

i guess in the newer balers its a bad thing
and by newer i mean 2002 and up


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Have you heard any explanation of what is happening with the chain oilers to cause these fires?

Regards, Mike


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Iowa hay guy said:


> i have heard of a lot of fires and the color dont matter they can all burn but in our area the common factor was the automatic chain oiler
> 
> i guess in the newer balers its a bad thing
> and by newer i mean 2002 and up


Do tell. I have the automatic oiler on mine and wouldn't own another baler without it.


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

There are 3 bearings on 567 balers to watch carefully. Both front top roller bearings and the main drive bearing coming from the right angle drive on the left side of the baler. Ignore them at your peril. I run auto oilers, hot chains cause fires too.


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## CockrellHillFarms (Aug 30, 2011)

I caught my 567 on fire about 2 weeks ago. The main drive bearing/house was totally shot. Couldn't hear it from the cab. I even checked everything before I started baling. I usually open the back cab window every so often to listen to it run. For some reason those things run so tight that I cant hear bearings going out. The only way to check them that I know of is with a heat gun. Let it run for 30 mins and hit the bearings or rollers with a heat gun. I got lucky. Of course at the time I didnt have my fire extinguisher in my tractor. I happened to be baling East West with the wind blowing due west. Fire started in the door and fell on the ground into the windrow. Windrow and baler on fire. Stomped out what I could and ran to the nearest house. Got their bobcat and put the fire out (some how). It was roaring by the time I got back. Only lost about 200 ft of a windrow. Now that is lucky! Last year had one of the top roller bearings go out. Started on fire but it was isolated to just that spot with a little netwrap. Burnt two belts. But not as bad as this time. Make sure you have fire extinguishers with u! I've seen two neighbors loose tractors and balers both time. Totally burnt.


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## TheFastMan_2 (May 25, 2012)

Wow, scary stuff. My Krone has about a million small bearing for the chain and that kind of worries me. I think I will invest in a heat gun and some fire extinguishers now for sure. I've been kind of putting it off. Last year we had a scare with our 520. My brother pulled it back to the field to bale and I was behind him with the truck and trailer and all of a sudden I see smoke rolling off the tractor. Got close and turned the tractor off. We had been having electrical issues with it and apparently didn't solve them all. Turned out the wire coming back from the generator had worn through. We actual got the tractor started again and baled the hole field before the battery went dead and we couldn't start it.


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## Iowa hay guy (Jul 29, 2010)

from what ive been hearing is a bearing goes our and you raise the tailgate and it squirts hot oil into it and poof
i know of three deere balers models 566 and 567 that burnt this way

they barely had enough time to jump out and pull the pin to drive away one guy got burned pretty bad


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Iowa hay guy said:


> from what ive been hearing is a bearing goes our and you raise the tailgate and it squirts hot oil into it and poof
> i know of three deere balers models 566 and 567 that burnt this way
> 
> they barely had enough time to jump out and pull the pin to drive away one guy got burned pretty bad


Is this the automatic chain oiler or an auto greaser? My auto chain oiler the oil goes to a brush that just contacts the chain, shouldn't ever be squirting teh bearings unless you have a busted hose.


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## jturbo10 (Feb 28, 2011)

I bought two of the non-contact heat guns when I was grain farming for the combines. I was also cautious of combine fires in wheat and even soybeans. Ran the combine for about 20-30 minutes and then used the gun to check out the big bearings etc. Had a fan bearing go out that was under sheetmetal and it did not get scoped but I happened to hear it squealing when I opened the cab door. You can even shut down the machine and do a quick scope to check out bearings. Sounds like round balers are even more volatile than combines. I always use an airgun to daily clean out my equipment, especially under dusty, dry, and low humidity conditions. Residue buildup around mufflers, exhaust pipes, manifolds, etc can catch on fire easily. Fire extinguishers are a must for sure. 
Haven't had any major fires but I won't spend much time fighting the fire as that is why I got insurance. One of my renters once caught on fire working under a Case-IH axial combine that was leaking fuel. Luckily he survived the burns in a hospital, even caught his beard on fire.


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## Hand&Hand Farms (Feb 5, 2011)

Well as Captain for Meridian FD, Newton County Fire Coordinator and a hay farmer the 2 and half water gallon water extiquisher with a splash of dishwashing soap can be your best friend and they are cheap. We have one the balers and trucks. Saved several balers with them. If you bale much may at all you will have a fire sooner or later.


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## Iowa hay guy (Jul 29, 2010)

you know i must be lucky cuz ive been doing this for 21 years and i have only had one baler fire and i took the chaff that was flaming up and pulled it out with my hands and stomped on it problem solved but it was our fault we put in a new roller and didnt shim it and it rubbed on the side of the baler and got it hot and the chaff caught fire but i smelled it smoldering and stopped to check other than that i ran a bearing out my first day baling hay when i was 13 but it landed on the twine box on the vermeer j we had and didnt have any stuff to burn


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