Round Bales Spontaneous Combustion

Help Support CattleToday:

mnmtranching

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
5,061
Reaction score
2
Location
MN
I understand that this could be possible. Some CT members sound like this is a real threat.
I would like to know who has actually seen it. Not hearsay or BS.
I have been around some hay and been in hay country. I have not seen it or heard of it. And I asked my hay supplier who has several trucks and drivers and these guys have seen some hay. Nope, never heard of a big round bale spontaneously combust.
 
Never seen it, but I've seen some really hot hay. Confine it and place pressure upon it, and it could lead to a bad situation. Why take the chance?
 
I've personally seen a couple barns go up from wet hay, but never seen a bale go up in the field. I've unrolled some that was too hot to put your finger in very long, steamed like crazy when it was rolled out.
 
Have seen two large barns burn because of high moisture hay. One full of round bales the other filled with 4x8 squares....same guy cut and baled them both. One barn was his and the other was his father in laws.
 
Have seen it plenty both with big rounds and small squares. My dad unrolled one this winter that looked ok on the outside and the entire inside was charred, not rotten. We lose about one barn a year around here from wet bales in the haymow.
 
TexasBred":1895ouw0 said:
Have seen two large barns burn because of high moisture hay. One full of round bales the other filled with 4x8 squares....same guy cut and baled them both. One barn was his and the other was his father in laws.

I bet his name was "Mr. Popular" with his father in law... :dunce:
 
My forage mentor had a neighbor who would cut it one day and bale the next. His rolls would literally steam off as they cooked. Though my mentor was a forage researcher at the coastal plains experiment station he could not convince this man that this was not a good practice. Man said this is how he had always done it and his cows ate it just fine. I asked him this same question and he said he had never seen his rolls ignite. So I guess if anyone's would ignite it would have been this fellas so I have to conclude it is highly unlikely to happen if they are not stacked. Of course spontaneous human combustion is known to happen but it is highly unlikely to happen to you or me. JMO
 
I have seen it once on single bales and numerous times when hay was stacked together either in a field or a barn
the one incident in the field happened 3 yrs ago a guy mowed hay the same day I did on a monday he baled his tuesday afternoon wednesday afternoon he had 2 bales in the field on fire

my hay that I cut the same day wasn't ready to bale til thursday of the same week

I have also seen hay that they move off of the field as soon as it is baled and stack it tightly end to end at the edge of the field ignite

As for barns burning I have seen a couple the worst one was about 25 yrs ago and I was hauling hay a guy had over 1000 bales of alfalfa baled when we went to haul them you could barely pick them up and when you layed them on the wooded floor of a flatbed truck and then moved them they would leave a moisture spot on the wood, I refuse to haul them or put them in the barn the guy got mad and said he would haul them himself he did and 2 or 3 days later his barn, a tractor and a square baler all burnt to the ground from the hay
 
Angus Cowman":3bd79gvq said:
I refuse to haul them or put them in the barn the guy got mad and said he would haul them himself he did and 2 or 3 days later his barn, a tractor and a square baler all burnt to the ground from the hay

Though I know this was a terrible thing to happen and I wouldn't wish this on anyone (well maybe I could name one or two) BUT deep down insided didn't you get a little kick out of it burning and I bet you wanted to tell him, I TOLD YOU SO! :nod:

AC, what kind of humidity do ya'll typically have? Just wondering.
 
If you pile a half dozen steaming bales together tight, four on bottom, two on top...they will go up in smoke. Never seen it happen as we never have baled anything remotely damp, and neighbours are quick to spread their bales if they start steaming. Some people have lost sheds and barns to it though. Too much airflow on a truck and trailer. You need a tight area with reduced windflow, like with small squares in a loft, or in a secluded forest hay field with little wind and tightly packed bales. :cowboy:
 
grannysoo":37hovcyn said:
TexasBred":37hovcyn said:
Have seen two large barns burn because of high moisture hay. One full of round bales the other filled with 4x8 squares....same guy cut and baled them both. One barn was his and the other was his father in laws.

I bet his name was "Mr. Popular" with his father in law... :dunce:

:lol2: :lol2: Father in law was a dairyman so he just started putting up grass silage instead of hay.
 
Well OK, I'm convinced. But another thing, storing hay inside is to minimize waste right? So if hay is green/wet enough to heat to combustion it's spoiling badly, it's going to be crap. Why take up shed space with spoiled hay? putting up wet hay is one thing but trying to preserve it by shedding it, just isn't rational. Let it sit outside, let it heat in the wind and sun.
Back in the years that we had Summer rain :roll: I put up plenty of high moisture hay, I let the bales squat in the field, sure didn't worry about getting them inside.
 
Jogeephus":1siavl8h said:
Angus Cowman":1siavl8h said:
I refuse to haul them or put them in the barn the guy got mad and said he would haul them himself he did and 2 or 3 days later his barn, a tractor and a square baler all burnt to the ground from the hay

Though I know this was a terrible thing to happen and I wouldn't wish this on anyone (well maybe I could name one or two) BUT deep down insided didn't you get a little kick out of it burning and I bet you wanted to tell him, I TOLD YOU SO! :nod:

AC, what kind of humidity do ya'll typically have? Just wondering.
we have typically 90% humidity or above all summer Jo
 
In all the years I have round baled I have had one bale catch on fire in the field and it wasn't from green hay.
I have no idea why that bale caught fire, since then I always let it sit in the field three or four days before putting it up.
 
Caustic Burno":3exb86o4 said:
In all the years I have round baled I have had one bale catch on fire in the field and it wasn't from green hay.
I have no idea why that bale caught fire, since then I always let it sit in the field three or four days before putting it up.
just read an article about this written by Eldon Cole from MSU ext and he said hay baled at optimium moisture will still heat for upto 7 days hay that is 4% higher in moisture will build almost twice as much heat
 
Lost a barn with 200 5 X 5 rolls the day before Thanksgiving 8 years ago. The hay had been in the barn for 2 weeks after setting in the field for 7 days before it caught fire.
 

Latest posts

Top