Simple modification helping stop header fires

The sharp increase in harvester fires is being attributed in part to greater plantings of pulse crops, with the vast majority of reported fires occurring while harvesting pulses such as lentils, vetch and chickpeas.

Theories are that the pulse dust creates static electricity which causes the dust to be attracted to hot metal components of the harvester, such as the manifold or exhaust, where it then ignites.

After witnessing a nearby harvester fire while contracting in the Mallee, Banyena, east of Minyip in Victoria, brothers Jack and Frank Burchell decided the risk of a fire needed to be managed.

“We just wanted something simple that could reduce the risk of a fire and we felt the best way of doing this was by coming up with something that kept the dust away from the hot spots,” Jack said.

Together with the team at Horsham Hydraulics they came up with a fan system that works in a similar way to those used on air-seeders that was then fitted on their Case IH header

“We went in to the local Case dealership, O’Connors in Horsham, and worked with the Horsham Hydraulics team to get an air seeder fan running off a hydraulic motor with pipes running to create six ports over hot spots and problem areas and just got the fans to blow the dust off,” Jack said.

Hoses are blowing air onto key hot spots around the muffler, turbo manifold, exhaust and battery as well as around the feeder house toi prevent trash build-up.

“So far, it seems to be working really well – it gives you that peace of mind when harvesting pulse crops on a hot day.”

Richard Nagorcka, Horsham Hydraulics, said his business had been involved in fitting around ten harvesters of various makes and models with the fan system to date.

“We have managed to get something set up on all the machines although thing are in different positions, not just from make to make but even from model to model.”

Jack said the system was relatively cheap to install.

“When you weigh it up with the cost of a harvester, or of a unharvested paddock of lentils, the chaser bin or whatever it is very cheap.”

As well as the fan system, he has also put increased shielding around the hot spots.

David and Cathie Weidemann of Burrum, east of Rupanyup, are one set of farmers to install the unit.

“There were around four fires in five days just in our local area alone, we felt we needed to cut the risk,” Cathie said.

The issue of header fires is one grain industry officials want to combat.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) are working on projects, such as pre-harvest safety workshops, to cut the incidence of harvester fires.

Kondinin Group research reveals that on average, about seven per cent of harvesters per year will start a fire. In these cases, one in 10 will cause significant damage to the machine or surrounding crop.