Lack of maintenance

[parts man]

A lot of you saw my "baler woes" thread,, this is what could easily have happened if we hadn't replaced those bearings.
http://chowntractorparts.com/salvagepictures/ih8430-2.jpg

http://chowntractorparts.com/salvagepictures/ih8430-3.jpg
This baler is the same model as ours, it burned on Sunday because a worn out bearing over heated and caught the belts on fire. We bought it on Wednesday for parts. The previous owners are out about $12K! :fing20:

[draddogs]

PM, just amazing what people do to machinery. No grease = fire in the baler. What a waste of money to let things go and not take care of... Glad that you got yours all repaired. Couldn't imagine throwing out 12,000 like that.

[guest]

That's too bad. Did the owner have insurance that covered the loss? If not; I can imagine the devastating hit in his wallet and operating budget. Hope nobody was hurt.

[parts man]

Ernie, the bearings on the rollers are sealed bearings and are not greaseable, but the rollers are something that should be checked daily so you can find problem bearings before you have this kind of trouble!!

Randy, I don't think they had the baler insured, likely the tractor, but I don't think insurance is availlable for implements. They were VERY fortunate in that they were able to get the tractor unhitched before the fire got to it as well, and the fire department waas about 1/4 mile form the fire scene. The firemen (volunteer) were able to get the fire contained quickly before the whole hayfield went up, and the fire spread to nearby houses and/or the forest.
The owners manual recomends haveing a fire extinguisher mounted on the baler, and they did, but it just wasn't enough to contain the blaze.