Misfitmorgan's - Babies 2020

I stack about 100 tons of hay per year for 50 years, so what do I know. I always stack the bales onto wooden pallets and always leave about 2 inches of air space between the bales. I stack between `10-`15 bales high. I have a metal roof over my barn, so during high humidity / fog in the winter, moisture condences onto the roof bottom and then drips onto the hay below, so I always cover the hay stack with a plastic cover . If you stack the bales directly onto the ground inside the barn, moisture will wic up into the hay then Mold grows and / or starts to ferment when the hay gets wet and possibly spontaneously cumbust. I have seen 3 barns burn down in Cal. over the years. The latest was an open sided barn last fall in Ore. after 3 weeks from the last rain due to one side getting wet , then fermentation followed by spontaneous combustion . 30,000 bales and the structure burned down to the ground. I would hate to see this happen to anyone.
 
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Boss... you just said the cause was NOT the stacking of the hay but the moisture...that's the same thing that everyone else has already stated. Everyone is saying the "same" thing but coming from different directions. Yes, if you tightly stack over wet hay, it can combust. If your tightly staked hay gets overly wet, it can combust. But to state that the stacking of the hay is the issue, would be incorrect. Hay has been stacked for centuries. Fires have also occurred for centuries. But NOT to every stack, and not because it was stacked.

I think maybe we can move on from this? :idunno
 
Of course it was the doeling. it is always the one you want to keep, or your favorite, while the worst POS you have leads a charmed life. :he I couldn't like that post either. I really hope she is ok, and Phoebe will take her back.
 
Bossroo said:
I stack about 100 tons of hay per year for 50 years, so what do I know. I always stack the bales onto wooden pallets and always leave about 2 inches of air space between the bales. I stack between `10-`15 bales high. I have a metal roof over my barn, so during high humidity / fog in the winter, moisture condences onto the roof bottom and then drips onto the hay below, so I always cover the hay stack with a plastic cover . If you stack the bales directly onto the ground inside the barn, moisture will wic up into the hay then Mold grows and / or starts to ferment when the hay gets wet and possibly spontaneously cumbust. I have seen 3 barns burn down in Cal. over the years. The latest was an open sided barn last fall in Ore. after 3 weeks from the last rain due to one side getting wet , then fermentation followed by spontaneous combustion . 30,000 bales and the structure burned down to the ground. I would hate to see this happen to anyone.
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Perhaps there wasn't enough detail earlier on in the discussion. Mine are stacked on pallets, per Al's recommendation (and like you he's been haying for decades, probably 6 of them starting with helping his dad) so their is air underneath. The pallets are on the wooden drive bay floor.

I don't have space between my bales, are you talking about space between them horizontally or vertically? That would be a lot of pallets if vertically. I don't get humidity dripping off the roof nor any leaks (at least where the hay is) but my hay is covered with a breathable fabric to keep the wild birds from pooping on the hay from above.
 
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