Mystery Object- Let's See how Much You Know

[trusty220]

Getting colder again!

[hillsider]

How about sampling straw, checking for over heating in the centre of the Stack.

[moggyjim]

giant cheese wheel tester or to stop hay ricks heating when made to green..

[vhgmcbuddy]

Could it be a drain cleaner. On a lighter note how about a long range bulb planter.

[trusty220]

Again, some guesses were getting warm, some wide of the mark. Answer on Saturday night if nobody comes up with it before.
Keep coming up with the ideas!

[vhgmcbuddy]

I looked back to see the answer, so one more try. sluice lock key.

[trusty220]

A little bit overdue but worth the wait.

The object is a boring tool for preventing spontaneous combustion in haystacks- that’s why I said that one or two of you were getting warm.

If the haystack was seen to be heating up (steam coming out of the top, or even smoke) then this borer was taken to the top of the stack and wound down to form a chimney and relieve the heat build-up within the stack. The bottom of the cylindrical piece is sharpened and it’s weight would take it into the stack if the handles were rotated. It would have to be lifted out every couple of feet to empty the cutter, then re-entered into the hole until the whole of the cutter had been inserted. Because it is so heavy you couldn’t use it in a horizontal way, it would have to be vertical.

Of course haystacks don’t normally heat up or catch fire if the hay has been made properly, but if the weather has been wet the farmer wouldn’t have much choice and would have had to make the hay with a higher than normal moisture content. It is then that the problems start with microbes within the stack starting a fermentation process which generates heat to such an extent that some stacks have been known to catch fire.

I hope that sheds a little light on this very interesting device; it certainly gives us an insight into old methods of haymaking.

Thank you all for participating in this little quiz. Maybe someone else would like to test our knowledge with another mystery item? The field is wide open……

[vhgmcbuddy]

Well done Geoff, interesting. Have to count this as one to you.

[wristpin]

Of course haystacks don’t normally heat up or catch fire if the hay has been made properly, but if the weather has been wet the farmer wouldn’t have much choice and would have had to make the hay with a higher than normal moisture content. It is then that the problems start with microbes within the stack starting a fermentation process which generates heat to such an extent that some stacks have been known to catch fire.

Way back when conditions dictated stacking a less than ideal crop the risk of heating was reduced by building the stack with alternate layers of hay and straw. The straw provided ventilation and a “wicking effect” to draw out the moisture.

[hillsider]

As you say, warm but not warm enough.

When we emptied my late fathers shed we unearthed what I beleive to be sampling rod for hay stacks etc it was about 8 feet long with a rope eye at the handle end and a pointed end with a barb like a fish hook at the business end. I no longer have it is in a local collection now so I can’t send a photo.

Re overheating hay stacks one did just that on the farm where I lived as youngster as well as seeing it steaming etc you could smell it warming up before it ignited. I don’t know how it would be dealt with now but back then it was dealt with by one fire crew and the farm hands by dismanting the stack and spreading it over the meadow next to the stack yard where some smouldered away and the rest cooled down, but the smell lingered on for days after the event.
The highlight of the say for us kids was to have our photo taken standing in front of the fire engine.

[trusty220]

That’s the way a lot of farmers used to test for overheating- they used to push a long, pointed steel rod into the centre and it would conduct the heat to the outside.

It’s amazing what memories our club members have when they start to get stirred up! Well done, again, to everyone who had a guess.

Has anyone out there got anything as interesting that they could test our knowledge with?

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