Fire Prevention

TS227-UN-15APR13

To reduce the risk of fire, follow these guidelines, especially in dry crop conditions:

• Equip the mower-conditioner with a water-type fire extinguisher. Large capacity water fire extinguishers are recommended because application of water can cool hot parts to prevent a fire. (See Attachments section.)
• Keep foreign material (crop, chaff material, etc.) from building up on the machine near potentially hot areas, such as bearings. Remove this buildup as part of the regular service operations.
• Avoid high pressure power-washing adjacent to the bearings to prevent damaging seals.
• Check bearings regularly for early signs of failure replace as necessary. (See your John Deere dealer.)
• If noticeable changes in machine performance occur which might indicate a part is beginning to fail, stop cutting/conditioning immediately and investigate the cause of any sounds, smells, or sights which are unusual.
• Use extreme care if it is necessary to park a mower-conditioner in a field of dry crop or stubble. Whenever possible, park machine on bare ground or in an area surrounded by bare ground. Before leaving a mower-conditioner which has been operating, verify there are no areas which are hot enough to start a fire.
• If service operations require using a welder, cutting torch or grinder on the mower-conditioner, refer to FIRE PREVENTION in Service section for guidelines which may prove useful in preventing a fire.
• Use extreme care when smoking around the mower-conditioner.