Ingenuity Helps Control Grass Fire
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Dick Hamilton, Arnett, Ok., does a lot of controlled burning of pastures and has found an effective way of building fire guards along fence rows, around corrals, etc. He took a Krause wide-sweep or stubble-mulch plow and moved the blade as far as possible to the rear so dirt can clear the wheels. Then, he added vertical baffles to the sweep so that dirt and trash are shoved aside instead of sliding over the sweep as they do in normal operation. This leaves a clear path with almost nothing in it that will burn. A coulter in the center of the sweep cuts through trash.
The sweep is about 5 ft. wide and is operated at a depth of 1 in. or less. "Even at that depth, it moves a lot of dirt," says Hamilton., "So, you've really got to have those baffles braced well."
Hamilton also added brackets on the frame to support two 555 gal. drums that are filled with sand or water for extra weight. "You've got to have plenty of weight to keep the blade from being pushed aside if you strike a mesquite bush or something like that. Extra weight also keeps the plow from bouncing and helps maintain the right working depth. The frame had weight brackets on it, but they wouldn't hold enough weight so we added the barrels. They do a good job," he says.
The plow is pulled at 4 to 5 mph with a John Deere 3010 tractor. "There's power to spare," says Hamilton.. "You could probably pull it with 35 hp
When he started using the plow, Hamilton says he quickly learned to keep the sweep as level as possible so there's no "v" down the center, or so wings of the sweep don't cut too deep. "Either way, you don't get the trashlo flow right. But if you get it set level, it really does a goo~l job," he points out. "I was using a trail as a fire break and the fire jumped the trail. But I circled it with the plow and quickly had it under control. It won't stop a prairie fire, but you can backfire from it and it does a good job of controlling fire spread."
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Ingenuity Helps Control Grass Fire SECURITY/SAFETY Fire 4-6-6 Dick Hamilton, Arnett, Ok., does a lot of controlled burning of pastures and has found an effective way of building fire guards along fence rows, around corrals, etc. He took a Krause wide-sweep or stubble-mulch plow and moved the blade as far as possible to the rear so dirt can clear the wheels. Then, he added vertical baffles to the sweep so that dirt and trash are shoved aside instead of sliding over the sweep as they do in normal operation. This leaves a clear path with almost nothing in it that will burn. A coulter in the center of the sweep cuts through trash.
The sweep is about 5 ft. wide and is operated at a depth of 1 in. or less. "Even at that depth, it moves a lot of dirt," says Hamilton., "So, you've really got to have those baffles braced well."
Hamilton also added brackets on the frame to support two 555 gal. drums that are filled with sand or water for extra weight. "You've got to have plenty of weight to keep the blade from being pushed aside if you strike a mesquite bush or something like that. Extra weight also keeps the plow from bouncing and helps maintain the right working depth. The frame had weight brackets on it, but they wouldn't hold enough weight so we added the barrels. They do a good job," he says.
The plow is pulled at 4 to 5 mph with a John Deere 3010 tractor. "There's power to spare," says Hamilton.. "You could probably pull it with 35 hp
When he started using the plow, Hamilton says he quickly learned to keep the sweep as level as possible so there's no "v" down the center, or so wings of the sweep don't cut too deep. "Either way, you don't get the trashlo flow right. But if you get it set level, it really does a goo~l job," he points out. "I was using a trail as a fire break and the fire jumped the trail. But I circled it with the plow and quickly had it under control. It won't stop a prairie fire, but you can backfire from it and it does a good job of controlling fire spread."
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