Farmers should avoid drilling or cutting the sealed metal frames of chisel plows and other weighted tillage equipment because of the risk of an explosion, a farm safety specialist said. This type of equipment is heavy-duty and is made to sink deep into the ground where the added ballast inside the frame would be useful. It's also called several different common names, such as ripper or subsoiler. Drilling or welding can ignite the gases, causing an explosion. It's impossible to tell by looking whether a plow frame contains scrap metal for ballast, Runyan said.
Farmers can contact their equipment dealers for more information.