2003/10/1-8

Rick tester or 'hot rick rod', 1970s. For checking temperature inside hayricks when suspected they might be heating up enough to catch fire.
This is a rick tester, also known as a 'hot rick rod'. It dates from the 1970s, and was used for checking the temperature inside hayricks when suspected they might be heating up enough to catch fire. The donor was an insurance underwriter with a specialism in farming insurance, but he could not recall rick testers being used as hayricks became less common on farms. This rick tester has eight parts: 3 sections of pipe (2003/10/1-3), 1 'T'-handle (2003/10/4), 1 piece of wire with a turned wooden handle (2003/10/5), 1 thermometer (2003/10/6) and 1 case for the thermometer, with a separate lid (2003/10/7-8).'

1 rick-tester: metal; good condition - complete

MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'RICK TESTER // Description // 1 Rick-Tester, or 'HOT RICK ROD' // Consists of sections of pipe which screw together to form a long, hollow rod with a T-handle at the end. A brass-cased thermometer attaches to a long wire and is fed down inside the hollow rod. The whole rod is painted grey. // CONTENTS: 3 sections of pipe (2003/10/1-3) // 1 T-handle (2003/10/4) // 1 piece of wire with turned wooden handle (2003/10/5) // 1 thermometer (2003/10/6) // 1 case for thermometer, with separate lid (2003/10/7-8) // Dimensions // TOTAL LENGTH WHEN ASSEMBLED: 185cm // WIDTH ACROSS OF HANDLE: 37cm // Associated information // Used to check the temperature inside a hayrick when it was suspected that it might be heating up enough for it to catch fire. // - Paperwork relating to this item is in Accession Folder.', Letter, P. J. Sayers to MERL, 13 December 2002 - 'I spent my 40 year working life as an Insurance Underwriter working for various insurance companies. I specialised in the later half of my career as a farming insurance specialist. // I worked for very many years for the National Employers Mutual (NEM). This company was very involved in the farming market. Sadly, like so many British insurance companies, it no longer exists. I was the last remaining underwriter with this company and have in my posession an object which I wondered whether you could be interested in. // The object is a 'hot rick rod'. It was used to check the temperature inside a haystack when it was suspected that the rick was possibly heating up and could catch fire. It consists of sections of pipe which are screwed together and have a large brass cased thermometer which is fed down inside the tubing. The rod is pushed into the rick and the thermometer can be read to check if there is a developing problem. A hot rick tester was paid 1 guinea to check a rick but only half a guinea for any subsequent test. In addition he could claim 1/- per mile for petrol. The example I have dates from the 1970's. It is many years since hayricks were a common sight on farms and I have admit that I cannot recall them being used. I know that the thermometers were prone to breakage as the operators were none too carefuly with them. This led to much criticism as the thermometers were expensive to replace. I have a small file of paperwork relating to this item. The paperwork happens to relate to the use of these items in Wales but they were used in England as well. The paperwork is in English, not Welsh. //