question on the safety features

[KillerShark]

Maybe I shouldn't ask this... but does anybody (besides me) bypass the safety features on their larger equipment like ztr's? I guess I mean the stuff that weighs 500+ pounds?
I mow sometimes alone and sometimes with my son. If I'm alone and get stuck (on my ztr)... I've got to have the mower help a little. The safety feature will kill the engine when the mower moves forward or the blades are engaged. Just wondering.

[lawnman_scott]

I used to but worried about it too much. if you get stuck its probably just as easy to wrap a bungie cord around wherever you have to to keep it running while you get stuck. i broke a drive belt on my great dane last week and if not for the other lawn guys that stopped to help i would still be there. i have talked a while about getting an electric boat winch, and hooking it to the front of my trailer, guess i should stop talking and do it.

[jrebeiro]

Had a long time friend of the family get his leg run over with a walk behind because the owner disabled the safety switch so the mower could stay on with the blades running. Well after multiple intensive surgeries he eventually had to have his leg amputated. Worst part of this story is that he was just a kid 16 years old and now had to go through high school with one leg. The owner of the lawn biz has been sued and is still in court 4 years later. The boy was awarded a huge settlement by the lawn mower MFR not sure who it was. I dont think it is worth the extra few seconds you gain by leaving the machine with the blades rotating.

[Eric ELM]

Ouch, there are so many horror stories about all machinery. I grew up on a farm and every year, you would hear of some farmer trying to unplug a corn picker with it running and they would lose an arm or part of it. But still other farmers did it. I worked one summer for a farmer that had lost 4 fingers on one had from a corn picker and this summer while his wife as pulling a mower a 21" mower up hill, she slipped and cut 4 toes off. This was before all the saftey features.

Talk about bad luck.

[Currier]

Eric, I too grew up on a farm and those stories still stick with me! Grain elevators cutting off fingers, PTO grabbing clothes etc...

Sometimes I get in a rush and clean out from under the deck or blower chute with the engine running. Granted, the blades are never engaged, but just think, one small electrical short at the wrong time, blades engage and various body parts become mulch!

Then of course I'd have to rant and rave about how unsafe the machine was manufactured and sue everybody in sight...but that's a whole other topic!

[lawnboy82]

ya know which ones i like? the stories about guys gettin hurt with chippers. i have a couple of stories about those.

[CT18fireman]

I mounted a larger battery then came with my breakaway kit and then added a tongue toolbox. Inside I keep a cheap electric winch from Harbor Freight. It is pleanty strong for equipment and can be cranked by hand. I added a plate at the front of the trailer for it to hook onto. I also keep some chains and tools in the box. It has saved me a few times when I was alone.

[jimsmowin]

i too thought about un hooking safety devices. decided that would be a no-no. especilly with employes, just asking for TROUBLE.

[jason2]

Those farm accidents bring back some memories. My uncle lost 3 fingers on his right hand cleaning some straw on a swather.

A friend of mine was in the grain tank of a combine cleaning out under an unloading auger, his dad was in the seat and didn't know he was back there. The father turned on the unloading auger, and my friend lost his right hand.

Another farmer I knew was working on the straw chopper of a combine. One of his employees was in the operator seat and turned on the machine, decapitating his employer.

Another farmer lost a couple fingers in a grain vac. The list goes on and on.

Machinery can be dangerous, especially if you are overworked and tired.

[HOMER]

I saw one up the road the other day digging around in some sort of contraption ( I ain't no farmer )while it was churnig away. I stepped on the gas and never looked back, couldn't stand to see a chewed off arm cause of stupidity. It would have taken 1 second to turn the PTO off and I'm sure that's what he would have thought had something bad happened.

[TLS]

On my old Dixie, I did bypass the seat switch. I really didn't have a choice. In order for the engine to run, you had to have your but on the seat! When I sold it, I plugged it back in. Now on the new Lazer, I can leave the engine running and get off the seat. The brake must be engaged and blades off and levers outward. Then, get off, grab trash or stick, etc, then get back on release brake, and engage blades. Simple. The Dixie just got old real quick when you were forced to shut down a hot engine just to pick up trash! Maybe they changed this on the newer Dixies? Just be safe people. Common sense goes a long way!

[Randy Scott]

"bypass the SAFETY features" was stated. Do you have a dictionary? Some things just shouldn't be done. :eek:

[John DiMartino]

I bypassed my Dixies for the same reason Tom did,its a stupid design that forces you to shut down to get trash.I also like to start it on the trailer to let it warm up a minute ,cant do that either unless your seated.I know 2 guys who didnt buy Dixies due to this feature(or lack of).I do hook it up before I let my wife or help drive it,which isnt often.