safety switches...

[Denwa]

Well, here's my "glad I had a seat switch" story. Was out mowing the yard with my ex JD STXt38 when I ran the front end into a big fur tree. The roots were kind of ramp like, and before I could hit the clutch, the mower had climbed the tree far enough for the mower to flip right over on top of me. Them things are kind of heavy! Beings it was upside down on top of me, and the mower kept running, I was having one of those flashes what might be going to happen to me next. This was kind of terrifying, so I mustered the wherewithal to push the thing off of myself and it fell to one side. Once the seat was unloaded the motor shut down which was comforting.

This was in "interesting" experience. An experience that has inspired me to read a whole bunch of safety related posts about using a real tractor. Was an experience that made me a believer in seat switches. However, if the blades were not running, the engine would keep going, which makes sense.

That which does not kill you may make you smarter,
Dennis

 

[pat32rf]

Denwa- Thats the beauty of a foot operated HST. Lift your foot and forward motion stops. No clutch to locate when things are already kinda hairy....
On a standard tranny I would probably keep my seat switch hooked up, but I often stand up for a better view when I am "nudging" material around with my FEL or in a tight spot and only want to move one or two inches...

 

[mjncad]

Well, here's my "glad I had a seat switch" story. Was out mowing the yard with my ex JD STXt38 when I ran the front end into a big fur tree. The roots were kind of ramp like, and before I could hit the clutch, the mower had climbed the tree far enough for the mower to flip right over on top of me. Them things are kind of heavy! Beings it was upside down on top of me, and the mower kept running, I was having one of those flashes what might be going to happen to me next. This was kind of terrifying, so I mustered the wherewithal to push the thing off of myself and it fell to one side. Once the seat was unloaded the motor shut down which was comforting.

This was in "interesting" experience. An experience that has inspired me to read a whole bunch of safety related posts about using a real tractor. Was an experience that made me a believer in seat switches. However, if the blades were not running, the engine would keep going, which makes sense.

That which does not kill you may make you smarter,
Dennis

What you describe is why I wish lawn tractors had ROPS on them. No doubt they will in the future after some lawyer sues a manufacturer after a similar mishap that didn't end as fortunate as yours. That how the blasted RIO (Reverse Implement Operation as Deere calls them) switches came into being. Seat switches...good, RIO switches...PITA.

Denwa- Thats the beauty of a foot operated HST. Lift your foot and forward motion stops. No clutch to locate when things are already kinda hairy....

That's another reason I like HST's!

 

[Denwa]

What you describe is why I wish lawn tractors had ROPS on them. No doubt they will in the future after some lawyer sues a manufacturer after a similar mishap that didn't end as fortunate as yours. That how the blasted RIO (Reverse Implement Operation as Deere calls them) switches came into being. Seat switches...good, RIO switches...PITA.

Yes, a ROPS would have been nice. The seat switch worked, but only after
I got the thing off me. Perhaps them manufacturers should include an
inverted opperations limiting switch as well ;' > I agree on the seat switch
being a good thing. Haven't dealt with one yet, but I'm sure the RIO would be a PITA.


That's another reason I like HST's!

My orange B20 has HST and ROPS, and I'm happy for that!

Dennis

 

[jimmysisson]

I wired a switch into the RIO switch on my Cub Cadet so I could have it operational when others were using the mower. I mounted it under the hood so it wouldn't get bumped. I never use it - too hard on the electric ($) blade clutch and belts.
As far as operater-presence, it's a hindrance but I got used to using the park brake when I get off. Grudgingly admit that's a good plan with a hydro as they can roll. My HST is older and hand-controlled, so it doesn't go to neutral when you fall off...
Jim

 

[brokenot]

When bypassing safety switches, (not officially *advocating* it or anything, but....), you should take a few minutes to look over and understand the electrical schematic. This is especially important if the switches aren't just make/break contacts in a simple run/kill circuit. I've seen a number of issues with end-users trying to outsmart the OEMs by bypassing this or that....and then spending a lot of time trying to troubleshoot other problems they've unwittingly created with their paper clips or jumper wires.

It is VERY easy for equipment manufacturers to design a circuit board or module that the safety switch feeds its signal into. What can then happen if the safety switch is jumpered out, is that the module or board will recognize "normal" versus "abnormal" operating conditions. In other words, (just an example here), if you jumper out a switch that prevents you from mowing in reverse, you may very well be able to mow in reverse. BUT....the module that now-defeated switch feeds, can ALSO be seeing information from the start circuit. So you can now mow in reverse, but you can't start the engine because the module is *seeing* that something tied into the pto circuit is now ALWAYS closed, (instead of being open during starting attempts which would be the situation if everything was working the way they intended at the factory),....and only closed once the engine is up and running and you're ready to mow.

I'm no fan of lawyers or people that are unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions either, I just think understanding the circuitry needs to come before the jumper wires.

And if you have a safety switch or relay that has failed and you haven't replaced it due to the ridiculous cost at the dealer, take a peek at it and Google the numbers on it. There aren't many tractor or equipment manufacturers that bother with producing their own switches.

There are plenty of dealers that are more than happy to charge you four or five times what that same switch sells for at Digikey/Mouser Electronics/etc.

 

[mjncad]

All good points Brokenot!