PTO Drive Outer Housing Spinning Question

[Jaylegger]

Safety wise, it makes no difference if th plastic housing spins with the shaft or not as long as it will stop spinning if something gets into it, which is almost an impossibility it it is all complete. IF something were to touch it and get wrapped up, then the plastic would then free wheel and allow you to pull back and free yourself. Chains all over are not necessary for it to function. If you can turn it by hand on the shaft without turning the PTO shaft itself then it is working correctly and doesnt need to be chained up. I dont believe the first guards even had chains and they were added by the safety police because of folk like those here that think it is unsafe because it spins with the shaft. It is a floating guard not an immovable guard.

I havent' tested but am wondering how the free wheeling action might be affected if something gets wrapped around it and then something heavy, similar to a human body, falls against the side of it. Any takers?

Despite that how would one know the cover can still free wheel and not jammed or stuck due to debris if it's considered "normal" to see it spinning. Holding the cover in position with a chain is the only on-going way to know the cover is functioning as it was designed. The purpose of the relatively thin chain is to establish a level of safety, if the forces are strong enough to break the chain that is a marker that either an acute occurrence has rendered the cover unsafe or that the slow degradation or debris buildup of the unit has now reached a level of concern which needs to be addressed while at the same time potentially still maintaining a level of safety. Unchecked, both may lead to a level of binding which and cause serious injury. If the chain is breaking or the ear is ripping off that might be red flag that the cover might require repair or cleaning and might not be as effective in preventing injury. In an industrial setting that piece of equipment would be taken out of service immediately until repaired.

Allowing the cover to spin with the shaft is a highly unsafe practice and I highly encourage those reading this thread not the follow that advise. From a safety standpoint, removing the chain that came with the cover is not much different than removing your homes electrical panel fuses and hard-wiring everything.

 

[aczlan]

I havent' tested but am wondering how the free wheeling action might be affected if something gets wrapped around it and then something heavy, similar to a human body, falls against the side of it. Any takers?

We have a tedder and if the shield were spinning, it would probably pick up hay like the old ones used to do. That could bind the shaft up and cause it to not stop spinning when you most need it to.

With a replacement set of plastic "bearings" costing less than $20. I will use the chain and just replace them as needed. Given the risk in them not working, it is not worth it to do anything else.


Aaron Z

 

[Jaylegger]

We have a tedder and if the shield were spinning, it would probably pick up hay like the old ones used to do. That could bind the shaft up and cause it to not stop spinning when you most need it to.

Thanks,

I suspected that very well could be one result.

With a replacement set of plastic "bearings" costing less than $20. I will use the chain and just replace them as needed. Given the risk in them not working, it is not worth it to do anything else.


Aaron Z

Now that's sensible. Some appear to have such a grind and are blinded with this negative "safety police" label of theirs it gets in the way of smart common sense as opposed to the other kind.

 

[Chilly807]

My rotary cutter has the stop chain, my PHD doesn't. I usually check the PHD shield to make sure it's free before I start the day.

One plus of even a cover that doesn't turn freely is that it's relatively smooth compared to a shaft with exposed universals etc.

Sean

 

[SPYDERLK]

I havent' tested but am wondering how the free wheeling action might be affected if something gets wrapped around it and then something heavy, similar to a human body, falls against the side of it. Any takers?

It cant apply enuf torque to wrap anything substantial much less tighten it. If side load is applied the ability for it to apply torque increases very slightly.

We have a tedder and if the shield were spinning, it would probably pick up hay like the old ones used to do. That could bind the shaft up and cause it to not stop spinning when you most need it to.

With a replacement set of plastic "bearings" costing less than $20. I will use the chain and just replace them as needed. Given the risk in them not working, it is not worth it to do anything else.
Aaron Z

We have a tedder and the spinning shield does not pick up hay. If it did you would see it [and] the added resistance would stop the shield from spinning. -- That bearing cost is extremely high. For the negative benefit and potential disastrous cost of complacency resulting from the "stationary shaft" sight cue you pay for the pto shaft repeatedly during its life; whereas a shield allowed to spin will last the life of the shaft or until it falls apart thereby presenting a clear and present danger sight cue. With your sensitized risk viewpoint Im surprised you dont recognize that the stationary shield is wearing out its bearings - and they might wear out at just the wrong time.

Thanks, I suspected that very well could be one result.

Now that's sensible. Some appear to have such a grind and are blinded with this negative "safety police" label of theirs it gets in the way of smart common sense as opposed to the other kind.

I think you have it backward. Smart common sense takes into account how things work. -- The "other kind" gets hoodwinked by apparencies.
larry

 

[Jaylegger]

It cant apply enuf torque to wrap anything substantial much less tighten it. If side load is applied the ability for it to apply torque increases very slightly.


We have a tedder and the spinning shield does not pick up hay. If it did you would see it [and] the added resistance would stop the shield from spinning. -- That bearing cost is extremely high. For the negative benefit and potential disastrous cost of complacency resulting from the "stationary shaft" sight cue you pay for the pto shaft repeatedly during its life; whereas a shield allowed to spin will last the life of the shaft or until it falls apart thereby presenting a clear and present danger sight cue. With your sensitized risk viewpoint Im surprised you dont recognize that the stationary shield is wearing out its bearings - and they might wear out at just the wrong time.


I think you have it backward. Smart common sense takes into account how things work. -- The "other kind" gets hoodwinked by apparencies.
larry

With all due respect Larry, from a safety and design angle, your point of view on this matter is ill advised and completely wrong.

If you actually read and understood my post you'd understand the ridiculous nature of this comment from you.

"With your sensitized risk viewpoint Im surprised you dont recognize that the stationary shield is wearing out its bearings - and they might wear out at just the wrong time.[/COLOR]

Re-read the post and pay attention to sentences with the word chain and the purpose of such a device.

 

[SPYDERLK]

With all due respect Larry, from a safety and design angle, your point of view on this matter is [[ill advised]] and [[completely wrong]].

Pls support these claims with sense.
larry

 

[TGF]

Most PTO shafts have between 6 and 8 grease points. All of them should have 2 zerks one on each knuckle
2 zerks one on each shield bearing
A final 2 without a zerk (grease the inside of the larger plastic tube and larger metal tube).

Some shafts have optional zerks to grease the splines of the PTO and Gearboxs without removing the shafts.

My guess is if it yanked the chain off the plastic housing you probably just need to re-grease the shield bearing. 3 pumps per 8 hours of operation is how I generally do it.

 

[Jaylegger]

Pls support these claims with sense.
larry

I already have but you've obviously made a choice to ignore it. What you are advocating is contrary to the design and functioning of the guard, inherently more dangerous than using the proper chain, and utterly irresponsible to advocate bypassing this one basic and sensible safety feature (the chain) on a public site.

 

[milkman636]

I just use that little cover chain to hook my shaft up to the top link connection when I disconnect from the pto. It keeps the shaft compressed and up off the ground while the implement is not hooked to the tractor. When I hook the shaft to the pto, I disconnect the shaft from the chain and leave the chain connected to the top of the hitch frame. The cover spins loosely on the shaft but doesn't have any knuckles or edges to catch on. The pto is always disengaged before I get my hands or clothes near the shaft anyways.