Can you manually turn the pto hookup on the back of the tractor?

[sixdogs]

In this PTO safety talk know that implements with a flywheel, like a baler, often roll or bump just a bit and will turn the PTO shaft. Sometimes the flywheel or some part that drives it is near the point where it can "cam over" with very little or no effort.

I once saw a guy working on a 273 NH baler on a slight incline in the field. Tractor and PTO off. He was working near the ultra sharp knives when I came upon him and he had his hand in the path of the knives. One small bump or downhill move at the wrong time and he'll need help tying his shoes. The inertia in that flywheel will move those knives and oopsie...

 

[tmcj]

I marked mine with a paint marker also and it definitely helps to line it up.

The odds of having the tractor running and something going wrong that engages the PTO are slim, but possible. If it happens, the odds of losing fingers, a hand, an arm, or worse are highly likely. Turn the tractor off and hook it up, and be healthy to do it again another day. Or spend the rest of your life wishing that you had.

 

[Jstpssng]

And that's why I said: "The people around me, know better to not touch any of the controls on the tractor when anyone is handling the PTO shaft."

On my Branson, it wouldn't be an issue. The PTO only turns On after you flip the switch on the dash. So it's either On or Off, no inbetween. Then the lever sits to the left of the seat but also slightly to the rear and a lot lower. Almost impossible to accidentally hit it, you would really have to try.

On the Agria, this is an old tractor and the PTO lever is fairly exposed. I want to make a guard for it that will also serve as handrail. Then again, people around me know not touch any of that stuff when someone is around the PTO.

Regardless, I've been around lathes, milling machines, and other shop tools capable of killing you for a long time, so you learn how to behave around those machines and what you wear/use around those. Longs sleeves are a no no and so are gloves. Exactly the stuff that can pull you and wrap around the shaft. At on point or another, you have to touch the chuck while spinning either to use some emery paper or just chamfer an edge with the file, etc.

For me it's just another layer of separation between me and an accident.

 

[LouNY]

Damn, how did I ever survive this many years,, when hauling haylage or corn silage in self unloading wagons there have been days when a pto shaft would have been hooked up and disconnected 15 or 20 times in a day.
Some of the newer tractors even have a handy switch on the fenders to turn the pto on with, some it's just on. A few if you just touch the switch it only runs with the switch depressed, as soon as you release the switch it stops, to have it stay running you have to hold the switch for about 5 seconds. Makes it handy and nice for cleaning out the cross conveyors without plugging blowers.

 

[loggin]

I think it depends on how the pto is engaged. I used to have a john deere with a 2 stage clutch and a lever for the pto. You would have to forcefully jamb that lever into rotating gears to accidentally engage the pto while the engine is running. Not likely to happen when operating on my own.

My current tractor has a cable operated hydraulic clutch which is spring loaded. If the cable were to break the pto could be engaged and there would be greater possibility of injury. Also not likely to happen but more likely than 2 stage clutch. I will from now on try to remember to turn the tractor off when attaching anything to the pto. Thank you for the discussion on this thread!!!

 

[Saucymynx]

Oooo... it never occurred to me that this is hazardous, but I see it now! Thanks for mentioning it!

I checked in the manual and sure enough they give a serious warning about this:

"WARNING
Entanglement hazard!
Before attaching or detaching equipment or changing the Power Take-Off (PTO) shaft: 1) Apply the parking brake. 2) Move all controls to neutral and PTO control knob to the disengaged position. 3) Stop the engine and remove the key. 4) Wait for the PTO shaft to stop turning before leaving the cab. Failure to comply could result in death or serious injury."

I read the entire manual years ago, but obviously didn't absorb it 100%.

FWIW, on both my old Kubota and my new NH, I've never found the PTO shaft difficult to turn by hand. I think this has been true with the engine running and the engine off (not sure I noticed though).

That seems to be sort of a smart@ss response, and assumes that everyone in the world shuts the PTO off when working on it. As a trauma surgeon, I can share with you a story of a farmer who got off his tractor with it connected to a manure spreader with the PTO running. Not sure what he was doing, but he reached over the spinning PTO shaft, and his big heavy Carhart coveralls got caught in the shaft. It wrapped him up in the blink of an eye, spun him around the shaft, a couple times and then ripped his arm off the shoulder. He survived, but doesn’t play piano as well as he used to. I don’t ever leave my cab with a PTO engaged and I don’t hook up a PTO shaft with the engine on. Ever.

 

[sixdogs]

Here's how we have survived so long in life and not been in tractor accident.

We survive on the odds of probability. Not all people get in car accidents but odds increase as miles driven rise. That we haven't hit the jackpot as we get older doesn't lessen the odds of a trauma , it increases them as diminished senses and physical limitations change over time.

I've done so much stupid stuff I could write a book. Two books. Dodged most bullets. Today, I feel myself slowing down. I'm not as quick on the draw and am slower to react.

I've hooked up PTO's on running tractors and far worse but all things considered decided not to press my luck at this point and instead savor the moment of doing things more purposely while praying for more years ahead to do it. Just my two cents.

 

[Runner]

2007 JD 2520 here - I can spin the rear PTO shaft by hand only when the selector lever is in the FRONT PTO detent.

Edit: Don't know my own machine - I thought the middle detent was neutral, but then a (very dim) light went on in my head. I remembered the weird thing about this tractor is that the middle detent is for BOTH front and rear PTO. I have no idea when you would ever use both the front and rear PTO simultaneously, but anyway, that explains why it has to be in the FRONT detent to be able to turn the rear PTO by hand.

 

[MAGA Patriot]

We have a Kioti ck25 HST we always have the tractor off and the pto in neutral! I took tractor Mikes advice and mark the coupling with a paint pen, makes it so much easier to hookup!

Yes! I place the pto drive in neutral and turn the tractor off to attach anything to the pto. Placing the pto in neutral allows for the shaft to spin freely and makes it SO MUCH easier to attach implements.

 

[SmallChange]

That seems to be sort of a smart@ss response[...]

No! That was 100% sincere!

I have seen photos of people who had been caught by a PTO shaft, and it seems like a horrible way to die or to survive.