PTO safety shields

[bdog]

Does anyone else hate these things? Between the flip up deal on the tractor, the plastic around the shaft, and the plastic around the coupler and u joints it makes everything way more difficult than it should be. Greasing the joints is a pain, connecting and disconnecting is a pain.

PTO shafts are very unforgiving. I get that. Lots of people have been killed or lost limbs from get entangled in them. I have the utmost respect for them and don't go anywhere near the the shaft when the tractor is on much less when the PTO is engaged. Frankly I am not sure what benefits these shields offer to me and I am contemplating removing them. The only PTO implements I have are shredders and I may buy a tiller. Both of those things scare me by themselves and I don't want to go anywhere near them when running. Is seems one would be more likely to get sucked up in a tiller or stick their foot under the shredder and get hit with a blade than come in contact with a PTO shaft.

What am I missing? I am not saying the shields don't protect you from the shafts but if you never go near them what is the need?

 

[bmaverick]

Depends on the make and model. Mine is the old school John Deere 50 Series PTO shield that Yanmar developed back in the early 80s. No issues with any of it. Actually, I think it's a benefit. So many times I've gone to take the top-link off and it bounced out of my hand on the metal PTO safety shield protecting the PTO shaft from getting whacked.

I have old PTO driven equipment and newer PTO driven equipment. The old stuff has exposed shafts, so I'm happy there is something there. This is my PTO driven post hole auger. A 4-inch PVC pipe works as a nice as a sleeve shield for it too. Thus, nobody is going to get ripped apart by it running.

Again, it's the make and model setup.

 

[newbury]

I think they are there to protect the mfg's from frivolous lawsuits by the clueless..
Look at the Peloton treadmill recall because children and pets were getting caught under the treadmill.
DUH!
A running belt just above the ground is dangerous.

 

[bdog]

A 3 point post hole digger is another good example. Seems the auger itself is a far greater risk than the PTO shaft.

 

[bmaverick]

From the Canadian web site, this young 16yo was killed getting wrapped up in a PTO.

 

[bmaverick]

In Italy, an adult farm worker killed.

 

[bmaverick]

When reading tractor manuals, people mostly glaze past the SAFETY section. Glad to know that IMAGES are made large as those pages are skimmed.

 

[bdog]

Tragic. It seems the majority of the accidents involve pumps, balers, etc things that people often have to tinker with. I see absolutely no reason why anyone would be near a running shredder.

 

[bmaverick]

In Asia, a toddler got pulled into a PTO implement from the shaft. Took rescue workers 3 hours to get her free. She will never walk again. Hip and legs totally were crushed.

This machine gathered in watermelons.

 

[bdog]

If a toddler is anywhere near my running shredder I have bigger problems than a PTO safety shield.

As I mentioned in my original post I have read the horror stories and seen the gruesome pictures. I don't doubt they are deadly which is why I don't go near them unless the tractor is off. Period. Would safety shields have helped these people? Probably but they were violating other safety rules being near it while running in the first place.

Fooling with PTO shafts has to be the most frustrating part of tractoring to me and that is mostly due to how hard they are to handle with all the guards.