Caution: Tractors are Very Dangerous

[YanmarFever]

Syncro
Me tooooo ! Those pictures skypup posted changed me for life
I shup it all down,and check it twice now.
Life is to precious.
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gifErnie

 

[bczoom]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I bagged one a while back. I'm not sure why you should keep one though. I couldn't get anything for it, and I don't know how to cook one. Maybe you just keep 'em for good luck?! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )</font>

I'd keep a lert but if you happen to find a round tuit, don't let the Mrs. know. All those projects you told her you would do when you got a round tuit will come to the surface quickly.

BTW. I was baling hay last week and dang-nab-it, although I sent the PDF to a friend, he insisted on sticking his hand in the baler with everything running every time it clogged.

 

[crashz]

By far the most disturbing photos I've ever seen. They will haunt me forever, but I can also thank you, because it teaches a hard lesson. I too will be very careful with my tractor and its implements. Thank you.

 

[Junkman]

Just reading the last two pages of this thread and replying to the last post without regard to what the poster has said. Just need a place to start......

As a retired EMS person, I thank all of you for the picture warning. I have seen way too many accidents that have maimed and killed, and suffice it to say that I won't be headed to the beginning of this thread. Pictures can bring home the thoughts of safety quite quickly, but they can also cause many other disturbing remembrances of things of the past. It is one thing to view a single picture, but when you are there doing the job of extrication and attempting to salvage whatever you can of the life that is before you, reliving it is not something that most of us care to do. One person mentions shutting down the tractor takes an extra 15 minutes because it is a turbo. A accident takes 15 milliseconds to happen and the results last forever, even if you survive or your survivor's have to bury you. Take the extra time because it will be time well spent to give you extra time on this earth.

 

[Phred]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( One person mentions shutting down the tractor takes an extra 15 minutes because it is a turbo. A accident takes 15 milliseconds to happen and the results last forever, even if you survive or your.... )</font>

Junkman,

That is exactly why I posted that comment beacuse I know I am not the only one that is guilty of a short cut. Some more dangerous than other short cuts.
After all its easy to think that the pto switch, which is a pretty stout lever in a TN70, is disengaged then what's the problem in reaching up and clearing that round baler? Nothing is spinning and the odds of it starting are very low. Similar thinking is more common in regard to loaders; after all what's the odd of a loader line busting or cylinder failure happening? Pretty thin.

But it only take once in the hundreds or thousands of times we all use these machines for one of these unlikely events to come back and bite you.
And when it does you or I could be the next page in the updated version of that pdf file.

Fred

 

[Junkman]

Way back in 1955 I was using a gasoline powered bulldozer and forgot to remove the Gerry can from the tracks. As I started moving the machine, I realized what I forgot and reached for the can. Lucky for me, I didn't get hold of it, because the tracks tore that can like it was cardboard. Then, I also remember the summer of 1963 when a instructor at the college was using a York rake and for some unknown reason, he turned around in the seat and reached back. When this happened, he fell to the ground and the tractor continued forward. He was a very strong guy and was able to grab the edge of the York rake and lift it over his head to avoid being run over by it. Unfortunately as it went past his body, he lost his grip and got whacked in the head by the edge of a blade. I tore him up, but he lived with lots of scars and surgeries. These two incidents taught me an important lesson...... one mistake and you are maimed for life. Sure, I take small chances such as getting off the BX with the mmm engaged, but I always set the brake and close down the throttle. We all calculate the amount of risk that we are willing to take, but the bigger the machine, the greater the risk. If it were a bailer, then I would be extremely careful, because if there is any tension on any parts, those parts can suddenly move even if the machine is off from stored energy that you least expect. This is a common accident when people try to clear clogs from snowblowers even though the machine is turned off and not spinning. I always jam a piece of 2" x 4" in there as a safety measure and use a broom stick to clear the clogs.

 

[JayC]

Wow. Those photos are horrifying. That will definately make me think twice in future. Thanks. Why does a tractor with a turbo have to cool down so long? What about a non-turbo? If possible I would just wait while it cools, but if I were in a hurry I'm not going to endanger myself like those in the photos did. That tractor is getting shut down. I don't care about no turbo. I don't want to end up like a pretzel. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Phred]

It does not take 15 min to cool but you want to give turbo diesels a few min, 2-3 to cool. The turbo runs very hot and oil is circulated to cool it. When it's running hard and you just shut it down, the trubo is very hot and the oil stops flowing. This can cook the oil in the passages of the turbo and eventually cause them to be clogged. The result is a shorter turbo lifetime.
So I like to let them cool at idle for a few min. prior to shut down. At idle the turbo is not spinning much so the heat generation is minimal and the oil will cool it off pretty quickly.

Junkman:
Your right about using a broom stick, that would be better. But when one is really jamed it takes some hard pulling with bare hands to clear it up. The best solution is to shut it all down and then try to keep your hands as clear as possible while you clear the jam.

And above all always put those safety supports on the tailgate of the baler. If a hydro line pops you could be killed instantly, or worse caught for hours until found and then die in the hospital .....

Fred

 

[Outbackfarm]

Yipes !! I am going to have nightmares tonight! We just bought our first tractor a few months ago. I have been around machines all of my life and I think I have picked up some bad habits. The new rule for me is I don’t get off the tractor until I turn it off !! I would rather burn up a starter and a battery than have my picture taken for this article for sure. I have all of the guards and PTO covers in place but why even take a chance? It is not worth it to me. Thanks for posting this. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

I'm bumping this one back up to the top. I've got a great big burr under my saddle, put there in particular by a certain someone who recently ridiculed the earnest efforts of some posters, myself included, to add some lacking safety features to self-feeding woodchippers, and in general by people who don't seem to respect the efforts of others to foster safety, and seem to think that safety is for sissies, **** retentives, or those who "worry too much".

Just what on god's green earth is so funny about doing whatever is humanly possible, cost-effective and reasonable to help prevent grisly accidents and gruesome deaths such as these?

Am I angry? You bet I am.

Let's be careful out there - and if YOU happen to think that others are "going overboard" about safety, I ask you to please keep those thoughts to yourself - they are dangerous to others.

John D.