F.E.L failure and fatality......06/06/2015 Tennessee

[archwoodholding]

My sympathies to you, and the victim's family and friends. Farm work is one of the most dangerous jobs because it entails the person to be the master of so many things in order to stay afloat and productive. Short cuts sometimes become the norm especially when we have gotten away with taking them before. These are machines that can do huge amounts of work but can cause great devastation if not used with great care and respect. Whether it's working around the FEL, PTO, or any attachment or implement, we should all take the cautions seriously and know how it works in all situations and conditions. One of the reasons I see many getting injured or risking injury is they don't always understand how to operate their equipment and are sometimes left to figure things out for themselves. I've seen equipment dealers that just expect the customer to understand how to use their equipment and not really take the time to walk them through it all. I've been guilty of being in a hurry but as I've gotten older I've come to realize just how easy it is to get seriously injured.

 

[daugen]

The oem FEL on my Kubota has fold down legs I assume for taking off the entire unit, which I'll never do.
Too bad a similar longer leg could not be added to the bottom of the lift arms.
I use my FEL to pick up my 1500 pound garden tractor front axle to change blades. Always put a safety stand under the
mower but never thought about the FEL. Hmmmmm.

Ok, so here's a learning moment. After how many years should one replace hydraulic hoses even if they look fine?
Could preventative maintenance have saved a life here?

 

[RoyJackson]

The only time I use the loader to lift anything, I'm in the cab.
When I use the loader to hold the RFM or cutter, I lean the implement away from me...if the loader does drop, the implement goes toward the tractor and not on me.
The only downside I see in this method is a little gearbox oil might seep out on the implement's gearbox vent...haven't seen that yet though.

BTW, if you do try this method, find an old tire to tie on the grill guard...might minimize damage to the tractor if the FEL drops and the implement hits the tractor.

 

[newbury]

<snip>

Ok, so here's a learning moment. After how many years should one replace hydraulic hoses even if they look fine?
Could preventative maintenance have saved a life here?

I've asked this before and the general consensus was "go till they blow". In this case it read like he had a leak and it might have just been a cylinder, not a hose.
I've had about 4 hoses go on my M4700, and each one was a slow leak when I noticed it.

And that's part of my "warm up" inspection. Fire the engine up and do a walk around.

 

[daugen]

I've asked this before and the general consensus was "go till they blow".

I know the context is different but I'm not a wait until it blows up guy. Having owned a blue water boat where you literally risk your life if you lose power at the wrong time, like when coming in an inlet. I was out on a sea trial and survey of a boat I was looking at last week, and we had to be towed in when an oil cooler line let go, spraying oil everywhere, oil pressure went to zero and maybe the diesel got turned off in time. Needless to say I did not buy that boat, since I confirmed the owner had done woefully inadequate maintenance. I thought most hydraulic lines had a useful life of 10-20 years. All subject to sun exposure, heat, abrasion, cycles of bending, etc etc.

Now a hydraulic line on a plane must have a required replacement time. Wonder what that is...probably hours of use.

but my tractor is not a plane, and I'm not going to get hurt, well except for the topic of this thread by not getting under the FEL arms when the whole thing drops. Those darn little exceptions can sure bite you...

 

[jimmysisson]

The hyd hoses on my 1993 Ford look fine, though I know all the deterioration isn't visible. I think my machine has spent only a few nights outdoors in its life, maybe that helps. I do respect the chance they might fail, and don't get underneath anything they support. Mostly.
Jim

 

[crashz]

Sorry to hear this. But its a great reminder (as evident in the responses) that these things can do fatal damage.

The earthwork industry has taken a zero-tolerance stance to this issue. I've had to fire people on the spot for walking under a suspended load. Its a risk that the unaware person, operator and company cannot take.

And to address the loader lift braces: These are meant for servicing. They are only designed to support the load of the loader and bucket, no additional load. Compact tractors have a removable loader (typically), that's my guess as to why they don't have the bracing. But its a good idea, and a cheap way to add some additional protection.

 

[davesl708]

Too bad. I remember my Army training as a Combat Engineer. Bring all equipment to a zero energy state before working on it.
All the best to his family.

 

[AaronS]

So sorry for the family's loss. This thread was a great reminder to properly block my mower before removing blades and cleaning the deck. Picture was taken before placing a stack of 10 inch concrete blocks underneath the front axle and chocking the rear.

 

[daugen]

So sorry for the family's loss. This thread was a great reminder to properly block my mower before removing blades and cleaning the deck. Picture was taken before placing a stack of 10 inch concrete blocks underneath the front axle and chocking the rear.

Aaron, you do exactly as i do. One thing my helper suggested and he was right, to tilt the bucket so that the rope was not fully pressured on a sharp loader edge. In other words, keep the rope off the bottom of the bucket if possible, as you do. Not particularly relevant with chain but with anything fabric I always try to be careful. With a little fiddling we got it so the flat tow/lift rope rested against a broader surface. Chafing gear works too, or an old piece of carpet.

One of our Texas members just died from a tractor accident, details unknown, and I think all the time spent on reminding ourselves to be as safe as possible is time well spent.

and don't get under things that can squish you.
Reminds me to check the bolts attaching my lift rings.