Safety Tips For Beginners

[k0ua]

Loved your book and can’t wait for the sequel. However on the Kioti CK10 series the linked pedal is not associated with an advanced hydrostat at all. All it does is throttle up the rpms of the engine as you push the pedal. The hydrostat is the same as the tractors without linked pedal. There are similarities I suppose but in the end it is just the same as throttling up and down manually as you manipulate the hydrostat, rather than changing the hydrostatic function itself.

yes, I am aware of those also. All kinds of advancements have been made and new features offered since Kubota came out with HST+. All manufactures are playing catch up ball and want to offer some of these things. The linked pedal is the simplest of features to offer. A few guys have made their own "linked pedal" linkage. Load match and Stall Guard may be trademarked names of of John Deere features as well as E-Hydro.

Oh,.. as for the sequel to "the book", I have writers cramp now..

 

[k0ua]

Many issues have occured when you box yourself in or don't give yourself enough room. Go up against a rock, building or tree and it's like you get sucked in and need additional equipment to get free without damaging anything.

Same with water and a slope. Go too close and you WILL get sucked in!

Are you saying if you mow around your pond long enough, your tractor is going to be in the water?

 

[Industrial Toys]

It would seem so.

 

[k0ua]

View attachment 620560

It would seem so.

"hey honey, how did that get in there?" "Oh, I was just mowing along and ...."

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Hmm, on Kubota the more you push down the less torque but more speed, never measured fuel.

Auto Throttle advance. As you press the HST peddle. It gives it more fuel.

 

[jjp8182]

So as can be evidenced by the preceding discussions; being aware of your own equipment design & limitations and the manufacturer's recommendations can be important as not all things are made the same way between different manufacturer's (even if they look very much alike).

Another illustration of that point is with grapples: Artillian doesn't recommend pushing on something with their sectional grapple lid closed, where as on some of the Everything Attachment grapples (particularly those where the lid can close and rest on the lower tines) having the grapple lid closed in order to push on an object was the recommendation made in (at least some of) their videos.

Two relatively similar implements from two different manufacturers with recommendations that are completely opposed to each other based on how each designed their own product.

Of course as always, the recommendations of others are no replacement for actually thinking through and properly evaluating what it is you're trying to do on any given task.

A major part of my work involves safety/regulatory/design reviews, and there have been more than a few times I've come across situations (or even mishaps) where the individual(s) involved (to include the designing engineers) followed "standard procedures" and it resulted in a negative outcome because the situation either wasn't covered, or it was a corner case where blindly following the procedure/regulation would actual result in bad outcome.

Now don't get me wrong as I think learning from others is a very good thing -- it just has to be appropriate for and applicable to the specific situation.

The other thing is keep an awareness of your surroundings as you work as the environment can change ---- and while tractors may not move all that fast, they typically don't stop all that fast either.

One last thing, changing the set-up of the tractor (e.g. which implements are attached) will change the handling and space required to maneuver...... I've clipped some of my fence lines a time or two, because I was mowing with the bucket attached rather than my usual practice of mowing without having on the FEL (thankfully it was all in low speed turns so it didn't cause much damage).

 

[Dranrab]

I really appreciate all the tips you guys provided. I am probably going to break it in Friday.

 

[k0ua]

(thankfully it was all in low speed turns so it didn't cause much damage).

And keep in mind tractors can tear up a lot of property in a hurry. Around buildings, they can take the side out of your house with one wrong move, They excel in tearing out fence if you let them.

 

[BRMyers]

I really appreciate all the tips you guys provided. I am probably going to break it in Friday.

Take it slow. Learn your equipment, what it can and can't do. My dad, who grew up on tractors, was flying circles around me. Yet, his tractor was wider, lower center of gravity, and he had experience on it. I have been using mine for a few months now and becoming more comfortable and understanding how different things work. Still no where as comfortable as my dad, but I have taken it slow, learning what my tractor can and what I'm comfortable doing. The HST+ transmission has been a really a great feature which when I purchased the tractor I didn't realize how nice and useful that feature is to have on the tractor.

Again, my advice, go slow and don't exceed your comfort level.

 

[k0ua]

The HST+ transmission has been a really a great feature which when I purchased the tractor I didn't realize how nice and useful that feature is to have on the tractor.

Many people don't. And many see the extra money you have to spend from a Standard L to a Grand L as wasted. They literally don't understand what they are missing. They can see the extra weight in the machine, but often don't understand the significance of that, and they can visually see some of the convenience features that will make using the tractor so much more productive, but will often use derogatory language like "bells and whistles" never seeing that over the lifetime of the tractor, the extra productivity and lessened operator fatigue will more than make up for the extra money spent upon purchase. And then there are the features that are not so easy to see like HST+. Many will think it is all just "advertising" or a "gimmick". It isn't.

 

[CobyRupert]

Take it slow. Learn your equipment, what it can and can't do....
.....Again, my advice, go slow and don't exceed your comfort level.

Go slow!
You can think that you've thought things through, and can have expectations about the way YOU WANT things to go, but Mother Nature is a b**** with plenty of surprises in store and has something to say about how things will actually go. At least when you go slow, you can hopefully see some of these surprises slowly unfold and can react.

 

[MossRoad]

And keep in mind tractors can tear up a lot of property in a hurry. Around buildings, they can take the side out of your house with one wrong move, They excel in tearing out fence if you let them.

Yes! I put an air hose pass-through port through the siding on the side of my garage with my toothed bucket shortly after purchase. :laughing:

 

[k0ua]

Yes! I put an air hose pass-through port through the siding on the side of my garage with my toothed bucket shortly after purchase. :laughing:

There has been a tree or two around here that has suffered the wrath of my momentary inattention. So far the house and barns have fared well.

 

[SmallChange]

Great list so far. It's hard to add to it!

-Get used to thinking about the brake pedal on a tractor as less powerful than the one on a car. If you're in a typical working ratio you can stomp on the brake and nothing much changes.

-Changing gears or ranges isn't for coming up to speed, as it is on a car. You generally start out in whatever gear you want to do your work in.

-You can probably mess up the FEL bucket by trying to do work at just one point on it, as in prying up something narrow, or by chaining something to it at a spot where it's not very strong.

-It's probably a good idea to paint bullseye targets on the sides of your barn door or garage door frame, and whatever is overhead, and also on the corners of buildings around which you do the most maneuvering. Put extras around 1 to 4 feet high. Never mind why.

 

[seville009]

I always try to have something attached to my 3pt hitch when doing loader work, like moving dirt. Brush hog is a nice counter weight. Not only help balance the tractor and make it less tippy, the added weight helps with traction. Just be mindful of having something back there.

Don’t need that for snow work usually

always use commin sense and take it slow.

 

[dougtrr2]

When your ROPS is up (mine always is) be aware of tree branches especially backing up. It will push them out of the way and then you can really get slapped with them as you pass. DAMHIKT

Doug in SW IA

 

[SmallChange]

You might like this book:

National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program: Student Manual
by Penn State, Ohio State University Extension, et al. | Jun 13, 2013

I got it a few months ago and have enjoyed browsing around in it. This isn't a spectacular handbook, nor a fascinating read straight through, but it does have more than enough to be worth it. It is making me think!

 

[Cat_Driver]

My best advice is WORK SLOW around equipment that can kill you. Move slow, think twice, have ALWAYS have three points touching when climbing on and off. NEVER EVER work on the tractor or add impliments while the tractor is running even three pint hitch attachments. Adjust then shut down adjst shut down. NEVER have anyone within 30 feet of you and your tractor, including animals.
My wife was near me when I picked up some brush a limb was sticking out as I swung around and I almost hit her.
Worst one was when I was killing a dumpster with brush. I was lifting a load of brush and there was a metal pipe stuck in the mix. Tractor STOPPED ( following my own rules) , load in the air hanging 3 feet over the rail of the dumpster, I motioned to my wife to grab the pipe and pull it out so I didn't dump it.

She climbe between the grapple loaded with brush in that three foot area, I say and waited till she cleared the pipe, while waiting in the cab of the tractor. I decided to drink some water as I reached for the water I bumped the hydraulic loader lever and the entire load dropped by an few inches. Thatscared me so bad I stopped working that day.

We all know even with the tractor OFF you can release hydraulics - It just did not register under those condition. That's how bad accidents happen.

That is now where my rule of NO ONE EVEN gets with 30 feet of me on my equipment - NEVER AGAIN.

That simple lapse of thinking could have killed someone.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

There is a condition that people put their front loader in where the cylinders are fully extended and then they back drag and break the cylinders. This is something you should educate yourself on. Do a few internet searches to find out what I'm talking about. Search "I broke my loader cylinders" or like that.

 

[aczlan]

My best advice is WORK SLOW around equipment that can kill you. Move slow, think twice, have ALWAYS have three points touching when climbing on and off. NEVER EVER work on the tractor or add impliments while the tractor is running even three pint hitch attachments. Adjust then shut down adjst shut down. NEVER have anyone within 30 feet of you and your tractor, including animals.
My wife was near me when I picked up some brush a limb was sticking out as I swung around and I almost hit her.
Worst one was when I was killing a dumpster with brush. I was lifting a load of brush and there was a metal pipe stuck in the mix. Tractor STOPPED ( following my own rules) , load in the air hanging 3 feet over the rail of the dumpster, I motioned to my wife to grab the pipe and pull it out so I didn't dump it.

She climbe between the grapple loaded with brush in that three foot area, I say and waited till she cleared the pipe, while waiting in the cab of the tractor. I decided to drink some water as I reached for the water I bumped the hydraulic loader lever and the entire load dropped by an few inches. Thatscared me so bad I stopped working that day.

We all know even with the tractor OFF you can release hydraulics - It just did not register under those condition. That's how bad accidents happen.

That is now where my rule of NO ONE EVEN gets with 30 feet of me on my equipment - NEVER AGAIN.

That simple lapse of thinking could have killed someone.

Another rule: NEVER get under something being held up with hydraulics. Doesn't matter if the tractor is on or off, a blown hose or a bumped lever will end your day in a hurry.

Aaron Z