Ashamed ...snow blower accident

[ljellio]

So I have been debating weather to post this or not and have decided I should. On new years eve the snow slid off my roof into my driveway I wAnted to get it cleaned up before it froze in. I was home alone with my two young boys 7 and 2. Was not thrilled about them being inside alone but had to get the snow taken care of . I knew going in if would be hard blowing with the cub cadet 149 with single stage but doable . It clogged several times but I expected so I would disengage drive forward to stop auger back up and clean out the shoot. All was going great and I was almost done but had been a while and boys were in the house alone . I got in a hurry as it was turning dark and it clogged up I disengaged and hopped off to clean it out and bang . Notice I missed a step. So I'm sitting here writing this with three broken fingers which have 7 pins holding them together . So please everyone be careful this winter it only takes a second to make a dumb mistake

 

[PeterK]

It's good to be reminded. Thanks for that. Hope that you are on the mend.

 

[ljellio]

On the mend but ski season is shot. Doc says I should keep the all but looking at 8 weeks or more out of work and useless

 

[Don87]

At least you still have fingers, my neighbor 25 years ago lost all 4 fingers in his snowblower. Cut 'em completely off.

 

[Markcuda]

Shouldn't the blower have stopped running when you got off?

 

[dave1949]

Sorry about your fingers, thanks for posting. It's good to be reminded. Truth be told I bet most people on here that have all there fingers and eyes owe a lot to luck, so don't be so ashamed.
Dave.

 

[First one]

Sorry to here the bad news . My uncle acouple years ago was using his snow blower. After about the third time getting clogged up he forgot to disengage it and drove his hand down in it. If it wasn't for his leather glove getting pulled off and stalling the motor ,he would have lost more than just the two fingers.
I own a DR mower/snow blower and use a stick( after I disengage the Alger) to get the snow out when it gets plugged up . The other night after using it I put it in my pole barn and left it running . I was just going back out to get my gas can ,when I heard the alger start by itself. Before I could get back in to turn it off ,somehow it got a hold of my four wheeler cover and proceeded to eat it . It took me 20 min. to get it out.
Learned a good lessen from it .... Even if you disengage your alger with the motor running **** can happen quick. Never use hands to get it unclogged:thumbsup: P.S. I was wondering how I was going to get a new cover because I had a hole in mine, Now that it has about 20 in it I guess I can justify it now.:ashamed:

 

[ljellio]

Markcuda pto was disengaged just hadn't stopped spinning yet and it's a 1973 so does not have pto safety off

 

[ljellio]

This is the X-ray of the fingers just to drive the safety reminder home .

 

[Chuck Oppermann]

Wow. Sorry about you accident. About 20 years ago I was snowblowing our driveway with a 420 with a single stage snowblower. I was making good time and was blowing past the dog house and the golden retriever housed there was deathly afraid of the snowblower. He was at the end of his very 25' heavy chain in the opposite direction. All of a sudden the snowblower started jumping aroung and grinding and pulling the dog toward it. The dog had all four brakes on and I got the thing shut off with about 3' to spare. It took me half a day to pull that chain out. Prior to that I was a little careless with people and animals around. I learned a good lesson there and so did my dog.

 

[MikeInMaine]

I am a first-year PTO blower user, and I appreciate your sharing the details of your frightening and painful accident. Tractors give us lots of opportunities to learn from our mistakes. I wish you all the best, and a quick recovery.

Mike

 

[Don87]

Shouldn't the blower have stopped running when you got off?

As 'First One' posted, please, don't ever bet your life or body parts on a simple switch. The best way is to shut the tractor engine off while clearing a clog, but the next best thing is using a (wooden) broom handle or something similar.........just in case.

Never ever use your hands unless the engine is off.:thumbsup:

 

[Eyeshade]

Don't be ashamed, I'm glad you posted. It is a reminder to us all to be vigilant when using power equipment. Your post may have saved some fingers and hands. Get well.

 

[Markcuda]

Wow, I never gave it a second thought yesterday when I cleaned out my blower while the motor was still running
Before I back it into the garage, I get off and broom off all the snow(while the tractor is running), I sure will think about this practice in the future.
I do like all ten of my meat hooks

 

[Mace Canute]

Wow. Sorry about you accident. About 20 years ago I was snowblowing our driveway with a 420 with a single stage snowblower. I was making good time and was blowing past the dog house and the golden retriever housed there was deathly afraid of the snowblower. He was at the end of his very 25' heavy chain in the opposite direction. All of a sudden the snowblower started jumping aroung and grinding and pulling the dog toward it. The dog had all four brakes on and I got the thing shut off with about 3' to spare. It took me half a day to pull that chain out. Prior to that I was a little careless with people and animals around. I learned a good lesson there and so did my dog.

Sounds like your dog already knew the snowblower was dangerous before it tried to eat him! (I'm really glad he wasn't hurt! )

Some have pointed out quite correctly that a person should always use a stick to unclog a plugged snowblower but you have to be very careful even with a stick. If you poke it down through the snow blockage and the end connects just right (or should that be just wrong?) with the impeller, it could get batted right out at you. If your face happens to be in the way...well, you can figure out all the bad things that could happen if you get even a blunt end of a stick slammed into your face!

 

[mmurphy]

Wish you a speedy recovery.
Always remember stored energy from a wedged clog. Blower may be turned off, but still could get your fingers when freed. I always put a stick in to move jammed parts to make sure that does not happen.

 

[texasjohn]

Sad to hear about the mishap...glad things are recovering...wish you all the best, thanks for sharing....makes me glad I live where I don't need a snow blower...but I've got other stuff that is equally dangerous!

 

[Don87]

Sounds like your dog already knew the snowblower was dangerous before it tried to eat him! (I'm really glad he wasn't hurt! )

Some have pointed out quite correctly that a person should always use a stick to unclog a plugged snowblower but you have to be very careful even with a stick. If you poke it down through the snow blockage and the end connects just right (or should that be just wrong?) with the impeller, it could get batted right out at you. If your face happens to be in the way...well, you can figure out all the bad things that could happen if you get even a blunt end of a stick slammed into your face!

Thanx , I forgot to add that part.

 

[Egon]

Have a speedy recovery.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Stuff happens to everyone.

 

[DavidVT]

Good luck on the mending! Don't be ashamed, it is just a matter of confirming one's humanity. As others said, ##it happens. I must admit when you started the story mentioning the kids, i hesitated to finish reading for fear of where you were going with it.

Even with the engine off there is a risk of what I call 'stored torque' being released.

I loved the dog story and could see myself doing that. Did the poor dog ever trust you again?

Today I start a rebuild on an old John Deere trax26 snowblower I picked up for 60 bucks. Electric start kit arrived last night. This thread will help as a reminder to watch my fingers.

Back when I was a kid I recall a news story of a drunk road crew truck mounted snowblower driver vs child incident that did not work out well for the child. That mental image and pto farm accident films for my ems work have served to make me overly respect large rotating bone crushing equipment for my entire life.