2 wheel tractor dead man switches - what is your preference?

[Bigjaker]

I have a 853 with the transport gear. Accidentally put it in transport and that kill switch did save my bacon. I have several attachments, one being the rotary plow. While working some new land I hit some root ball from a former tree that jumped the BCS and jerked it from my hands. The kill switch gave me confidence that day that I need to keep it hooked up. Someone above said you hate it until you need it. No matter how careful you are and safety conscious you never know what lies ahead.

 

[charles todd]

Have a 1978 Troy Bilt Horse tiller. Not a safety device on it. Wife refuses to use it.

CT

 

[cmyoung2]

Years ago(about 50) I was trying to till hard ground with an Economy tractor with a rear mounted tiller-ran off the crank pulley on the front of the motor. The foot tiller clutch was on the side with the brakes. Hit a hard spot, tiller jumped up on top of the ground, lifting the rear wheels off the ground. The tiller was turning much faster than the tires--much faster- So, no brakes, tractor clutch did nothing, the tiller clutch was difficult to reach, especially with a new implement. All that equals a run away tractor--With Mom in front of it. Still not sure how nobody got hurt. SO, safety switches sometimes are nice-wish I had had something that day.

 

[oughtsix]

I just ordered a new dead mans lever for the BCS 948. You guys talked me into taking it back to original.

 

[Sonny580]

some of my stuff has crude switches on them but most are too old for them. I was going to add aftermarket switches but the job to install them would be complicated since they were never designed for that crap to begin with.
I despise them and wire the handles down on mine. They are still on there and would work but I cant fight them anymore. --- Being careful works better for me.

 

[oughtsix]

some of my stuff has crude switches on them but most are too old for them. I was going to add aftermarket switches but the job to install them would be complicated since they were never designed for that crap to begin with.
I despise them and wire the handles down on mine. They are still on there and would work but I cant fight them anymore. --- Being careful works better for me.

This is my emergency shut off switch on my late 70's Mainline / BCS 735. If the tractor is running away from me it is pretty easy to grab the switch and pull it backwards. It is not a dead mans switch but it works well for me when I need to kill the engine quickly or at my leisure without having to kill the engine when I dodn't want to.

Just a toggle switch and a small piece of angle aluminum. Cost maybe $2.

P.S. I REALLY like the V shaped granny bar that they put on the back of these handle bars! It allows me to get my hips into controlling the tractor which is a LOT less tiring than relying on my biceps/triceps for all controlling of the tractor. I was told they removed them in later models for safety reasons.

 

[PhilG327]

When I first bought my little hobby farm I had a hand-me-down Troy Bilt Horse tiller that had been passed around my wife's side of the family for years. Did a great job of tilling but that one time it hit a rock and got away from me it was a hard run across the pasture to catch it and shut it off. Replaced it with my BCS 852 and got out the checkbook when the dealer explained the dead man switch. I would never go back. It's come in handy with the brush mower attachment too. Got away from me once with the sickle bar but before I could release the handle it took out an expensive Michelin on the Jeep

 

[hkbirdman]

None on the Gravely 5665. Once ran into a YJ nest. Just ran off and left it running until the YJs calmed down enough to back it away from the stump.

I bought a used Gravely Pro 10 that had a dead-man switch which was disabled by the previous owner. I used it in this manner for a few years and then took in to a dealer for service. They advised me that before they released it from their service dept, - (from a liability standpoint) - they would have to activate the dead-man switch once again. I used it this way and probably 10 months later was using it with the brush-cutter attachment and was backing up and tripped over a low-cut stump. As I lay there on the ground - I was so glad to see the motor shut down. It saved me from serious injury and possibly death.