I must be getting old...or wise.

[Big_A]

This weekend my son and I were mowing around our rental property. He was using the push mower and I was trimming with the weed-wacker when I saw him coming around the side of our shed smiling. I shut off the trimmer but could still hear an engine running. I asked him where the lawn mower was and he beamed with pride.

"Hear it running?" he said, "I figured out how to keep it running without having to hold that handle thing!" I about lost it. I said "Son, don't you understand that they put that handle switch on push mowers so if you lose control of the mower you can just let go and it will stop!"

Then I got to thinking, I remember when they came out with these switches and the first thing I thought was; "Here we go with another stupid safty thing to keep stupid people from hurting themselves. I'll just wrap this wire around the handle and that'll fix it"

Man, how things have changed.

 

[DIYGuy]

I often used a velcro strap once I got the thing running. Shutting down to move a garden hose, or pick up a piece of debris was really irritating. Now I do it all from the tractor seat.

Ranks up there with Chain Saw Brakes and seat activated shut offs.

 

[markct]

well diy guy, i will say this about the safety features ya mentioned, lawnmower deadmans,seat safety switches, and most other safety devices i agree are silly, but i think that chainsaw brake is one of the biggest safety improvements even made to the chainsaw, it doesnt interfeer with normal operation in any way, if you bump it your hand shouldnt have been that far forward anyhow, yet if the saw kicks back it hits your wrist and locks the chain imediatly. i am definatly not one for excessive safety features, i have been known to bypass seat switches, lawnmower deadmans and a whole bunch of other safety features, but the chainsaw brake is a great idea in my view and i see no reason to bypass it ever. i used my fathers old homelite for years that had no chain brake, never had a problem, but then recently i bought a stihl MS 310 saw and it has the break and i never even considered altering it. i worked a few years at a chainsaw shop and went thru the stihl training courses and thats on of the big things you need to check for proper opperation before you sell a saw to a customer. like i said, its rare that i agree with a safety device but in this case i think its very effective

 

[PineRidge]

I used to think they were silly. Then one day while mowing the grass on the backside of my dam I slipped on the damp grass and fell. The mower was on the high side of me and by the time that it got to me it had already quit. The dead-man switch saved me that day big time. I have never regretted it since. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The mower was on the high side of me and by the time that it got to me it had already quit)</font>

That's great, Mike, if you remember to turn the handle loose so the mower cuts off. A fellow who worked for me several years ago was doing the same thing; mowing a borrow ditch and had the mower uphill from himself, stepped back, stumbled, and fell, but held onto the mower handle, pulled it right back onto his feet, and spent a long, long time in the hospital.

 

[keeney]

When I worked at a large mower manufacturer, one design change that the lawyers initiated was to make the dead-man's handle mechanism so that it had to be pushed down to cock it and then held up to keep the mower running.

This was because some fool duck-taped the old simple dead-man's handle and when he left the operator's safe position to pick up some debris, the still-running mower (on a hill) rolled into him and clipped his foot. The injured person successfully sued because the dead-man's handle was too easy to defeat.

I would hope that anybody who thinks they are smart enough to bypass a safety feature would really be smart enough to take responsibility for their own safety.

- Rick

 

[DIYGuy]

Completely agree, you have to be responsible for your own actions. If you defeat a safety device, you are completely responsible for any resulting injuries, no question there.

As for chain saw brakes, mine has never worked right and it's safer to pull it off, then run the saw compressing the brake release to the handle.

 

[Egon]

Kinda wodering ; does one have to be old to be wise? Or is that a wish of the old to compensate for age?

In my limited experience it has always been the old whom are putting the young into compromozing situations cause they have the opinion that " Might is Right ".

Egon

 

[Slamfire]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( As for chain saw brakes, mine has never worked right and it's safer to pull it off, then run the saw compressing the brake release to the handle. )</font>

Eewwyyuu! I don't care for the sound of that. It has become a habit for me to lock the brakes and leaving the motor running when moving around with the saw. That isn't very good either, but I got it when using hard to start saws. Now I have a saw that if it don't start by the third pull, hot or cold the switch is off. I'm still wearin' out brake bands, which pleases my dealer, as I have to replace the whole side cover. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> Kinda wodering ; does one have to be old to be wise? Or is that a wish of the old to compensate for age?

</font>

Egon we grow old too soon, and too late smart. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif