ebinmaine 67,549 #1 Posted December 22, 2021 You know those occasions when you've yanked on a pull start cord to the point of exhaustion and then realized you forgot to flip the ON switch or unground the engine... ? Or maybe you've tried to start something for 7 hours straight and then remember that the gas valve is off... ? The other day we got a little over 6" of snow. We went to use the snowblower and my little female BBT person asked if I had replaced the broken shear pin we'd found a week earlier. Well of course not. I hadn't even bought any replacements yet... So I commenced about to mumbling the appropriate amount of sentence enhancing colorful words and got a couple of 5/16 bolts to see what length would be right. I replaced the shear pin/bolt and then Trina moved the snow from most of the driveway while I cleared the two portable garages, a tent tarp cover and the two cars etc... Couple hours or whatever goes by. So..... To reiterate... I had repaired the machine and also walked by it multiple times. She had been running the machine and obviously looking down at it on a very regular basis managing the controls. We took a quick break for water snack coffee whatever and then went back out to the snowblower. My female person looks down at the snowblower and she says, "Hey. What are those bolts for?" Well just because Ariens was considerate and intelligent enough to put spare shear pins RIGHT WITH THE &)#(#/@!! MACHINE doesn't mean I was going to be bothered to see that they were there. Feel free to share stories of your moments of ridiculousness so I can feel at least mildly validated about my own obvious blindness to silver bolts contrasting on a black background. Oh, and, have a nice day. Signed, The Large Bear in the orange house. 2 1 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,327 #2 Posted December 22, 2021 (edited) As Homer would say "Doh!!". We have all had these moments that we would prefer not to share - dis-assembled my Echo leaf blower / vacuum this fall because I had no spark - Doh! there is a small microswitch on the air inlet guard - the guard screw was about 3/4 turn from being tight - tightened it up, fired it up..... Edited December 22, 2021 by ri702bill 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,327 #3 Posted December 22, 2021 The WORST is when you have a witness to the moment - always comes up in conversation later ..... 2 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pfrederi 17,741 #4 Posted December 22, 2021 A favorite...out of many. Refill the Farmall M with oil after a change. pouring merrily away from the first gallon jug then noticing a pool of oil spreading on the floor. Drain Plug?? sitting on the hood right in front of me as i poured... 7 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 22,758 #5 Posted December 22, 2021 Back in 1971, I took my Honda 125 with me when I was stationed in Maine (Navy). It was winter, so it sat until spring under a porch. The 1sr nice day of spring, I got out the bike. It had electric start so I started cranking to start it up. Honda's always start easy, but not this time. I cranked until the battery ran out of juice, and I got off and stood there looking at it. That's when I noticed the little lever that turns on the gas. Turned on the gas, turned out the kick start and started on the 1st kick. I have not done anything like that since, sense, cents, sents... Eric, I think that kind of thing only happens in Maine. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,549 #6 Posted December 22, 2021 13 minutes ago, stevasaurus said: I have not done anything like that since, sense, cents, sents... Eric I believe you. Really. When I was a teenager a friend's dad used to tell us "Oh I'm NEVER wrong. I thought I was wrong once waaayy back in 1972. Turns out I was mistaken....." 2 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 9,981 #7 Posted December 22, 2021 Forgotten how many senior moments and not so senior ones I've had. So I've no doubt there'll be more. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ranger 1,750 #8 Posted December 22, 2021 Not me, but a previous customer, (Local, 1-1/2hr drive away, Zoo), who had been loaned a small road sweeper, until their new one was delivered. They called us saying the engine would start and idle, but cut out when throttle opened, (diesel). Driving there and trying it I asked if the fuel gauge was working? It showed empty! The reply “don’t know”, “we phoned your office to ask if we could use’Rebated Diesel’, or must we only use ‘Un-Rebated Diesel’?”. “ You didn’t call us back, so we didn’t put any in”! Needless to say, the only repair needed consisted of refilling the fuel tank! Merry Christmas, Doug. 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
c-series don 8,708 #9 Posted December 22, 2021 @ebinmaineThis just happened. I brought my chainsaw in to my shop for sharpening. I sharpened it and headed back out to the log pile. Got there and the saw won’t start, I’m pulling and pulling thinking damn it all I did was sharpen it and now it won’t run? Yup you guessed it, the switch was off!!! Flipped it up and it started right up. Then I realized it’s 3:00 and I haven’t had lunch yet so I go in the house sit down and read Eric’s thread about boneheaded things!! 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,549 #10 Posted December 22, 2021 1 minute ago, c-series don said: @ebinmaineThis just happened. I brought my chainsaw in to my shop for sharpening. I sharpened it and headed back out to the log pile. Got there and the saw won’t start, I’m pulling and pulling thinking damn it all I did was sharpen it and now it won’t run? Yup you guessed it, the switch was off!!! Flipped it up and it started right up. Then I realized it’s 3:00 and I haven’t had lunch yet so I go in the house sit down and read Eric’s thread about boneheaded things!! I was sending my horrific Maine waves via @stevasaurus to your place. You're welcome. 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,202 #11 Posted December 22, 2021 3 hours ago, ri702bill said: As Homer would say "Doh!!" 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darb1964 1,042 #12 Posted December 22, 2021 I don't remember doing any such thing, my wife of thirty six years does. 1 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,592 #13 Posted December 22, 2021 Oil change check drain plug check drain plug recheck check fire it up… oil shower everywhere… oh yeah… FILLER PLUG not check… oops… 2 1 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
R Scheer 502 #14 Posted December 22, 2021 Ever go looking all over the shop for something you just put down, only to find it was right on the workbench where you were working? No that never happened to me either... 2 1 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darb1964 1,042 #15 Posted December 22, 2021 Well I guess she's not perfect anymore either, just after I responded earlier my phone rings, can you open the over head door I can't find my opener. So I went out and opened it for her and grabbed the six pack of soda I left in the porch. 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stepney 2,325 #16 Posted December 22, 2021 Too many to count but least I admit I I suppose haha.. An old favorite.. bit of a long story. Buddy had a 1971 SkiDoo Track 'N Trail mongrel a few years back. Was built from the scrapped ruins of several sleds.. Hirth single cylinder engine out of a MotoSki, Rupp clutches, skis off a Johnson, suspension out of an old SnoJet.. Mercury outboard tank under the hood because the tank was gone. None of the sleds had a key switch to rob. So we wired in a toggle. I myself had a 1968 Arctic Cat P12K which ran a familiar to all of us here, Kohler K301, mag fired with the 'hot cam' from a King Midget motor car. The P12 had ignition trouble and would act up on it's own accord randomly but .. 'once underway, she's OK!' Slow down and it would get weak spark.. throttle/choke perfectly arranged you could save it. If not you may be stuck for a while.. Anyway. Being the brilliant highschooler I was, we got together one evening to take a ride. Only the P12 had a working lamp. Clouds were coming in and it was getting dark. Best time to ride at night of course.. just a 15 mile run over the mountain, over the town line, and home through the lakeside trail as normal. It started to hail. Neither of us were dressed proper so booted it for home. While I spun the AC around it quit. When I tried to pull it over, the recoil clutch blew apart, as it had many times before. We were up toward the top of the hill in the back of an apple orchard with nobody inside of a mile nearby. Who didn't have tools for the 'quick ride'? To cut a long story short, we knifed the rope off and wound it over the PTO side and got it going. He mounts up the TNT and it wont start. We have no rope to tow his sled, I break my recoil rope trying to use that, the Cat stalls again. By now I dont feel my toes anymore and it's about 15*. Fought his old sled every way we could gather.. check the wires, check the switch, simply would not fire. It was ON.. No spark. By now best bet was to foot it out. But we had no lights. Phones would die quick in the cold. Finally get the tired AC going again by booting it over with a heel on the clutch. Using his spare drive belt and my thoroughly useless coat, tie up his TNT and start heading back up the trail. Somewhere along the way, the clutch hangs up on the SkiDoo and the engine starts rolling over, but I can't hear his shouts to stop from the overworked AC. After roughly half an hour of this misery, coming into the field behind the house, the AC seizes up on the grade leading to the house.. We call it quits. Walk the remainder of the way, get inside, explain ourselves to my poor grandparents, and warm up for the night. Next morning, the K series has loosened back up, we get it running and drag the thoroughly frozen SkiDoo into the yard. Hop on the seat, flip the switch to the upward position, one pull, and .. off she goes? The upward position.. which is OFF. OFF being, on a two post light switch, an incomplete path to ground, for the coil, to run the engine.. Yep. That entire 'Alice's' Restaurant' disaster of a story could have simply been avoided, had we just remembered OFF is ON and ON is OFF due to my questionably rushed wiring job to get that marching ready for an ice fishing derby. I guess frigid weather and back of the mind panic does that to a person. The K sled got sold off to a collector, and the T'NT now rests at the bottom of a lake outside of Rangely, ME. Always wear your tether cords.. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,549 #17 Posted December 22, 2021 22 minutes ago, R Scheer said: Ever go looking all over the shop for something you just put down, only to find it was right on the workbench where you were working? The BBT has an extraordinarily good memory. This benefits me greatly because mine is the opposite. She knows where she puts things down. ALWAYS. Almost. A few weeks ago we needed the hand air pump. It's kept in one of just a couple places so we know where to look. Was it there? No. Other there? Nope. She looks for a while. Can't find it. Any where. At all. I walked in the basement workshop door. It's. Sitting. Right. There. 1 1 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,232 #18 Posted December 22, 2021 3 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: It's. Sitting. Right. There. You did know that air pumps can move on their own, right, just like most other tools. When we're not paying attention they make fun of us and play pranks like moving out of sight and then back to where they were. Really. I swear! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,549 #19 Posted December 22, 2021 2 minutes ago, Handy Don said: You did know that air pumps can move on their own, right, just like most other tools. When we're not paying attention they make fun of us and play pranks like moving out of sight and then back to where they were. Really. I swear! I am well aware of this phenomenon. To the best of my knowledge that was the first occurrence for her. For me it seems I have several tape measures that are enabled to frolic on their own..... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,594 #20 Posted December 23, 2021 I opened the hood on my 1076 to check the fuel level while I was at a show. Gas gap was gone! Who the heck would have taken my gas gap? There is no way that it could have came off, it would have hit the hood before it was able to fall off. Got home from the show, put a different cap on the tank. Well about 3 shows later I was checking the fuel level again and I look down at the engine and sitting right on top of the engine was the original gas cap, right where I must have set it down at some time. Truly amazed at how many miles the tractor spent on a trailer going down the road at 60+mph plus driving around at shows and the cap was still sitting on top of the engine. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 12,232 #21 Posted December 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Achto said: Truly amazed at how many miles the tractor spent on a trailer going down the road at 60+mph plus driving around at shows and the cap was still sitting on top of the engine. As noted before, IMHO that cap moved itself to some secure spot during the drives and then got tired of playing hide-and-seek and came out where you could see it! 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daddy Don 905 #22 Posted December 23, 2021 10 hours ago, ebinmaine said: You know those occasions when you've yanked on a pull start cord to the point of exhaustion and then realized you forgot to flip the ON switch or unground the engine... ? Or maybe you've tried to start something for 7 hours straight and then remember that the gas valve is off... ? The other day we got a little over 6" of snow. We went to use the snowblower and my little female BBT person asked if I had replaced the broken shear pin we'd found a week earlier. Well of course not. I hadn't even bought any replacements yet... So I commenced about to mumbling the appropriate amount of sentence enhancing colorful words and got a couple of 5/16 bolts to see what length would be right. I replaced the shear pin/bolt and then Trina moved the snow from most of the driveway while I cleared the two portable garages, a tent tarp cover and the two cars etc... Couple hours or whatever goes by. So..... To reiterate... I had repaired the machine and also walked by it multiple times. She had been running the machine and obviously looking down at it on a very regular basis managing the controls. We took a quick break for water snack coffee whatever and then went back out to the snowblower. My female person looks down at the snowblower and she says, "Hey. What are those bolts for?" Well just because Ariens was considerate and intelligent enough to put spare shear pins RIGHT WITH THE &)#(#/@!! MACHINE doesn't mean I was going to be bothered to see that they were there. Feel free to share stories of your moments of ridiculousness so I can feel at least mildly validated about my own obvious blindness to silver bolts contrasting on a black background. Oh, and, have a nice day. Signed, The Large Bear in the orange house. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daddy Don 905 #23 Posted December 23, 2021 Been there done that. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClassicTractorProfessor 5,314 #24 Posted January 3, 2022 It happens to us all. Back in September of 2020 before we lost my good friend Rodger we were working to get a bunch of his tractors ready to go to a parade. We took his Farmall H, Farmall BN 2 seater, Farmall Cub, and Farmall Regular. The first three fired right up without any trouble, but the old Regular just flat out wouldn't start. Rodger's grandaughter's husband cranked on it for several minutes until he wore out his arm, afterwards I grabbed the crank and tried for several minutes. When my arm was tired of cranking as well, I fired up the John Deere R and we commenced to dragging it all over the 3 acres at the shop attempting to pull start it. Finally Steven stands up, leans over the steering wheel and removes the gas cap, hollers up to me on the R that he thinks he found the problem. Quick trip to town and 5 gallons of gas later, I grabbed the hand crank and had her running on the first crank of the handle 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mickwhitt 4,629 #25 Posted January 3, 2022 I repaired a chain saw for a neighbour. It had been left standing fir a couple of years so I drained the tank, cleaned the carb, refilled her and sharpened the chain. Ran like a good un, job done. He used it flawlessly for a few days then called to say it wouldn't run right and that petrol was pouring out if it did fire. Yep, gas in the chain oil tank and oil in the gas tank. Another clean out and a wipe up of his embarrassment charged for lol. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
