seat switch

[sprintlawncare]

when i bought my 2003 chopper, i unplugged the seat switch. i later heard that the battery will run down if it's unplugged. i didn't think much about it but a couple of days ago, my battery went dead. i had it checked and it's a good battery. is there any truth to the seat switch.

[PROMOWER]

Yup, the relay will still be powered up and pulling juice from the battery. There is a way around this, but as a dealer and living in the society we do today, I suggest hooking it back up. Had a customer catch a water shut off box and get thrown off the lawnmower. Would of got run over by it if the seat switch wasn't there. it just jently nudged him. Now mind you, hew was mowing at 15 mph+ ;) :D

[MikeL]

I hooked up a switch in parallel with the seat switch so that I can get off the mower (with blades stopped and parking brake set for safety) and still have the engine running but then I flip the switch so the seat switch operates normally while I'm on it. That way I can pick up or move stuff in the yard w/o having to cool it down to shut off and I can blow the clippings off of it during the cool down at the end, but still have the safety in place during operation. I mounted the switch in the hole opposite the cable that keeps the seat from going too far forward so it won't get bumped accidentally, and most people would never know it's there if I didn't show them.

[mowon]

Why can't DC have the safety switch only work when the blades are turning. I know I sould use the tongs to pick up things but I am having a hard time moving tramolines with the tongs that I am told to use.

[txchopper]

A. it is bad for an engine to idle, no matter how short the time might be. B. this is the safest mower on the market, you get off and it will not run. Can't be any safer then that.

[leadarrows]

A. it is bad for an engine to idle, no matter how short the time might be. B. this is the safest mower on the market, you get off and it will not run. Can't be any safer then that.

Thats complete nonsense. Warming up and cooling down a motor is essential to the long life of any motor. The way DC has there seat safety switch is completely unnecessary over kill for insurance reasons and only a dumb but wouldn't know that. So please don't insult our intelligence with such BS.
The way MikeL has his is the way too go. Just remember running it with the safety on like it should be is what you should do. Using the switch for warm-up and cool down with the blades disengaged is completely safe. Getting off to pick up trash with the blades still on........not so safe. It just takes an extra second to turn off the blades so do it and be safe.

[mowon]

I agree with leadarrows with his complete post. If I don't let my chopper idle down for sometime the mower backfires very loud. As long as there are all these safety issues why not have it shut down when the blades are running and you go in reverse.Safety first..would hate to back over something or someone that would sneak up behind me.If your ordinary consumer lawn tractor can run with the blades off and you dismount I would think the dixie could too.

[txchopper]

leadarrows............ I find your response completly out of line and totally un-called for. My post was non-confortive nor did it single anyone out as being lacking in intelligence. I did not realize you were this thin-skinned, nor did I intend to ruffle your feathers. Having owned an Outdoor Power equipment shop, sitting through several schools and attending scours of service updates. All engine manufactors have shared of how detrimental it is to idle an "air cooled" engine. Now these folks might have been trying to blow smoke up my skirt, and I fell for it, but this is what is taught. Please feel free to contact each and everyone of them and share with them your vast knowledge, hence pointing out the error of their thoughts and ideas. Who knows, you might be able to point out something that, their vast number of years of experiance, has been over-looked. Now about the safety of the mower. Chopper has "1" safety switch compared to "11" on Skaggs and the likes. Most mechanics will share with you the ease and simplicity of trouble- shooting a "one" switch system. Having spoken with Art Evens, the founder of Dixie Chopper, and hearing first hand his reasons in this system, I can assure you he states that this is the safest design on the market. It far surpasses "ANSI" standards of which the rest of the industry settle for. But again... feel free to speak with Mr. Evens and share with him your opinion of his BS reasoning. This site is for the sharing of information and opinions, responding posts that accuse people of being full of "BS" will only curtail inter-action of the site. I doubt that would benifit anyone here. Have a great day and always play nice. :D

[leadarrows]

As for ruffled feathers...nope not here just voicing my opinion like every one else. I just get tired of hearing some things said. Look we all know that most people don't check to see if their blades are still turning by sticking their fingers under the deck. These safety devises are the results of that one in a thousand that do something that dumb. But we all have to pay for it in extra purchases costs and down time that is created by restarting you mower every time you need to walk away from it for something. As for the founder of DC I'M sure he is a real smart and honorable man but he has too cover his ASSets and the system he has installed does do that very well. It just doesn't fit into the reality of my needs for getting the job done and for doing what I know is best for MY equipment paid for with MY hard-earned dollars. Look I'm not looking for a fight here but we would have to get some one whose specialty is metallurgy to prove who is right. In any event your going to have a hard time convincing me that metal of any kind doesn't resist becoming more brittle with time if the cooling process is more gradual as opposed to shutting down a ticking hot motor. Do you know what I mean by ticking hot?
That?s how hot these Kal's get and if you shut it off just to get a piece of paper or something half the time they flood on restart and there you sit. I have four old JD tractors that I have been using sense I was ten. That?s forty years and my granddad taught me how to take care of them, One thing he insisted on was warm up and cool down time. I still have the JD 1020 and the JD 2020 and neither one of them even uses any oil. That's proof enough for me. You want to ban me for telling theses fellas on here the truth as I know it then so be it but I wont sit by and listen to BS wit out calling it that.
Oh and you know were not talking about idling it all day long you know.

"All engine manufactures have shared of how detrimental it is to idle an "air cooled" engine."

You do have my attention with this statement ...mostly I'm a little worried. I would very much like hearing exactly what they said. I can't imagine that this is true. Prove me wrong with facts and I will apologize to you for my offense.

I will leave you with this .. You'll get my seat safety switch bypass switch away from me when you pry it out of my dead cold hand. LOL

And yes I no now you can make some remark about it coming to that running my DC with the safety off but I don?t do that so?.lol
Using it the way I do and Mikel said is no less safe and it?s a lot more practical. And practical is the world I have to live in if I?m going to accomplish my goals.
Oh and just for the record I never intended to attack you heck I don?t even know who you are, or any thing about you, that would cause me to attack you. I did attack your position on this issue and I stand by what I said.
I will be awaiting your proof that the metal parts of an engine are not more adversely effected by rapid heating and cooling than they are by more gradually heating and cooling. Until then have a nice day.

[Mowingman]

Interesting topic here about the seat switch draining the battery. It must take a long time to drain the battery. I unhooked my seat switch the day I bought my XW2500. It has set as long as 4 months without ever being cranked up, and the battery is always good and strong. It is now nearly 3 years old, and still using the same battery. Someone explain why my battery does not go dead.
Also, I am in the group that feels the seat switch setup on the Dixies is pretty stupid. Safe, yes. Practical, no. You should be able to get off to pick of debris and litter, or move stuff. how good is it for the starter to have to be operated 40 times/day instead of 10? Maybe that is why the starters failed so quickly on the Generac engines? ROTFLMAO

[2manymowers]

I hooked up a switch in parallel with the seat switch so that I can get off the mower (with blades stopped and parking brake set for safety) and still have the engine running but then I flip the switch so the seat switch operates normally while I'm on it. That way I can pick up or move stuff in the yard w/o having to cool it down to shut off and I can blow the clippings off of it during the cool down at the end, but still have the safety in place during operation. I mounted the switch in the hole opposite the cable that keeps the seat from going too far forward so it won't get bumped accidentally, and most people would never know it's there if I didn't show them.

MikeL,

Sent you a PM.

TMM

[MikeL]

Replied to the PM.


The battery going dead thing might depend on where you unplug it, or how you bypass it. I suspect that my switch might drain the battery if I parked it with it on, but I haven't tested it.


I decided to install the switch after about the second time my dad hopped off to move stuff and the engine died with a loud backfire because it hadn't been cooled down. That can't be good for it. And there's no way I'm going to sit for a couple minutes idling to shut it down before getting off to move something.

Our old JD lawn tractor had the seat switch hooked in to the blade switch so it only killed it if the blades were on. That worked pretty well, but I'm not sure how you'd hook that in to the DC's manual lever (the JD had an electric clutch). Maybe if you hooked in so it was disabled if the levers were out (in the parked/locked position)?

[DC Service]

Dixie Chopper is looking in to the seat switch issue.It will add to the cost of a machine,but in the interest of safety to the operator,we will have to live with the present system for now. :o

[rvparkownr]

On my Silver Eagle you can get off with the engine running if the blades are disconnected and the brake is set. When you get back on and forget to release the brake as soon as you try to move one of the steering levers it kills the engine. I like the setup, I don't have to shut down a hot engine without cooling it off while I take care of other stuff and allows me to let it warm up for a couple of minutes without having to sit there on the mower. Also keeps me from forgetting the brake. Its a good thing. :)

Terry

[Mowingman]

Two issues here we need to discuss a little more.
1. txchopper said that manufacturers do not want you to idle an air-cooled engine. I find that hard to believe. The Kawasaki owners manuals, and the Kohler owners manuals BOTH RECOMMEND an idle period to warm up the engine. Kohler does not set a time, but Kawasaki says 3-4 min. BOTH RECOMMEND an idle period before shutdown to cool off the engine. Kawasaki says about 1 min., Kohler says 1/2 to 1 min. Besides, if you want to step off the machine to pick up something, you can leave the engine running wide open if you choose.
2. Probable reason DC has the odd setup they use. Most everyone else in the industry uses an electric clutch. So as long as the clutch is off, other safety switches can let you out of the seat with the engine running and you can be sure blades are not turning. DC can not do this as they have a manual blade clutch. Only way to assure blades have stopped is to kill the engine. Now, they might be able to put a kill switch on the lever that engages the blades, but that would require a switch and wires near moving belts,and in a very dirty/dusty area, which could be a problem.
Just my thoughts for what they are worth. :D

[MikeL]

I think you hit the nail exactly on the head with #2. And I wouldn't expect them to put a blade-sensed switch on a Dixie anytime soon. I suspect if they do change it, that they'll put something interlocking with the parking brake or the handles. Not as safe as the blade interlock, but at least they can be sure the mower isn't moving with no operator.

Really though, the safest solution is a switch like I have combined with operator dilligence in turning off the blades before getting out of the seat and turning the switch off when returning to operation. But in today's society you can't count on, or even expect, the second part...

[txchopper]

#2 did not hit the nail on the head. If one was to look at the Dixon model 3301,3302,3303 and 3304, one would find a "break-over center" situp just identical to Choppers. But the Dixon is setup with "operators presence",being able to get off the machine and it still have the engine running, which shows it can be done with a "break-over-center" application. The Dixon models have three kill switches that allow this mode of operation. As I replied previously, Mr Evens feels this a safer mode of operation and it does not allow engines to just sit and idle. Yup...a lil bit of idling is good, but how many times have you seen machines idling for an extended amount of time. I have seen it, I have done it. But this does not change the reasoning in the present setup. Weathe r we agree or disagree with the reasoning, it is a safe and sound design. The silver eagle, also, has more saftey switches, I believe it has 5.

[lancepr]

Where did you disconnect the switch to prevent it from draining the battery.
I installed a switch right behind the throttle, but wife can never remember to turn it off, so the next day my battery is dead. It drives me crazy!

With 2 kids and a dog, the kill switch is just unreasonable for me.