Did something dumb today.

[Crusarius]

That is why I painted one of the bottles red. The paint has definitely worn over the years but is still obvious. and I do not keep them in the same areas.

I have done plenty of dumb things in my time, I do my best to prevent me from doing them when I am in a hurry!

[Hilltop366]

Backhoe stuck? A great time to learn to "walk" on the buckets.

Push down on the front bucket in the dump position (not quite all the way) then lift rear with the back bucket then at the same time push back with the front bucket as you pull with the rear. 

Oh and try not to flip yourself over.

Hard to do with modern hoe with pilot controls because it take 2 hands to control the dipper and boom which leaves no hand left to run the front bucket.

[aigheadish]

Hilltop, that was close to what I ended up doing. I didn't think to try to push backward with the loader bucket as much as just lift the front wheels out of the mud. I'll have to give that a try sometime. 

And for real on the not flipping yourself over. I felt like the bottom of my back tires were off the ground like 4 feet but I don't really know, I just know it was scary!

[Resonator]

I never tried it, but I know there are pro operators who can "climb" a backhoe onto or off of a trailer without using ramps. 

[JJ]

like this guy?
Loading a Backhoe into the truck. - YouTube

[trimguy]

Yes, but their pins don't have any play in them. 😁

[KenMac]

If my ramps keep gaining weight I might try loading mine in my dump trailer soon!!! :D

[aigheadish]

Yes, but their pins don't have any play in them. 😁

Yet! 
I can't imagine! That's so scary! He's driving it back off! Here, when I'm lifted just a foot or two and I feel the machine rocking side to side I get nervous.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Another no cost, no damage but still dumb move. I decided to see if I could go harvest an archery deer and try out my new sausage stuffer so I rode my beat up ATV up to the East gate and walked to my original shooting house. I sat in it a couple hours with no volunteers to become a target and then replaced the deer feeder battery and shook the remaining corn down so it will feed out a few more days then I walked back over and got on my ATV. It would not turn over and I could not pull start it so I got on and pushed off and rode it down to the front gate about 400 yards away at the edge of the yard near where we park our trucks. I came back later and opened the gate and pushed off and rode it another 25-30 yards to a spot where I could load it on a trailer easily. I got to checking for a loose wire or such but no luck. Then I remembered the little yellow button, the kill switch, on the left handle and pushed it to the left. Yep, it fired right up. I guess I had bumped it shorting it out from future cranking. They sure crank and run better when the kill switch is off. :

[Old Greenhorn]

Don't feel bad Howard, at least it sounds like it was all downhill headed home.

I got hoodwinked in a similar fashion back in the early spring. Neighbor calls me and says he can't start his ATV. SInce it had been running badly a few weeks earlier I had brought it up and cleaned the carb and serviced it for him with a new plug and filters. Turned out he had not followed my instructions and ran ethanol gas in it. He doesn't run it much, so it sits. One tank of gas could last him a season easily. so after cleaning it all up and running it around on the roads to blow it out all was good. When he called 2 weeks later, he had assumed I 'did something'. SO I went down and tried it, couldn't start it. So we towed it up to the shop, but I was bust so let it set for another day. In the meantime my son stopped by, saw it in the shop and asked why it was there. I told him, he climbed on, flipped off the kill switch and started it right up. I had never looked at that, always shut it off with the ignition. SO next day I brought it back and said it was go to go, then taught him about the kill switch. I still don't think he really knows what non-ethanol gas is. :D

[aigheadish]

In a similar vain- My FIL gave us a wood splitter, I'd used it a few times, successfully, then put it in the shed. A few months go by and I drag it out of the shed to split some wood. I proceed to pull the pull-start and pull the pull-start and pull the pull-start. I'm getting a chug but it never fires up. I thought I was going to rip my shoulder out. Eventually, I remembered there's a fuel cutoff. It's amazing how easy it was to start after I flipped that little lever. 

[Old Greenhorn]

That happened to me once. My son borrowed the splitter to help out a client and when he EVENTUALLY returned it I couldn't get it started. I was pretty ticked when I discovered he closed the cutoff for transport. I never close that valve. I lost an hour and a shoulder figuring it out.

[aigheadish]

Getting mad as can be and exhausted! I promptly wrote a note on my phone of the proper process to start the splitter. 

[moosehunter]

OG,
"When he called 2 weeks later, he had assumed I 'did something'. SO I went down and tried it, couldn't start it." 

In the auto repair business we called these "sensyous".
Happened all the time. 
"Sense you changed my oil my left rear tire has been leaking air"
"Sense you put that tail light in my car it has been very hard to start in the morning"
"Sense you fixed my radio the exhaust smells funny"
There were many others!
mh

[sawguy21]

That reminds of the guy that bought a walk behind tiller from us, he called back that afternoon demanding that I drop what I was doing and come out to his farm. The tiller was smoking and wouldn't move. A few days later the shop door opened and the tiller came in airborne with him right behind it, when he stopped yelling I looked at it grabbed the bfh and knocked out the rock jammed in the tines. He went white, then red then white again and admitted in a very small voice "I never even thought to check that". I replaced the now useless belt and sent him on his way, we never saw him again.

[SawyerTed]

Last fall I sold a boat to a young man from upstate New York.  He came to get the boat and pulled it back.  He had some maintenance done to it including tune up, spark plugs, fuel filters, gear case oil change and had it winterized and wrapped.

When he got the boat out to use it, he couldn't get it to run.  He called after an hour or so of trying and explained his predicament in exasperated tones.  He was polite but obviously aggravated.  

He got it to fire using starting fluid but couldn't get it to run.  I had been down that road before and we started troubleshooting over the phone.  New fuel filter under the cowling, new water separator in the bilge, primer bulb pumped up properly initially, now it was flat.  I asked if he had checked the fuel valve on top of the tank?

He sheepishly said he didn't know it had one.  I told him where to check and "shonuff" it was closed.  I told him he needed to open the fuel tank cap and let the tank vent because enough vacuum had been pulled to keep the pump from pulling fuel.  He did and the motor started after a few seconds.

I knew this boat very well and had the exact problem several years ago.  The boat had been in for some service, the mechanic closed the fuel valve for safety reasons.  I didn't know it and was a second from calling the shop when a fishing buddy who was standing there waiting for the boat to crank checked the fuel tank hatch and said "That right there is your problem."  Needless to say I had some sympathy for the young man that bought the boat from me.  

[KenMac]

That happened to me once. My son borrowed the splitter to help out a client and when he EVENTUALLY returned it I couldn't get it started. I was pretty ticked when I discovered he closed the cutoff for transport. I never close that valve. I lost an hour and a shoulder figuring it out.

I have "heard" that they are hard to start if they run out of gas while the return handle is stuck in open position. >:(

[samandothers]

Been a while since I have added to this thread.  No injuries or real damage this time but made a big mess!  This actually occurred about 3 to 4 weeks ago.  I decided one day while I was blowing leaves, I'd change the oil in the truck.  The blower ran out of gas so I thought I'd let it cool before adding to the tank and meanwhile I would start the oil to draining.  As normal I was in a hurry rushing to get back to leaf blowing.  

The truck which is a Duramax and takes 10 quarts and the burned oil is black.  I can change it without using a jack or ramps by sliding up under, though my shape makes it a tight fit.   I use a large catch 'jug' that is a flat style shaped similar to a jerry can.  It has a capped neck to empty the contents, an air vent that snaps closed and a plug in the pan area, so the contents don't leak when caring the jug.  I have some 'Chucks' or bed pads I place under the pan in case I dribble some oil or wind blows some will draining the pan or removing the oil filter.  

I get stuff ready to slide under the truck, so I don't have to make multiple trips as the sliding/ scooting is not something I am as good at as I once was, and I am trying to be quick and efficient.  I have rachet extension, rachet, socket, oil filter and oil filter wrench and a rag, good to go.  I get under the truck, and I am proud I remember to unsnap the air vent on the catch jug, I had forgot this once before and it causes the oil to bubble out some as it allowed air to escape the jug.  This can cause a small mess on the driveway. So, I unscrew the drain plug.

I am about to maneuver to where I can be in position to undo the oil filter when I hear something that does not sound quite right.  I crane my neck to notice the oil is running over the edge of the catch pan area of the jug.  After uttering some word(s) I realize I failed to remove the plug in the pan area.  I proceeded to scramble and contort as quickly as a fat guy can under the truck to position to unscrew the plug.  Meanwhile there is this black goo starting to ooze on the driveway.  I had this scene from the movie 'The Blob' that flashed in my mind as it moved through the town.  I unscrew the pan plug thus coating my hand in black oil, but the oil now has a path to the containment vessel.  

Well now it is time for spill control and counter measures.  I use a rag to wipe my hand and start to wiggle out from under the truck.  I keep a container of old (not used) kitty litter in the garage to put under the air compressor tank when I drain water from the tank.  I grab it and start throwing it under the truck ahead of the blob moving down the driveway.  It starts to dam it up and slow the ooze.  I continue this process to coat the area back to where the pan is sitting until the blob seems to be frozen and no longer spreading.  

I complete the oil change thinking how dumb that was and that this thread will have a new entry.  I move the truck and collect the first round of kitty litter and apply new along with some saw dust and degreaser.  The scene of the crime will be marked on my driveway for quite a while like the outline of a DB on a crime show.  After transferring the oil from the catch jug to the original containers to take to recycling I figure I caught about 5 quarts on the driveway.  Not one of my better moments but just one of what seems like more frequent brain failures.   :



 

 

 

[firefighter ontheside]

Yep thats a mess and one I have made a pretty good copy of.  I changed the oil on my 2002 powerstroke which holds 15 quarts.  I had changed the filter, drained the oil and replaced with new.  I did as I always did and started the engine to let it run for a minute until I could see the oil pressure gauge come up.  I got out of the truck and the oil mess underneath was ungodly.  I had failed to check that the gasket had come off with the old filter.  It hadn't and oil was spraying out under pressure around the new filter.  Shut the truck off and fixed the filter issue.  Went and got all of the sawdust that was collected under my old tablesaw to soak up all the oil.  I haven't changed my own oil in years because I got a maintenance package with my new truck.  That will expire next year and I will be changing my own oil again.  

[firefighter ontheside]

My dumb thing this week was spending 3 hours at different times looking for the nail set that I had borrowed from my FIL along with his flooring nailer.  I was planning to return it to him today as they are coming over for Christmas.  I cleaned the garage looking for it with no luck.  I tore the shop apart looking for it with no luck.  I looked all over the house with no luck.  I knew that I had seen the thing several days ago, but couldn't remember where.  When I looked at one of the open boxes of nails just a few minutes ago, I thought, I wonder if I put it in there to avoid losing it.  Aha, there it was.  Good news is that it's found.  Bad news is that I wasted 3 hours over several days looking for it.

[wisconsitom]

Did something so dumb a while back that it has taken me until today to 'fess up;  Was at the 50-hr. service interval for my Bobcat tractor.  Fluids to be changed were engine oil, hydro oil, hydrostatic oil (same thing, I know), and front axle.  But when I was at the dealer prior to this, I picked up the fuel filter too, just for the heck of it.  Bad idea Tom....

So, son and I were buzzing around, quickly getting fluids drained and bung holes plugged.  When I reached for the new oil filter, heh, I bet you already know how this one turns out-I accidentally grabbed the screw-on fuel filter, which fits the same thread size as does the oil filter.  Too bad I didn't notice that item has a hole right on the end of it.

Yes, I made a mess.  That's not even the worst of it.  Somehow, for the first time in my life, managed to not notice the seal from the old hydro filter was still stuck on when new filter got installed.  Guess what happened there!  We really had a mess, the likes of which I didn't even think you could clean up with nothing but rags, oil dry, brooms and shovels.  Definitely got the new shop floor broken in.

I found out my younger boy is good in a "crisis".  While I was just abut beside myself with disgust over the events, and may have spoke a few bad words, he just got down on that mess with rags, oil dry, and started sopping up the mess.

[thecfarm]

I bought home 2 gallons of bar and chain oil in my truck. Leaned over and picked one up and it hit the dash board by the control for the heater. It made an odd noise when it hit too. I broke the knob off to the fan control!!!! Truck is nothing special, 2010 chevy Colorado, but I don't need a pair of vise grips sticking out of the dash board to run the controls on the fan.

[Southside]

So speaking of boats and plugs this goes back a long time but it still counts.  I had a Lund patrol boat back in the day and never, never, pulled the plug out of it.  She had a bilge pump so if it rained there was a solution.  It had happened enough that I had to have her in the water at 0200 on a search after a crash or other life threatening matter on one of multiple bodies of water that the idea of fumbling around for the plug made no sense to me, so it stayed in all the time. 

Anyway I had the boat out on the water and had an observer with me.  We are out and about and I noticed there was water where there should not be, even as rough at things were, so I turned the pump on, at some point I realized the water level was not dropping the way it should and no matter what I did I could not run it out.  If I remember correctly I stopped long enough to try and figure out what was happening and it became clear that what was happening was that I was running out of time quickly.  There was no way to make it to shore so I headed to the closest island I could see and beached her.  Now here I am standing in basically waste deep, cold, water fumbling around with my hands under the boat trying to find the gash, hole, or other issue that must exist when my finger goes - "plop" - right into the drain hole.  Ahhh--  there is the problem, no plug, but where is the plug and how did it fall out is the question.  I did have a spare and used that one, got the boat empty and eventually was on my way.

Couple of days later I was speaking with my Sgt when he told me he was the one who pulled the plug when he borrowed my boat over a day off and went onto say that he "always leaves it out when done", so we had a conversation about putting things back the way you found them and what would have happened if I was out at zero dark thirty in white water on the river when I discovered his "always" habits.

A few lessons were learned.    

[WV Sawmiller]

   One of my stern plug mistakes (Yes there have been several) was when I first got married and several months later I took my wife to my old home  place and took out the old john boat and 4 hp outboard. The plug was in but was worn so it would work free. I'd fire up the motor and run up the river till the water drained out. I finally cut a stick to length and braced the plug to stay in. (I later learned all I really needed to do was tighten the screw in the plug a turn or too to swell the rubber gaskets to tighten them.) Anyway we fished till dark and started home on the Escambia River. I had my wife sit down in the bottom of the boat so I could see over her and locate the Vee from any snags out in the current. I had run that river my whole life so I knew every sandbar and such in it - except one apparently. We ran right up  into about 2" of water and grounded firmly. There were several quarts of water still left in the bottom of the boat which sloshed forward when the momentum stopped. Of course they wet my wife's butt and she can get nervous about such things and she jumped up and started screaming (I don't know why as there was nobody to hear her but me and I was right there beside her) "We're sinking, we're sinking." I disgustedly replied "We can't sink. We're aground!" I had to take my boots off and get out of the boat to finally push it into water deep enough to float and eventually deep enough to run the motor.

[aigheadish]

Oh, oil messes! 

Simply Green (the cleaner) works surprisingly well at removing oil stains, at least when they are fresh. Your concrete won't look new but it does pretty well.

When I was still a kid living with my parents my first car was a 1981 Honda Prelude, thrice passed down to me. I wish I still had it. Anyway, I went to change the oil one day and we had those metal ramps that were real sketchy to drive up so I could get under it and pull the plug. Everything goes fine, oil and filter get changed, I hop in the car and nervously back off the ramps to find that I'd forgotten to pull the drain pan out from under the car, so while not nearly as much oil as you guys are losing but a very similar mess. 

Uh, then, a couple years later, I did the exact same thing with the 1985 Volkswagen Golf I had, on the same ramps, in the same spot on the driveway.