Thumbs up or down?

[Dirtman2007]

When you park your excavator for the night do you leave the thumb up or let it down to the ground, provided you have a thumb on your machine and it's hydraulic.

I've just noticed that most of the big contractors who have dozens of excavators with thumbs always lower them to the ground at the end of everyday. I guessing that its just for the service guy to be able to get to all the grease fitting with ease.


I tend to just leave it up and let gravity do it over time

 

[Vantage_TeS]

It's a safety thing. You should always lower or "ground" everything whenever you leave your machine. Lets say the service guys came to do an hourly service so they are going to drain your hydraulic tank. Just before they do a welder comes over and is inspecting the bucket for cracks. As he peeks inside your bucket the service guy releases all the pressure in the hydraulic lines...

The likelyhood of something like this happening is very slim, but you can't give back fingers, toes, arms legs or lives.

 

[hoeman600]

i always park like this

 

[Dirtman2007]

Mine usually get parked like this

 

[Vantage_TeS]

May I suggest getting in the habit of closing it at the end of the day? Better safe then sorry.

 

[surfer-joe]

It IS a safety issue! Always ground or expend all hydraulic or other sources of energy when parking heavy equipment. Kids love playing around or in equipment. They make motor noises and move the levers around and climb all over everything. Anything left in a position where it can move, even with the engine off, is a safety hazard with the potential to maim or kill a person. Good operators do not leave their equipment parked with the potential to move and hurt someone.

 

[cat 385]

everything on the ground.

 

[coopers]

I park it however I want...up or down, don't matter.

 

[jlm335]

I always put the thumb down, I do it because of safety in the case something did happen...

 

[CM1995]

I always lower hyd thumbs, blades, buckets, rippers etc. The reason is the same one as Surfer said children playing on the machines, hitting a lever while their buddy is standing in the bucket.

And yes the chance may be slim of that happening but the little effort on the operators part is cheap insurance.

 

[JS580SL]

On the unfortunate occassion I have to run a machine with a thumb I park like hoeman usually.

I cant stand thumbs otherwise! Always in the way and constantly seeping down, drives me nuts!:usa

 

[Dirtman2007]

I always lower hyd thumbs, blades, buckets, rippers etc. The reason is the same one as Surfer said children playing on the machines, hitting a lever while their buddy is standing in the bucket.

And yes the chance may be slim of that happening but the little effort on the operators part is cheap insurance.

I undertand on the machines that have a foot pedal that controls the thumb and will let it down without the motor running can be dangerous. But for machines with push button controls on the joysticks there's really no way for it to go down unless you take the hydro line off.

 

[coopers]

No matter how hard you try a machine sitting outside can be dangerous to kids.

 

[BCB]

even still if the kid did get to push the pedal for the thumb.... its not like it will drop lightning fast, all the ones i have seen move with the motor off you had to drive a stake next to it to make sure it was moving.

 

[Serv]

I always lower hyd thumbs, blades, buckets, rippers etc. The reason is the same one as Surfer said children playing on the machines, hitting a lever while their buddy is standing in the bucket.

And yes the chance may be slim of that happening but the little effort on the operators part is cheap insurance.

I agree with this.

 

[cat 385]

i would say just good practice,most big contractors or any mine site that i know of wants all implements on the ground when parked,but then again what ever floats your boat.

 

[Dozerboy]

It should be on the ground IMO.

Now what about fixed thumbs? I don't like extending out far enough that the thumb is down I like to leave the stick perpendicular to the ground or folded up and on the ground.

 

[Dirtman2007]

Here we go, I parked it with the thumb down today.

 

[JDMGrading]

So how you like that yanmar mini??

 

[Dirtman2007]

So how you like that yanmar mini??

It's a nice smooth, fast machine but being a zero turn it's very unstable. I would still rather have a takeuchi the same size instead of that one. It was too good of a deal not to buy it though.