Hand-me-down Hazards: Dangers of Used Equipment
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Hand-me-down Hazards: Dangers of Used Equipment

   

Hand-me-down Hazards: Dangers of Used Equipment1

Carol J. Lehtola and Charles M. Brown2

The condition of equipment sold at auctions or transferred from person to person varies widely, so it's important to examine used equipment carefully.

When equipment is purchased through a dealership, the purchase usually includes a warranty, directions for maintenance and operation, warning signs, "seals of approval" and assurances that the equipment conforms with voluntary or federal standards.

But regardless of where you buy your equipment, look for items that may detract from safety. They include missing shields and poor upkeep.

A bargain price may not be worth the risks involved. Don't be blinded by a "sale" and end up with equipment for which you didn't bargain.

Ask yourself the following questions when you're buying used equipment.

• Remember:

For More Information

In a research article, "A Safety Survey of Auctioned Farm Equipment, " authors West and May found that equipment offered for sale at auction often lacks important safety equipment. Over an 8-month period, they surveyed 36 of 43 auctions advertised in New York State. Using ASAE standards, they found that over 97% of tractors and over 85% of implements offered for sale had defects, lacking such essential safety equipment as slow-moving vehicle emblems, ROPS, seat belts, lights, PTO master shields, starter solenoid covers, or steering components. (Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, Vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 246-253.)

For more information about tractor safety, visit the Florida AgSafe Web site:

<http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu> ; or the National Agricultural Safety Database (NASD): <www.cdc.gov/nasd >.

This publication is part of the Safer Tractor Operator series. A complete list of publications in this series is given below. All are available at your county Extension office and at the EDIS Web site, <http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu >, and at the Florida AgSafe Web site.

Footnotes

1. This document is ABE309 (formerly AE309), one of a series of the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published September 2001. Minor revision: October 2006. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. Carol J. Lehtola, associate professor and Extension Agricultural Safety Specialist; and Charles M. Brown, Coordinator for Information/Publication Services, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.


Copyright Information

This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.