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John Deere JS46 Rear Discharge Eye Injury

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bobgrosh
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 3 florida
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2010-05-16          170844

Today I bought a new John Deere JS46 mower.
Self propelled with MowMentum, electric start, upgraded motor with overhead valves.

I read all the instuctions, installed the oil, fuel stabilizer and gas, started the mower in the concrete driveway and performed all the procedures under "Testing Safety Instructions"

It took me and my 40 year old son about an hour to go throught the entire manual and procedures.

I removed the mulching plug and installed the grass bag.

I moved the mower to the back yard, started it and slowly moved it forward with a light pressure on the "MowMotion" handle.

After moving about 2 inches I was struck hard in my left eye. As a reflex action I twisted my upper body to the left and removed my left hand from the mower to cover my injured eye. Unfortunatly, my right hand remained on the handle and the "operator presence control" therefore the mower continued to run.

While trying to determine if I could see out of my left eye I felt something hit my right ear quite hard. Wondering what the heck was hitting me, I turn my head back toward the mower and observed two streams of debries being ejected from the rear of the mower directly at my head.

I did not get to observe this for long.

My right eye quickly filled with grass clipping, sand and small pieces of pine cone scraps.

Finally, I let go of the "operator presence control" and ran in terror from the mower.

Not able to see from either eye, that turned out to be a bad choice. Fortunatly a 40 year old pine tree stoped me.

Finally, I wiped the sand and grass from my right eye, made my way into the house, and washed out both eyes in the bathroom. Other than a big red spot in the white of my left eye, and a burning sensation on my right ear, I also had a bruse and laserations on my forehead from the collision with the tree.

More shockingly, the front and left side of my shirt was complety covered in grass clippings, pine needle shards, bits of pine cone frons, wood splinters and dirt.

A few hours later, armed with safety glasses, I went out and closely examined the bagger attachment and spring loaded rear cover. I confirmed that they were properly installed according to the manual with the two hooks on the bag correctly positioned over the rear door pivot shaft.

I also noticed the there are two channels molded into the underside of the spring loaded rear cover, one at the left edge and another at the right edge. These are about 1/4" deep, 3/4" wide and 8 inches long. when the cover is in position aginst the bag, rubber trim on the bag forms the fourth side of an unobstructed, 1/4" by 3/4" tube running directly from the underside of the mower deck. The open ends of these tubes are aimed directly at the eye level of an opertor who stands 5'5" tall. (me)

I put on my safety glasses, started the mower and slowly eased it foward.

Two rooster tails of debrie came from the left and right edges of the rear cover. Most of the lighter clipping landed on top of the bag, my pants and shirt. Heavier pieces shot out in a nearly stright line directly in line with my face. I watched as several pieces bounced off my carbonite safety glasses.

After mowing about 10 feet of the yard, I noticed the two "rooster tails" of debrie subsided and I stoped feeling the constant bombardment on my face.

I stoped the mower and gently raised the spring loaded cover. Both channels were completely clogged with grass trimmings. I cleared them out, and re-started the mower.

Big mistake.

I eased the mower forward and again got pelted in the face with debrie from that double barraled rear cover.

Tweezers removed the splinters from my right cheek and lip.

I decided to call it a day.

I wonder, just how dangerous does a mower have to be to be recalled.

Bob


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John Deere JS46 Rear Discharge Eye Injury

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auerbach
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 2168 West of Toronto
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2010-05-17          170846

Ouch! ....

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John Deere JS46 Rear Discharge Eye Injury

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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2010-05-17          170860

Have you talked with the dealership or JD yet? ....

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John Deere JS46 Rear Discharge Eye Injury

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bobgrosh
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 3 florida
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2010-05-20          170936

Quote:
Originally Posted by kthompson | view 170860
Have you talked with the dealership or JD yet?


We went back to the dealer "Lowes", and I discribed the problem. The people there sugested I buy one of several cheaper brands of mowers, none of them had key start or a variable speed feature like Mow-Mentum or Personal Pace. Both the key start and the variable speed are must have features for me.

I decided that installing a strip of adheasive foam insulation into the two channels to block them would be the best fix.

That seemed to work, the mower no longer leaves me looking like a coal miner returning home from work.

However, Two new problems have cropped up.
ONE - I released the "opertor presence control" it snaped forward due to it's spring, and broke off the stop that is cast into the handle. Now the "operator presence control" swings 180 degrees forward and is difficult to get back to the "Run" position.

TWO - The rear wheels lock up, particularly when mowing up a slight grade. When the pressure on the Mow-Motion handle is reduced, and the mower stops it's forward motion, such as when there is a tree in the way, then I have to drag the mower backwards with the rear wheels locked. The big knobby rear wheels really dig into the grass and tear it up. If there is not an obsruction in the way that caused me to stop the mower, then I can push the mower forward a foot or two and release the wheels. Of course It usually locks up going up hill, so pushing the mower up hill takes more effort, and I can't use the self propelled feature to move the mower forward as that will not unlock the wheels. I find I often have to rock the mower back and forth several times to get the rear wheels to unlock so that I can pull it backward. ....

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John Deere JS46 Rear Discharge Eye Injury

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DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998
Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ
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2010-05-20          170937

I tried to look for the owners manual on the Deere site to see the attachment set up but no go:


"Following is a listing of all publications matching the search criteria. Publications available in electronic format are indicated by a hyperlinked Part Number. Visit the John Deere Technical Information Book Store to purchase Operator's Manuals, Parts Catalogs, Technical Manuals, and other publications that are not available in electronic format."

If you can please post some pictures or even better yet if you could shoot a video I will post it on TP for you.

I tried to look for the owners manual on the Deere site to see the attachment set up but no go:<br>
<br>
<br>
<i>"Following is a listing of all publications matching the search criteria. Publications available in electronic format are indicated by a hyperlinked Part Number. Visit the John Deere Technical Information Book Store to purchase Operator's Manuals, Parts Catalogs, Technical Manuals, and other publications that are not available in electronic format."</i><br>
<br>
If you can please post some pictures or even better yet if you could shoot a video I will post it on TP for you.<br>
<br>
[p]http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/HO/media/images/product/largerview/js46_547244_large.jpg[/p]<br>
<br>
<br>
If your lawn is parse with sandy patches you might want to return that mower to Lowes as a side discharge would be a better choice under those conditions.<br>


If your lawn is parse with sandy patches you might want to return that mower to Lowes as a side discharge would be a better choice under those conditions.
....

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John Deere JS46 Rear Discharge Eye Injury

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carusoswi
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 4 Philly
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2010-06-05          171342

I just bought this machine last weekend. I think the OP is being a bit heavy handed. I sympathize concerning the eye injury, but I do wonder if his machine or its bagger might be defective or incorrectly installed as I am unable to reproduce this problem (and there are plenty of debris-riddled areas of opportunity in my yard).

The machine does include a side-discharge attachment, although I cannot say whether there is a bagging attachment to be used with that discharge setup.

As for the wheel lock-up complaint, the machine is designed so that you can disengage the self-propulsion by returning the handle to the rear of its operating range, then moving the machine ahead just an inch or so (or less). Then, you are free to pull the machine backwards.

I, personally, am big on cutting in reverse whether using a push or walk-behind or a rider, as cutting in both directions strikes me as much more efficient - cut one swath forward, the next backward, etc. No awkward turning at the ends of my cutting path, no endless circling of the lawn, etc.

It seems to me that JD has, in this machine, struck the best of two worlds, a machine that is easily used as a push mower in either direction, or self-propelled variable speed in forward.

I bought my JS46 as an open (but complete package) box (for just $250), so my manual was only the Spanish language version (ok, less than complete package). Not one who is big on manuals, I jumped in and used my machine without reading the manual (my 20-year-old Lawnboy would not start), but it took me all of two attempts at moving backward to figure out that you have to continue forward about an inch after disengaging the self-propel feature in order to pull the machine backwards. If you engage a tree or other obstruction while in self-propel, just push down on the handle to lift the front wheels off the ground. This effectively shortens the footprint of the mower and you will now have room to maneuver the rear wheels that extra inch or so. Now you may continue forward a bit further (mowing up the tree, if you will) in order to disengage the wheels.

On an incline, if pushing forward requires more energy than you care to expend, just push down to lift those front wheels and wiggle the mower from side to side once in each direction to turn the rear wheels forward one by one a bit, and the gearing is released so that the mower will roll backwards freely.

I consider this a feature of the mower, or at worst, a characteristic, certainly not a defect.

Once you become familiar with it, you can release the self-propel feature six inches before encountering a tree, then let the mower roll on its own momentum up to the tree. At that point, the rear wheels are already disengaged so that you can pull the mower backwards normally.

In one use of the mower, this became second nature to me. There are aspects of this mower that suit me less than those of my trusty old LawnBoy (which is not self-propelled), but I feel the self-propulsion on this Deere is well done, and the mower remains delightfully light weight. Pushing or pulling it without self-propulsion require no more effort than a mower without this feature.

I offer best wishes to the OP and am happy that his injuries were not serious.

Caruso ....

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John Deere JS46 Rear Discharge Eye Injury

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HLMiles1
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2 Durham
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2010-06-29          171946

I purchased a JS46 on 06-11-2010 from a Lowe's Hardware Store. Last Thursday was my first-time using the mower (after assembling it) and I too experienced seeing trash being blown out from around the bag. I immediately contacted Lowe's who gave me the Lowe's Service Advantage telephone number. The rep that I spoke to told me that the defect had been fixed and that they were sending me a new replacement bag (free) for my mower. I have not received it yet, but I expect it anyday. Hope this helps. ....

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John Deere JS46 Rear Discharge Eye Injury

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tommwild
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 2 Middleburg, Fl
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster

2011-06-17          179065

I was doing walk behind mower reviews when I read about the
problem of flying debris with the model JS46. I was very close to buying until I read this now I have to re-think about my choice. ....

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