Some people have a mechanical bent and some just don't

[VincentMalamute]

I helped my neighbor get her ATV started. The issue (two issues) was so simple and basic, it was just ridiculous. She has a bit of a micro-farm going with two donkeys, one horse (down from two as the other was aggressive to the new one), four dogs, one cat. Farmers really need to have mechanical skills, even those with a micro-farm and she is pretty much at zero. Maybe negative skills.

She's a vet so she's not stupid. When she told me she bought a used ATV over the winter, the thought that I kept to myself was that the last thing she needed was another internal combustion engine device needing a lot of maintenance.

I filled up one of the ATV tires with Slime and bypassed the seat engine safety cutoff on her lawn tractor for her while I was there.

Here she is scaring her donkeys with her newly running ATV and the horse keeping a wary eye out .

[sn4cktimes]

@vincentmalamute last year I had to remake two of our forklift’s seat sensors. One was easy. The other one was very tricky to de-pin the connector.

[VincentMalamute]

@vincentmalamute Here's another thought. Like Red Green says 'If the women don't find you handsome, they better find you handy". I bet I am much more attractive to this neighbor than my looks would ordinarily warrant. Or she knows where to get free mechanical help.

[atfsgeoff]

@vincentmalamute Isn't that just an ATV?

[VincentMalamute]

@sn4cktimes said in Some people have a mechanical bent and some just don't:

@vincentmalamute last year I had to remake two of our forklift’s seat sensors. One was easy. The other one was very tricky to de-pin the connector.

No, they wouldn't like you bypassing any safety lockouts!

I expected a safety switch to have only two wires. This one had five wires going to it. So I cheated and tied some fence wire around it to keep the plunger permanently depressed. They must be using some funky circuit to prevent people like me from simply just jumpering a two wire connector?

I need to have connector de-pinning tools. Add that to the list.

[VincentMalamute]

@atfsgeoff said in Some people have a mechanical bent and some just don't:

@vincentmalamute Isn't that just an ATV?

Yes, you are correct. My mind automatically tagged it as a UTV because it was being used for utility purposes.

Edited to correct it to ATV

[sn4cktimes]

@vincentmalamute I had a bunch of picks, mini screwdrivers and the like. What weirdly ended up working was the tip of my talon knife. Was the perfect size to press the tabs within the plugs.

[jminer]

@vincentmalamute being handy definitely is a requirement for farming, unless you're made of money and the farming is just a hobby...

[VincentMalamute]

@jminer That's just a hobby for her. She likes animals. She's a vet which I'm never sure if they have money or not. She's got a horse, had two, which I understand is expensive. So, she has expensive hobbies, seems more expensive than cars.

[Someoneatacura]

@vincentmalamute said in Some people have a mechanical bent and some just don't:

@vincentmalamute Here's another thought. Like Red Green says 'If the women don't find you handsome, they better find you handy". I bet I am much more attractive to this neighbor than my looks would ordinarily warrant. Or she knows where to get free mechanical help.

If she asks for help with plumbing, you know that she now finds you handsome and handy.

[rctothefuture]

@vincentmalamute you can have horses for cheap, if you have the land and the know how. Of course cheap is a relative term...

[SilentbutnotreallyDeadly]

@vincentmalamute
If it makes you feel any better, she probably has a better understanding than you (and the rest of us) of the internal organs of a horse or sheep, how they work and work together and how to fix them.

[xsnowpig]

@vincentmalamute if you haven't already said so, a tutorial on ethanol free gas for small, infrequently used small engines might save you some future work. Unless you are trading animal care for backyard wrenching.

[ibRAD]

@vincentmalamute Why did you disable the safety switch? Was she having trouble cutting off her toes?