Cordless Drill Raises Mower Deflector Out Of The Way
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Rick Plunkett, Albany, Ky., wanted to mow close to trees and buildings but he didn’t like getting off his riding mower all the time to raise the deflector chute up out of the way. So he converted an old 12-volt cordless drill to do the job automatically.
He uses the idea on his 2-year-old Toro 5060 zero-turn riding mower, but says the idea would work on any mower brand or model.
He disconnected the handle of the drill and bolted the body onto a Lexan bracket that he screwed to the top of the mower deck. He bolted the handle onto the mower fender next to the machine’s throttle. Then he ran wiring from the drill handle to the motor, and from there to the mower’s battery. He also drilled a small hole in the deflector chute and bolted an L-shaped metal bracket onto it. A short cable connects the bracket to the drill head.
“It works slick. I pull the trigger to raise or lower the chute, and once it’s in place I let go,” says Plunkett. “The drill has a slip clutch so as soon as the cable gets tight the motor’s slip clutch slips, without ripping the bracket out of the chute. I installed an adapter on the drill to convert it from 12 volts to 6 volts so that it runs slower.”
Plunkett made the conversion a year ago last fall. “I have a lot of trees and flowers in my yard, and I also mow several yards for neighbors so I use it a lot,” he says. “The deflector chute on my zero-turn mower sticks out about a foot, but when it’s raised up out of the way I can mow right next to buildings, trees, flowers, mailbox posts, and so forth with no problem.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rick Plunkett, 577 Campbells Ferry Ln, Albany, Ky. 42602 (ph 606 306-1981).
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Cordless Drill Raises Mower Deflector Out Of The Way FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 Rick Plunkett Albany Ky wanted to mow close to trees and buildings but he didn’t like getting off his riding mower all the time to raise the deflector chute up out of the way So he converted an old 12-volt cordless drill to do the job automatically He uses the idea on his 2-year-old Toro 5060 zero-turn riding mower but says the idea would work on any mower brand or model He disconnected the handle of the drill and bolted the body onto a Lexan bracket that he screwed to the top of the mower deck He bolted the handle onto the mower fender next to the machine’s throttle Then he ran wiring from the drill handle to the motor and from there to the mower’s battery He also drilled a small hole in the deflector chute and bolted an L-shaped metal bracket onto it A short cable connects the bracket to the drill head “It works slick I pull the trigger to raise or lower the chute and once it’s in place I let go ” says Plunkett “The drill has a slip clutch so as soon as the cable gets tight the motor’s slip clutch slips without ripping the bracket out of the chute I installed an adapter on the drill to convert it from 12 volts to 6 volts so that it runs slower ” Plunkett made the conversion a year ago last fall “I have a lot of trees and flowers in my yard and I also mow several yards for neighbors so I use it a lot ” he says “The deflector chute on my zero-turn mower sticks out about a foot but when it’s raised up out of the way I can mow right next to buildings trees flowers mailbox posts and so forth with no problem ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rick Plunkett 577 Campbells Ferry Ln Albany Ky 42602 ph 606 306-1981
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