Help me convert my chipper to 3pt

[arrabil]

Roy, you lost me a little... I agree the belts offer far greater protection than gears, which is why I was hoping a slip clutch would be the solution. Is that the case? Or does a slip clutch do something different than I'm thinking? [Can't say I'm 100% on what a slip clutch is as this point.]

I could also add a shear bolt. Surely a 1/4" shear bolt would offer enough protection. They're bigger than that on the 59" snow blower.

The capacity is 3". I do not want or need to increase the capacity. Anything over 3" is firewood. And realistically, the thing can't chip 3" hardwoods anyway. I just use it for the yearly brush.

 

[joes_427_vette]

Bought a used 8" pto chipper for 2k. I found several to pick from. By the time you deconstruct and rebuild this one at 50 cents an hour one would be over the 3k mark. Sell what you have and buy one manufactured. Libality and safety wise your much better off.

 

[BHD]

a slip clutch is a device that is designed to allow a shaft to slip or break loose once a given amount of torque is reached, there are a number of different methods, used, some use a "ratchet" normally two mating surfaces with a spring on one so once a given torque is reached it will bump across the face of the mating surface,

there are friction disks, where a number of friction plates, and steel disks are compressed usually by a series of springs and can slip if things reach torque or shock,

and there is a shear bolt method that the bolt shears and lets it run with reseting it self, (seen in pothole diggers and other machines where a shock load is possible but not common, and it is cheap,

the belts or the friction clutch method would be my suggestion, belts would be best IMO,

the biggest problem with slip clutches is that many people will keep tightening them when they slip, and when tightened up they no longer offer protection, or as much,

a picture of a friction disk slip clutch,

 

[arrabil]

BHD, that would be perfect! I could use 1" rod (or whatever diameter the one end is) and have a PTO connector on the other.

I understand why a belt seems best, but really, if the slip clutch is properly adjusted what makes it different than the belt safety wise? Augers aren't belt driven. Neither are snowblowers. And yet both are used without worry. In fact, the rod end of the slip clutch could be attached with a shear bolt and then its double protected. No?

I'm gonna have to look for some gearing systems tomorrow. Know where to find a 6:1 of those?

 

[RoyJackson]

Roy, you lost me a little... I agree the belts offer far greater protection than gears, which is why I was hoping a slip clutch would be the solution. Is that the case? Or does a slip clutch do something different than I'm thinking? [Can't say I'm 100% on what a slip clutch is as this point.]

Since BHD did a great job describing the function of a slip clutch, I'm not going to repeat it.
When I wrote you'll have to experiment with setting the clutch, if you use gears (rather then a belt or two), you may want to set the clutch to slip a bit quicker to reduce the shock load on the chipper's drive gears. The belts, if you used them, would provide a degree of protection by slipping...gears just break teeth.
So, bottom line is, you want to set the clutch so it's sure to slip before any major stoppages by the chipper jamming.

You do have a good point about the auger and blower gear drives though!

 

[Craig Clayton]

Dear Sir
I did a conversion on a 3pth chipper to run on a garden tractor, and the chipper can be changed back to 3 pth just as easily.http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/165827-5-chipper-shredder-garden-tractor.html. It is listed under 5 inch chipper shredder.
Craig Clayton

 

[beenthere]

Check out sponsor Surplus Center surpluscenter.com for gear reductions. Don't know if driving them from the output end to increase rpm is an option, but SC has a lot of different ones...inline as well as right angle.

Surplus Center

 

[arrabil]

Roy, I was thinking I'd adjust the slip clutch to the bare minimum tension that allowed it to chip. I could tack weld it in that position too.

Craig, thats totally awesome! And beyond my patience level unfortunately.

Beenthere, I was looking at that stuff last night. I do have to figure out if they can be used in reverse. All over the net they have reducers, but I don't see any multipliers. Surely, gears can be run in either direction! Surplus Center doesn't have any rated to 20 input HP either way though.

I found a thread on a PTO Welder that is the same problem as mine.

I probably need to learn about making my own sprocket setup. And I should probably consider how I could run this from the mid-PTO so I only have to do a 1:1.5 step up. I have two different length driveshafts from the snowblower then too.

This all really depends on finding a proper gear box now...

 

[beenthere]

Don't think I'd tack weld a slip clutch.
When it slips, some wear of the clutch happens. That means at some point in time another adjustment needs to happen.
Also, with a slip clutch, sitting un-used will/can cause the plates to stick together, and not function when the critical moment comes along. That means another adjustment.

Are you considering putting the chipper out front, and use the mmm PTO? Makes some sense to me.

 

[arrabil]

Based on the picture BHD posted I was thinking I could tack the bolts so they didn't get tightened. But I see what you mean about the clutches sticking. Just experienced that in my offroader #@!$&%$!.

I'm definitely going to add a shear bolt either way so it'll be double protected. I figure if a 3/8" bolt is good enough for the snowblower, I can start with a 1/4" one for the chipper and see how it goes. Always easier to make the hole bigger later if needed.

Are you considering putting the chipper out front, and use the mmm PTO? Makes some sense to me.

I looked at it some and I don't know that I like that idea any more. I would have to remove the loader to run the chipper. And I'd have to add the whole front PTO hitch. The chipper has to be attached to something, its not heavy enough to just sit on the ground. If it got stuck, the driveshaft would almost certainly be able to flip it around. I don't like leaving the front hitch on because I lose ground clearance so using the chipper would become an ordeal. Hmm.

What if I used two right angle gearboxes and ran the shaft from the mid-PTO under the tractor back to the 3pt!?!?