Caroni Flail Belt Failure

[sunspot]

My belts failed. I have 10-15 hours on the flail. Both the power and rotor shaft turn freely by hand. There was no noise or smell of burning rubber. After a few hours of first using the Caroni, I checked the belt tension and they were a bit slack. I tightened them up a wee bit. As there is a spring loaded tensioner it would be difficult to over tighten them.
I'll call Agri-Supply in the morning to see if they are covered under warranty. I was not able to find the belt number at Agri but the Caroni number is #2142. I think I need to find a US automotive belt that will work in place of the Caroni belt.

 

[Foozle]

Bummer -- I only have about 5 hours on mine so far, so I hope it isn't a common problem. Let me know if you determine whether there was a cause that might be able to be avoided somehow in the future.

The only issue I've had so far has been with finish mowing. It seems to leave a groove pattern (swim lane type) in the grass when cutting close. It may be how I have the height/roller settings, but haven't figured out if it is me or just the nature of the type rotor I got (not really made for finish mowing).

Dave

 

[texbaylea]

My belts failed. I have 10-15 hours on the flail. Both the power and rotor shaft turn freely by hand. There was no noise or smell of burning rubber. After a few hours of first using the Caroni, I checked the belt tension and they were a bit slack. I tightened them up a wee bit. As there is a spring loaded tensioner it would be difficult to over tighten them.
I'll call Agri-Supply in the morning to see if they are covered under warranty. I was not able to find the belt number at Agri but the Caroni number is #2142. I think I need to find a US automotive belt that will work in place of the Caroni belt.

I have about twice that number of hours with no problems. I have not had a chance to take off the belt cover to check anything so It is as shipped.

Vernon

 

[sunspot]

Agri had a power outage due to a storm when I called this morning. Now the line justs rings and goes to voice mail. I'll try tomorrow.

Guy's, I looked real close at the unit and I can't find what caused of the failure.????

 

[sunspot]

I called today and they are shipping me 2 belts, no charge. The Agri part number is 20992 and it's not on the web site.

 

[Gator6x4]

I called today and they are shipping me 2 belts, no charge. The Agri part number is 20992 and it's not on the web site.

Two belts? I thought the unit took three..............

 

[sunspot]

Two belts? I thought the unit took three..............

I think you are right
No biggie. I'm heading for NAPA for a few more once I have the new belt in hand.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

My belts failed. I have 10-15 hours on the flail. Both the power and rotor shaft turn freely by hand. There was no noise or smell of burning rubber. After a few hours of first using the Caroni, I checked the belt tension and they were a bit slack. I tightened them up a wee bit. As there is a spring loaded tensioner it would be difficult to over tighten them.
I'll call Agri-Supply in the morning to see if they are covered under warranty. I was not able to find the belt number at Agri but the Caroni number is #2142. I think I need to find a US automotive belt that will work in place of the Caroni belt.

Sunspot: I am the one that started the "Let's Talk Flail Mowers" thread that went on for several weeks. I followed the thread, and during that time, several guys bought flails. I am yet to buy a flail mower, but the thought is still there. Now that you have one, what is your current opinion? Was it a good decision? Has the early belt problem caused buyers remorse? Do you think Caroni is a good product? I would like to hear from you and others who bought flails. I know IslandTractor loves his and would like opinions from newer owners.

 

[Foozle]

Sunspot: I am the one that started the "Let's Talk Flail Mowers" thread that went on for several weeks. I followed the thread, and during that time, several guys bought flails. I am yet to buy a flail mower, but the thought is still there. Now that you have one, what is your current opinion? Was it a good decision? Has the early belt problem caused buyers remorse? Do you think Caroni is a good product? I would like to hear from you and others who bought flails. I know IslandTractor loves his and would like opinions from newer owners.

So - you're the guy who got us into this!!!

I am a Caroni owner also as a result of your orginal thread. I like the fact that I can do finish mowing and brush cutting with one implement, and that implement takes up less space in my barn than either a finish mower or rotary cutter. I also liked the prices at around $1800 versus more than that for either a 6' finish or rotary.

On the Con side, I'm not sure I can mow as fast as I could with a rotary (at least anecdotally compared to the speed I saw a friend run his rotary at). When I try to run a bit faster, the flail seems to not cut very well. Also, as mentioned before, I'm getting this groove pattern in the grass when finish mowing. Now both of these things might be related to how I have the flail setup, and if so, I'd be gratified to hear how to correct these issues.

As to reliability, time will tell, but the Caroni appears to be fairly sturdily made, at least.

Dave

 

[sunspot]

Jerry.
I do not have buyers remorse but the belt issue has caused me some concern. I have been whacking some branch pieces that are in parts of the pasture but nothing that I would hesitate to roll over with a brush hog.
The belt housing and gearbox has run a bit hotter than I expected right from the start. It had oil in it from the factory right at the dipstick level. I added more hoping it would help cool the gears. It did a bit. After I adjusted the belt tension, that cooled the housing just a mite.
I have to park the mower on blocks when I want to use another piece of equipment as it tilts too far forward to re-attach to my tractor (3pt pins too low). I could lower the skids to prevent that but I like then up high so I can turn without gouging the grass. That's just my preference, not a knock on the mower.
I like that it uses less space for parking and I don't have so much rear swing when turning around.
I like that it's quieter when mowing although I still use earmuffs when on my tractor.
The 6' roller helps to keep the unit somewhat level going over small dips and I don't have a tailwheel dropping into holes. There are very few scalps with the flail mower.
I can take it or leave it on the offset. It does help mowing next to a property line and under hedgerows but I was fairly good at slinging a RM sideways under trees and other overhangs. Ten years on a forklift helped me on that issue.

Dave, I saw the grove pattern on my last mowing. I had not seen it before. I kinda like it.
As to speed, I find I need to mow slower to get a good cut. On Bahia, it leaves stalks if I go too fast.
I was going to do a photo shoot at different speeds the same day my belts busted.

That's all for now. Overall, I am pleased with the Flail.

 

[Nuru]

I am going to retest my BETST flail pretty soon on some brush work. I have a MMM and a back-up riding mower now so the flail won't be used for finish mowing.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I was originally leaning toward the 75" Caroni wuth 56 blades. Now I'm leaning toward the 59" model with 88 blades. The tractor I will use with it is a Kubota Grand L series 3430 geared which is 34 engine HP and 28.5 HP at the PTO. I feel it is big enough to handle either one.

Here's why I am leaning toward the 59" model. I think the extra blades will give me a cleaner cut. I will be mowing about a 1 acre home lot and about 4 more acres of pasture (every month or so). The pasture will not be allowed to grow enough to have saplings so it will be mostly just fescue. Am I correct in assuming that the TL series Caroni's are designed for a cleaner smoother cut? I want my lawn area to be equivalent or close to a RFM quality cut. What do you flail experts think?

 

[have_blue]

That's all for now. Overall, I am pleased with the Flail.

Dana,

I guess you've already thought about a stick getting caught in the belt, and checked the belt guard for gaps and such. Do you think it's possible that a little oil got to the belt? I've seen that destroy them pretty quick.

 

[IslandTractor]

I was originally leaning toward the 75" Caroni wuth 56 blades. Now I'm leaning toward the 59" model with 88 blades. ..... Am I correct in assuming that the TL series Caroni's are designed for a cleaner smoother cut? I want my lawn area to be equivalent or close to a RFM quality cut. What do you flail experts think?

I think your reasoning is sound. Extra blades means finer cut.

I use the TM1900 (56 blades) but I am not looking for a fine lawn cut and value the bush hog end of the performance more highly. I think your tractor could pull a 75 inch fine cut version but I don't know if AgriSupply imports that model.

 

[John861]

I want my lawn area to be equivalent or close to a RFM quality cut. What do you flail experts think?

It is unlikely that the flail will provide as smooth of a cut as a rotary finish mower. In both Caroni styles that I have seen, the knives are angled. You aren't going to get a flat surface with knives at 45 degree angles. More blades help, and may even get it so you won't notice unless you look closely.

I switched to a T shaped knife on my flail (a common blade for the old Ford's) and it produces a far smoother cut than the angled blades. If it's that important to you, you could see if any of this style knife is available for your mower.

 

[Foozle]

I was originally leaning toward the 75" Caroni wuth 56 blades. Now I'm leaning toward the 59" model with 88 blades. The tractor I will use with it is a Kubota Grand L series 3430 geared which is 34 engine HP and 28.5 HP at the PTO. I feel it is big enough to handle either one.

Here's why I am leaning toward the 59" model. I think the extra blades will give me a cleaner cut. I will be mowing about a 1 acre home lot and about 4 more acres of pasture (every month or so). The pasture will not be allowed to grow enough to have saplings so it will be mostly just fescue. Am I correct in assuming that the TL series Caroni's are designed for a cleaner smoother cut? I want my lawn area to be equivalent or close to a RFM quality cut. What do you flail experts think?

I have the 72" with the TM rotor and I think the fewer blades (or angled) is what is causing the grooving in the finish mowing. I'm assuming the higher blade count might alleviate that a bit. If you don't let the field get too overgrown, you can probably use the finer blades, but I'm not certain on that. Last I checked, AgriSupply doesn't carry the TL rotor, but you can have them special order - just be willing to wait potentially up to 6 months for delivery as they come over on a slow boat from Italy.

Dave

 

[sunspot]

Dana,

I guess you've already thought about a stick getting caught in the belt, and checked the belt guard for gaps and such. Do you think it's possible that a little oil got to the belt? I've seen that destroy them pretty quick.

Bob, sticks caught may be the reason but I never felt or heard any jams. I did pull the unit up and the rotor area was clean. There was no wood debris under the belt cover.
I also thought of oil. I put 2 shots of grease on all the zerks before each mowing and I was going to remove the belt housing soon to check for signs of over greasing. As you can see in the photo, a lot of the belt turned to powder. I looked for any sign of oil/grease and all was normal dry.
When I put on the new belts, I'll check the operation before I reinstall the cover.

 

[IslandTractor]

This is the first report on TBN of belt failure with a Caroni. I am sure it is not an unheard of problem but when such a failure occurs after only 10-15 hours of use and involves all three belts, it seems to me there must have been something wrong with the set up or tensioning of the belts. The belt dust on the outside the belt housing cover (I think that is what it is) indicates the belts must have been disintegrating for a while before failing.

I had my belt cover off for maintenance (greasing) just a few weeks ago and after about 20-30 hours use the belts looked essentially new so there clearly was some sort of malfuction in your case and this is not just a premature wear issue.

Unfortunately because AgriSupply is really a mass marketer rather than an individual dealer, they don't have any real experience in maintenance of these mowers. The only dealer on TBN who has indicated he carried the line in the past and is experienced in maintenance is DavesTractor, a Mahindra dealer from CA. If I were in your position (and for the benefit of all of us), I'd PM Dave and see what he thinks.

 

[sunspot]

IT, I agree with all your points. It was way too early for normal belt failure.
I would like to ask all the Caroni flail users to check for heat on the belt cover and post the users findings. I mentioned mine was hot to the touch right from the get go. I have a temp probe I'll use when I get back up and running.

 

[SPYDERLK]

My belts failed. I have 10-15 hours on the flail. Both the power and rotor shaft turn freely by hand. There was no noise or smell of burning rubber. After a few hours of first using the Caroni, I checked the belt tension and they were a bit slack. I tightened them up a wee bit. As there is a spring loaded tensioner it would be difficult to over tighten them.
I'll call Agri-Supply in the morning to see if they are covered under warranty. I was not able to find the belt number at Agri but the Caroni number is #2142. I think I need to find a US automotive belt that will work in place of the Caroni belt.

I had thot that the Caroni flail drum turned the same direction as the tractor tires. Is yours a counterrotating flail? The positioning of the tensioner on the rearward side of the belts seems to indicate so.
larry