Caroni TL 1500 Flail mower burning belts

[Hankstone40]

I purchased a slightly used Caroni TL 1500 flail mower. I greased the obvious spots and changed the gear box oil. After about an hour of mowing 12" pasture grass I noticed the cutting stop and smoke coming from the drive belt cover. Opened it and both belts were fried and frayed. I greased the belt stretcher bearing , replaced the belts and ran it for 20 minutes. The drive belt cover was hot and the belt stretcher cylinder was too hot to touch. The belts seemed OK but it seemed as if they would eventually melt. My theory at the moment is that the previous owner did not grease the stretch bearing that you only see when you pull the drive belt cover and the bearing for the Belt stretcher cylinder is shot. Does this sound reasonable? Any advice?
I've only found one skimpy manual online and it is very sketchy. Is there a real manual for this machine?
Thanks
Hank

 

[Rusty]

Hankstone40 - I have a TL 1500 FSC that I bought new in 2011. I cut about 30 acres of horse pasture per year. I used to "smoke" the drive belts frequently. I tried many things including better belts, matched belts, kevlar belts, serious tightening the belt tension (required running with cover removed) and aligning the drive and rotor sheaves. Continued to "smoke" belts, but not as often.

My last fix was to remove the complete belt tension system, replace the B43 belts with B42 belts, and run sheave to sheave with no tension adjustment. I made the change in September 2018 and am still on the same belts. The belts are Gates B42 Hi-Power.

Best wishes!

 

[Hankstone40]

Hankstone40 - I have a TL 1500 FSC that I bought new in 2011. I cut about 30 acres of horse pasture per year. I used to "smoke" the drive belts frequently. I tried many things including better belts, matched belts, kevlar belts, serious tightening the belt tension (required running with cover removed) and aligning the drive and rotor sheaves. Continued to "smoke" belts, but not as often.

My last fix was to remove the complete belt tension system, replace the B43 belts with B42 belts, and run sheave to sheave with no tension adjustment. I made the change in September 2018 and am still on the same belts. The belts are Gates B42 Hi-Power.

Best wishes!

Thanks Rusty! When the belts were smoking did you notice if the belt stretcher cylinder was too hot to touch?

 

[Rusty]

I don't recall ever touching the tensioner, but the outer cover was too hot to hold my finger against. My belts would disintegrate and leave a black sooty mess.

 

[Hankstone40]

I don't recall ever touching the tensioner, but the outer cover was too hot to hold my finger against. My belts would disintegrate and leave a black sooty mess.

My experience exactly! So much heat makes no sense. When you eliminated the Belt stretcher did the outer cover still heat up? When you pulled apart the belt stretcher assembly did you notice if the internal bearing was good or bad?

 

[Rusty]

My experience exactly! So much heat makes no sense. When you eliminated the Belt stretcher did the outer cover still heat up? When you pulled apart the belt stretcher assembly did you notice if the internal bearing was good or bad?

Hank - When the belts stopped smoking, I stopped checking the cover. It may have gotten warm, but it was not hot. I did not take the idler cylinder off the assembly, but it turns quietly, freely and smoothly. It but does not spin for very long after I give it a spin, maybe for one revolution.