Mowing Hit A Boulder While Mowing!

[x703jko]

While mowing weeds in one of my fields I managed to hit a boulder. The noise was incredible! One of the blades actually stopped turning causing the belt to smoke.

I stopped the PTO and lifted immediately.

The mower appeared to be ok afterwards an I continued mowing.

Q: should I tear down the mower and replace the belt (and possibly pulleys)?

The unit is (was) brand new.

Jeff

 

[frank_f15]

1st i would check the condition of the blade that hit the boulder, if it ent or damaged in any way you will need to replace it as it will cause problems soon

 

[x703jko]

1st i would check the condition of the blade that hit the boulder, if it ent or damaged in any way you will need to replace it as it will cause problems soon

Forgot to mention that blades are fine. I ran my hand across them and I didn't feel any damage.

J

 

[Snatchface]

Most common problem I have encountered under those circumstances are bent blades. Can't really tell unless you take them off and stack them on top of each other and they don't fit. The other way to tell is if your cut is uneven with one of the blades cutting lower than another.

 

[RoyJackson]

While mowing weeds in one of my fields I managed to hit a boulder. The noise was incredible! One of the blades actually stopped turning causing the belt to smoke.

I stopped the PTO and lifted immediately.

The mower appeared to be ok afterwards an I continued mowing.

Q: should I tear down the mower and replace the belt (and possibly pulleys)?

The unit is (was) brand new.

Jeff

Finishing mowers are made for lawns, not fields. You might not want to use that MMM for field work in the future...you may tear it up pretty rapidly. Use a rotary cutter instead.
It's not uncommon to hit a rock now and then when mowing...but a boulder?

Even though the blade looks OK, I'd send them out for sharpening/rebalance. You can give the underside of the mower a good inspection while you have the mower rolled over to remove the blades.
You can determine if the belt needs replacement then, but if the mower cut ok after you started back up...probably no damage.

 

[x703jko]

Finishing mowers are made for lawns, not fields. You might not want to use that MMM for field work in the future...you may tear it up pretty rapidly. Use a rotary cutter instead.
It's not uncommon to hit a rock now and then when mowing...but a boulder?

Even though the blade looks OK, I'd send them out for sharpening/rebalance. You can give the underside of the mower a good inspection while you have the mower rolled over to remove the blades.
You can determine if the belt needs replacement then, but if the mower cut ok after you started back up...probably no damage.

Roy. Thanks for the information and the feedback. The field usually isn't this overgrown. In the past, I've had someone come in and cut it, and they used a compact tractor with a MMM (not sure which brand - wasn't Kubota, probably Kioti or Simplicity because it was red color).

Anyway, thanks for your advice.

Q. what's the benefit of a gator blade?

Jeff

 

[x703jko]

Clarification. When I say I hit a boulder...it was the top of a boulder that was, before my blades hit it, was buried an inch or so in the ground. I happened to run right over the tip with the middle of the mower so the AS wheels did have a chance to do their thing.

J

 

[x703jko]

Check the deck out briefly today. No obvious damage to blades, belts, or pulleys. I'll check her out more closely next weekend.

Jeff

 

[Glowplug]

If it seems to be running rough and the blades and deck are okay you may want to consider replacing the belt. I had a MMM one time I was using to mow down some tall hay-like grass. The mower got bound up in the "hay" and the belt started smoking. It only did so for a second before I stopped it. But then it would run rough. I had burned a big divot in the belt, almost burning through it. Replacement is relatively cheap though. I think part of my problem that time was lack of grease on the spindles too.

 

[x703jko]

If it seems to be running rough and the blades and deck are okay you may want to consider replacing the belt. I had a MMM one time I was using to mow down some tall hay-like grass. The mower got bound up in the "hay" and the belt started smoking. It only did so for a second before I stopped it. But then it would run rough. I had burned a big divot in the belt, almost burning through it. Replacement is relatively cheap though. I think part of my problem that time was lack of grease on the spindles too.

Thanks for the advice. The unit ran fine afterwards and the belts appear to be ok.

I'll do a full tear down next weekend.