Hit a stump with rotary mower on L3700

[e30racer]

Was mowing Saturday and hit a cedar stump with my Land Pride RCR1860 and it shut the tractor down when it happened as well as locked the two blades of the cutter together.

Can anyone tell me if this may have done any damage to my L3700? I mowed a lot after this happened and everything seems balanced and quiet...

Also, since the tractor bogged down and stopped, is this a sign that my slip clutch is not working on the cutter?

thanks,
Steven

 

[TripleR]

One time killing your engine like that should not have caused any problems.

I would definitely adjust the slip clutch so it will slip before killing your tractor. It is set up for 25-60 HP and while a bigger tractor may have had the power to cause it to slip, yours may not. You manual will show how this is done.

 

[Chilly807]

I expect if you have marked the plates on the slip clutch, you'll find they've moved after the stump incident. They are to prevent the entire shock of hitting something solid being transmitted through the PTO shaft, not to prevent stalling. They soften the blow in other words.

It's one of the reasons I wish I'd opted for the shear bolt instead of the slip clutch. First, it would have saved me a couple hundred bucks, second there's no question whether the clutch is "frozen" or not, and the bolt would likely have sheared in your case.

You can set them up a little looser, easy enough to do, be careful they aren't too loose or you'll burn up the slip clutch through slipping too much.

Sean

 

[e30racer]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't have the clutch marked so I'm not sure if it slipped or not. I'll definitely mark it and follow the procedure in the manual for testing it to ensure that it slips.

On an unrelated note, I used the front end loader for about 4hrs to clear a piece of my land on Saturday after my bush hogging was done and I am nothing short of amazed at what this machine is capable of. I was not even planning on clearing the plot but I started by trying to clear a couple of trees and that went well and gave me a feel for what the machine could do and I just went from there.

My L3700 now has 43hrs and the more I use it the more I am amazed at what it can do. I'm going to go ahead and do the 50hr service this weekend to get ready for the spring.

Steven

 

[BeezFun]

I'll definitely mark it and follow the procedure in the manual for testing it to ensure that it slips.

I went through this last year. I ended up adjusting it by loosening the slip clutch and mowing a short bit, then feeling the clutch to see if it was hot. If it's not hot try heavier grass or loosen it some more. Then tighten each bolt a half turn and try again. Gradually move into heavier grass to figure out where the zone is that you want to adjust it so it never slips while mowing, but hopefully will slip when it hits something big. Be sure to use the same finger each time so you end up with one giant blister rather than getting small blisters on each finger.

 

[Johnbro]

My rotary cutter has broken so many shear bolts from hitting rocks and stumps I've long since lost count. Stalled my gear-driven L2250 a zillion times. never seemed to bother anything, just beats up the blades and you have to replace the shear bolt. I guess that's the advantage of a slip clutch, you don't have a bolt to break.

 

[TracTrac]

This thead brings back memories. This is the reason I do not look forward to cutting land I'm not familiar with. Before I bought my new 5' Bushhog squealer I once used a worn out 5' rotary cutter. While mowing an over grown lot I caught a large stump with the front lip of the old cutter. The rear of the mower flipped up,,,fast. The universals of the drive shaft were trying to operate a severe right angle. Things got ugly real fast.
e30racer, check for any stress cracks on the lift pin brackets. I can't remember all the details, but there is a specific procedure to set up a slip clutch. I remember that it needs to be readjusted every spring because of corrosion.
Wait a minute,,,I found it online: Borrowed from bush hog site, go to page 12 section 4-6.
http://www.bushhog.com/images/stories/documents/manuals/Squealer.pdf