Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Hilbilly]

Hello Hillbilly,


You mean to tell me that your TM1900 does not have the spring V belt tension arm??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Let me get back to you tomorrow as something is off with those belt numbers.

If you have a KAMAN Industrial office nearby they can help you but they may have to have the V belts shipped in.

No, it has a spring tensioner roller but it is adjustable and seems like the belts could be tighter. If I knew what the proper tension should be then I would get the Gates tension tester and know for sure. But the owners manual I have gives no explanation regarding setting the proper tension.

The belts I gave you numbers for are the new ones I installed. The came from Princess Auto who recently changed belt suppliers and got 3 of each belt size. I bought all 3 of the size I noted above. I would think the belts would all be from the run since these are the first 3 belts of this size that they got from this supplier. However, the supplier could have mixed some old stock with new.

 

[Molalla1]

^^^^ I'll leave you alone leonz . . .

 

[leonz]

I promise to behave, honest!!!

 

[leonz]

No, it has a spring tensioner roller but it is adjustable and seems like the belts could be tighter. If I knew what the proper tension should be then I would get the Gates tension tester and know for sure. But the owners manual I have gives no explanation regarding setting the proper tension.

The belts I gave you numbers for are the new ones I installed. The came from Princess Auto who recently changed belt suppliers and got 3 of each belt size. I bought all 3 of the size I noted above. I would think the belts would all be from the run since these are the first 3 belts of this size that they got from this supplier. However, the supplier could have mixed some old stock with new.

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Hello and good morning Hillbilly,

Please give me a few hours to contact my friends in Italy to obtain the correct tension needed in Newton meters for the V belts.

 

[Hilbilly]

Good morning Leon's. Boy you are definitely the flail mower man. Even have contacts in Italy,lol.

Since you are doing this, Imwill order the Gates gauge. That wat I will know it is set right.

By the way I think it is a belt tension issue. The pulleys feel like they glazed. I will take some brake cleaner to them and maybe a light sanding before I make any more adjustments.

 

[ericm979]

V-belt tensioning: How to Tension a V-Belt (& How Not to) | IBT Industrial Solutions

there's a link in there to a table that you can use to calculate the correct tension after making a few measurements.

 

[leonz]

Hello Hillbilly,

I am coming back to this a bit later than I want to but:

If you have a low grit number paper or sand paper for that matter it will break the
glaze and clean each sheave on the three pulleys.

What eric979 has provided you is fine the issue is making sure the 3 V belts have the same lot number.

IF you had a triplex V belt or a triplex cogged V belt tensioning it would be a breeze too.



NOW:

There are five issues with the new belts and the sheave pulleys

1. the cross section area of the V belts must match the cross section area of the pulley exactly
2. the V belts must not protrude above the sheave groove, it must be no higher than the top of the pulley edge
3. the V belts must be properly tensioned with the adjuster before the first use and checked occasionally as needed
4. each one of the 9 V belts you have will have a lot number on it
5. each "separate size belt" must have the same lot number "on all three belts". Don't let anyone tell you that you can run V belts with three different lot numbers on the same triple sheave/pulley.

If the three V belts do not have the same lot number "they will not tension properly OR equally" and can fail prematurely.
I am hoping that one of the Caroni folks gets back to me by early tomorrow our time so I can help you fix this as they are 10-11 hours ahead of me and fifteen hours ahead of you in British Columbia.

Just bear with me and as red green says; keep your stick on the ice.

I have chores to do.

 

[JWR]

I got the offset, for $290 extra it's well worth it.

three uses for it - under fences is my biggie. I have a mile of horse fence.

over top of banks next to the road and similar sitiations where you need to mow a foot or 2 beside you but can't put you tractor there.

Third, trees...I can stay away from them.

And best, being offset it's MUCH easier to mow close to things (fences, buildings, etc) - first you can see it better sticking out and if you get too close you can slide it back in a bit and avoid having to stop, backup, steer away, etc.

You forgot the fourth one: Bashing out the frame to the garage door failing to remember that the offset flail mower sticks out there well past the tires. I speak from experience unfortunately.

 

[JWR]

I've got a Caroni TM1900 with a heat issue. After using it for about 30 minutes the cover over the belts is so hot I can't keep my hand on it. I felt along the driveshaft cover and the gear box and could tell the heat was being generated from the belt drive end of the shaft. Pulled the cover and found the belts were trashed. I replaced the belts with new kevlar ones and the heat persists. When the belts were off I turned all of the moving parts on that end to see if I could feel or hear a bad bearing but everything felt fine. When I checked the gear oil the level was fine but it had an odd color, kind of a creamy color, not grey which would suggest water. I replaced the gear oil anyways but still have the heat issue.

Any ideas?

I would guess rather strongly that your belt/belts are slipping. That's about the only way you'll get that much heat up there (since you manually rotated things and they all seem free to rotate.) I have no experience with a Caroni but the flail mower I use has a very strong tensioner spring which keeps good tension on the drive belt. You are not running in such heavy/wet/deep grass that it bogs down are you ?

 

[Hilbilly]

I would guess rather strongly that your belt/belts are slipping. That's about the only way you'll get that much heat up there (since you manually rotated things and they all seem free to rotate.) I have no experience with a Caroni but the flail mower I use has a very strong tensioner spring which keeps good tension on the drive belt. You are not running in such heavy/wet/deep grass that it bogs down are you ?

No the grass is dry and sparse. Not loading the mower at all. I am sure it is a belt tension issue now and have ordered the Gates tension gauge. Should be here on Wednesday. The Caroni has a spring loaded tension spring but it is adjustable and when I get back to this I will put more pressure on the belts and clean / sand the pulleys to remove any glaze. It might be a few days though as I'm in the middle of another project. Converting a 3PTH brush mower to an FEL side mount mower.