Lovejoy fialure

[woodlandfarms]

So looking for some opinions.

I know one reason why my lovejoys have failed, and that was due to a negligent operator and the motor in question being loose (no not me but I would take the bullet).

I have ordered new Love Joys due to the wear but I am wondering if part of hte reason is how this came from the factory, that the lovejoy has too much gap. Can someone please advise? Can't seem to find any real info on gappage...

 

[George2615]

Looking at your first pic there is too much gap.The coupler is designed so with a new rubber insert in place then you slide the coupler halves toward each other so they touch the rubber. The rubber is slightly larger so the two metal halves never touch each other, only the rubber.
I use them at work on various pumps and motors. I have a few on circ pumps that run 24/7 that are 20 plus years old and still good. The ones used on pumps that constantly start and stop are the ones that wear out the fastest.

 

[445A]

In my past experience with Lovejoys, I have found 2 things that are critical to their longevity. First the centers of both shafts must be at exactly the same height, or running center to center. The 2nd thing is both shafts must be running on the same planel, there must be no angle compensation at the Lovejoy. Also bigger is better, if you can go up to the next bigger size. Hope this helps.:thumbsup:

 

[hosspuller]

Angular and concentricity are important too. It's really, align the two shafts as if you didn't have a coupling. Then the "Lovejoy" will last for years.

 

[CalG]

That particular coupling shows wear on the dogs in the form of the taper on each of the mating halves. That is NOT how they come new! ;-)

The center rubbers are spendy enough to start over with all new parts. Though the better the alignment, the longer you can expect the coupling to last, These couplings are designed to accommodate some misalignment in all planes. That is why there is the center rubber vane. If everything were set up to perfection, that feature could be eliminated.

 

[woodlandfarms]

THanks guys, yeah the pictures I am showing are the worn lovejoys. I am getting new ones shipped but gotta keep working till they arrive this week.

As I said, the wear happend a few years ago when the mower was run all summer with the motor loose. It ate the rubber up. Since then I have been replacing the rubber far ttoo frequently but never thought to explore why until yesterday. (also, why did the motor get loose to begin with)

I was more wondering about the signficant gap and when I replance the lovejoys should I get the gap to a minimum. I assume yes, one person has said yes but may be there is a reason for the gap.

 

[CalG]

Push the two halves together , lightly trapping the rubber. (centered on the gap between shafts)

The frequent need to renew the rubber vanes is due to the poor fit caused by wear. The rubber gets pushed and "bitten" by the edges of the dogs. When the dogs are in good condition, there is no biting, just squishing and relaxing.