TC33D belly mower

[ironpen]

A friend borrowed my mower this afternoon and proceeded to jam the deck into the ground and wrap a large piece of telephone cable around one the spindles in less than 5 minutes. He noticed "smoke" coming off the deck and eventually disengaged the middle PTO. I arrived and got the cable loose but noted that turning the blade by hand didn't turn the other blades. After removing the housing cover on top of the deck the belt had come off the spindle. I got the belt back in place, but it appeared quite loose, so I went to the other side of the deck and adjusted the spring tensioner. This tightened the belt, but when I took it out of mid pto engagement, the belt was still pretty tight. Really the tension seemed about the same whether the pto was engaged or not.......Is that as it should be? How tight should the belt be....a hard answer I realize without seeing the deck. But if anybody can give me a little guidance, it would really be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[mostly_gas]

On both of my mowing decks (RFM on tractor and belly deck on Agco) the belt tension stays the same regardless of PTO position.

 

[ironpen]

Thanks for the info.

 

[SteveInMD]

He may have broken your belt. There are fiber strands inside of the belt, which can break even while the rubber stays intact. It's hard to keep tension on a belt with broken strands. Keep an eye on it - if it starts to slip or comes off again, replace it.

Your manual should tell you the proper tension. Deflecting not more than 1/2" with moderate pressure is a fairly common spec.

 

[ironpen]

Thanks...so far so good.