Too much HP for my mower and wood chipper. Now what?

[SenileTexasAggie]

I recently purchased a Kioti RX7320 (73 HP) to replace my NH TC48DA (48 HP), which I burned up due to my stupidity. Since I started using the new tractor, I have been breaking shear pins on my Rhino SE6 shredder like crazy. I finally looked up the specs on the SE6 and saw where it was rated for tractors 20-50 HP. Ouch! I looked up the specs for my Woodland Mills WC68 wood chipper, and it was rated for 20-50 hp tractors as well. Is there anything I can do, such as installing slip clutches, to enable me to continue using these attachments, or am I stuck with buying new attachments rated to handle my tractor?

 

[leonz]

Cut back on your ground speed and engine PTO RPM speed first on the rhino and then try the same thing on the chipper.
A slip clutch on the chipper will be more dangerous as you are feeding material by hand into the
chipper and you could be hit by debris kicking back.

Lowering the cutting height on the shredder if its flail shredder will help you if you mow often.

 

[ericm979]

A slip clutch on a wood chipper won't cause it to kick debris back. It will work normally until you feed in something large too fast- then the clutch will slip and the rotor will slow or stop. If the clutch is adjusted correctly that is. They often aren't, even from the factory. With a shear pin PTO you'll break the pin. On a hydraulic feed chipper like this one, if you feed in something that jams the feed, it will trip the relief valve if the valve is set properly. That will happen before the clutch slips or pin breaks.

Unless there is something else wrong like the wrong shear pin, breaking shear pins means that you're mowing too much material, which means you're going too fast. With a smaller tractor you'd know when to slow down because the tractor engine would be struggling. With the stronger tractor you'll have to figure that out by looking at what you're cutting. If the tractor has a economy PTO gear where the engine is turning slower when the PTO is at 540, you could use that.

 

[Thunder chicken]

could the PTO shaft be sized for the lower HP also?
Maybe getting the correct PTO shaft for the HP, series 6 i think for you? may have larger shear pins?
i could be out to lunch!

 

[K5lwq]

Shearing pins is common with electric engaged PTOs. Make sure you are at idle when you engage and disengage the PTO and you probably will find it will work just fine.

But as others have mentioned, be mindful that you can overload the implements now.

 

[CoyPatton]

Cut back on your ground speed and engine PTO RPM speed first on the rhino and then try the same thing on the chipper.
A slip clutch on the chipper will be more dangerous as you are feeding material by hand into the
chipper and you could be hit by debris kicking back.

Lowering the cutting height on the shredder if its flail shredder will help you if you mow often.

I agree with the above until the last statement. Lowering the height on any cutter 1) makes it work harder 2) increases your risk of hitting low objects that will cause problems with slip clutches slipping, or shear pins shearing.
More frequent cutting would help on the stress place on the system, but may not be a realistic expectation.

 

[SenileTexasAggie]

Regarding engaging the PTO at low engine RPMs, I learned that the hard way, as the very first shear pin I broke was when I engaged the PTO with the engine at higher RPMs. I now idle the tractor before engaging the PTO. I don't have any problems cutting tall grass. The mower cuts just fine and does not shear a pin. When a pin shears, it almost always happens when I hit a stump or perhaps contact the ground. (The pastures where I mow are uneven so ground contact is quite common.) I am hoping installing a slip clutch would lessen any harm that I may other wise cause to my mower or tractor PTO drive line. Yet I don't know if installing a slip clutch on my mower would be financially practical or if I need to buy a heavier duty mower. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Howdy Ag, I would buy a heavier duty mower. Still watch out for stumps.

 

[K5lwq]

Understanding more of your situation, I agree with Kyle. Sell the mower you have and buy a heavier duty mower.

 

[Jstpssng]

Even though I have an electric PTO I still use my clutch to engage it, especially on heavy implements such as my rotary mower.