wondering about my clutch service life

[keegs]

I have a bare bones model with a manual trans. I've never owned any vehicle with an automatic trans. I've been moving a lot of deep snow lately with the blower. The work is slow going requiring multiple passes over the same area with a lot of forward and reverse. movement and spinning wheels. My sense is that these tractor clutches are designed for this kind of activity but have to wonder how much wear and tear am I imposing. Your thoughts?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

How long your clutch last, will be determined by how much you slip it...

Don't slip it and it will last a long LONG time!

SR

 

[keegs]

Thanks SR, The term slip may need some clarification for me. For me a clutch slips when it's wearing out.. e.g. there's not enough friction between the clutch plate, the flywheel and the pressure plate ... something that may occur over time as a consequence of use under certain conditions. I use the term riding the clutch to describe in this case the extended and/or repeated engagement and disengagement of the clutch to the degree necessary to move the snow with the blower. I'm conscious of it and try to avoid riding the clutch but it's what's required to move the snow with the blower. To put my OP in other words... it could be that the tractor and the blower aren't the right tools under these conditions and by using them I'm wearing out the tractor clutch. The tractor hp isn't strong enough to move the snow in one pass. When I back up into 3 ft of snow the wheels spin. I don't have an FEL.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Here's the bottom line. KEEP your foot OFF the clutch unless you are pushing it in, or letting it out!

Slipping, is having the clutch pedal any where in between having it "in and out" with the motor running and the transmission in gear.

IF you tractor is geared too high to run the blower with the clutch out, (and your foot off the clutch pedal) then you have the wrong tractor for sno blowing...

Slipping causes heat and wear, both are NOT a good thing!

SR