Let's talk flail mowers

[coastalguy]

500th post?

[Nuru]

Gents; Mowing with a flail on slopes, any suggestions? When i get my tractor back (very busy shop!), I want to avoid any issues just incase it was not just a weak valve that let go and the slope mowing with the flail (even though I really doubt it), contributed to the failure?

[Mike5252]

Yekrut,

The TL has a fixed offset of what appears to be about 9". I have about a 54" width and the mower extends from the right hand side of the tractor about 1 foot.

[IslandTractor]

Originally Posted by Nuru

Gents; Mowing with a flail on slopes, any suggestions? When i get my tractor back (very busy shop!), I want to avoid any issues just incase it was not just a weak valve that let go and the slope mowing with the flail (even though I really doubt it), contributed to the failure?

flails are used routinely by highway crews and they are often on big slopes so I would not worry.

[IslandTractor]

heads up. I posted about a week ago that I'd ordered 3/8 BSPP fittings for the Caroni dipstick fitting extender. I got a set but they are 2/100ths too big. Back to the drawing board.

I'll ask one of the moderators to let me add an edit to my earlier post so no one orders those fittings.

[Reg]

Something Iron Horse said about deliberately running universals out of line to avoid some sort of "in the middle" wear pattern - not verbatim, but close enough.
Maybe 100 posts or so back ?
I know it didn't make a whole lot of sense (to ME) at the time, but with a couple of dozen tabs usually open I don't always take up each point as it comes up.
Sometimes when I'm driving these things come back to me and I wish I could just log in and reply.

and so it was today.
OK, so maybe universals wear a bit more evenly if there is a slight bend in them, but I don't think I've ever seen one that was running dead straight in the vertical dimension, so why the need to off-set them in the horizontal dimension ?

Somewhere else there was mention of the speed fluctuation through a UJ, but that might have been a different thread. Anyway, sure the SHAFT goes through that, but doesn't the UJ at the other end cancel that out and the shaft as a WHOLE act like a CV joint ? (I said "act like").

Rzeppa joints aren't just a couple of UJs back to back, those are balls in spherical races (sorta).

Just thunkin' behind the wheel today.

[Builder]

Pretty impressive FX21

[Iron Horse]

Reg.// This is a link to Dana Spicers facts on drive line angles , how a UJ speeds up and slows back down twice per revolution , etc . It is very good reading . Re. my statement on shaft angles to promote longevity in UJ'S . You are correct in saying the up and down angle does the same thing but many flails i have seen and owned have the gearbox high enough to make the shaft run straight so i offset the mower a little to counter this . I have replaced many Universal Joints in customers cars and trucks because the shafts were running to straight . As you can imagine , the rollers in such a shafts UJ are sitting static and the 2 or 3 rollers that are constantly taking all the thrust will burry themselves into the cups on the thrust side . A set of rollers that are twisting and rotating are spreading the load and wear amongst all of the rollers as well as the grease and increase the life span accordingly . It is espesially important in vehicles to shim the differential saddles when a vehicle height modification has been done to bring back the driveline angle to around 3 degrees .universal joints, dana spicer, drive shafts, Propeller Shafts, GWB - Machine Service, Inc

[SPYDERLK]

Originally Posted by Iron Horse

Reg.// This is a link to Dana Spicers facts on drive line angles , how a UJ speeds up and slows back down twice per revolution , etc . It is very good reading . Re. my statement on shaft angles to promote longevity in UJ'S . You are correct in saying the up and down angle does the same thing but many flails i have seen and owned have the gearbox high enough to make the shaft run straight so i offset the mower a little to counter this . I have replaced many Universal Joints in customers cars and trucks because the shafts were running to straight . [[[As you can imagine , the rollers in such a shafts UJ are sitting static and the 2 or 3 rollers that are constantly taking all the thrust will burry themselves into the cups on the thrust side.]]]

Couldnt find the link. Sounds good tho. [In your experience, is it the cups or the cross that detent more?] I would think it would be the cross due the the higher contact aspect between it and the rollers. The cup curvature would cause more load bearing area/ lower pressure in the contact region.
larry

[Iron Horse]

Forgot to add the link , has been done now . Yes i meant to say the cross trunions as well as the cup races .