Caroni Flail Belt Failure

[sunspot]

sunspot , i remember when you first mentioned your loose belts and i said to check the idler pulley for binding to make sure the spring was able to keep the idler tight . Did you check this ?

Yes, I checked very close. The idle pully turned freely on it's axle and the pully assembly moved well within the limits of the spring. Now that there are no belts on, I'll remove the spring and re-check for free movement.


SPYDERLK. Yes, I plan on running it a bit without the cover to check for problems.

[davitk]

Just an observation, last time I lubed my Chinese flail I pulled the belt cover after pumping the grease and noticed the huge mess that I had made around the zerk, and quickly wiped it off thinking that the grease/belt mixture would not be a good thing. I would highly recommend to everyone greasing these things to always remove that cover when servicing to be sure the belts are kept dry.

[Grapeman]

Got a new TM1900 a while back. Seems like a well built machine but I did have a belt problem a about 20 hours. Belts were checked at 10 hours and were fine At twenty hours found two of the three had splits and chunking. Called AgriSupply and was referred to a Tech. Left a message which was promply returned. Belts were replaced under warranty. Good people.

[Grapeman]

A followup on the belt failure issue. When the TM1900 came the roller was in the highest position. It may be that when mowing heavy grass and weeds that the clippings aren't able to exit the rear fast enough. The mower is trying to mulch the waste instead of just expelling it and is killing the belts. A poster in the big flail mower thread suggested dropping the roller down 1 or 2 holes and opening up the discharge. I have done that and it seems to help the unit to work more easily. The MF533 that the mower was on has been gone for warranty work so I have not used the unit since the belts were replaced. Give this a try.

[sunspot]

A poster in the big flail mower thread suggested dropping the roller down 1 or 2 holes and opening up the discharge.

That was me

The roller adjustment is for cutting height. But you did give me a thought. I might try dropping the skid bars to match the roller.

[Reg]

I only have a few hours on mine and YES, the belt cover gets far too warm.
The belts are tight, everything was greased up (and surplus grease removed) before starting it up.
I suspect that the belts are too narrow for the pulley grooves, but havn't measured for this.

My biggest gripe is that there were NO instructions on how to install the hydraulic shift kit.
Also little/no guidance on how to set the roller, skid shoes and top link length to get a given cut length.

I have been running mine on 1,000 RPM PTO output at about 1300 actual engine RPM, which is just about 54% of the 2400 or so RPM for 1,000 RPM PTO. This allows me a lower ground speed for when I'm really cutting brush.

Oh yeah, it does TOO munch up brush (-:

[Reg]

I just had the belt cover off to do some looking.
I think the cause of vibration at low speed (idle) is the belts.
If I watch the idler/tensioner as I turn the mower over by hand there is a point at which it takes up the most slack, it is ALWAYS when the belts come to the same point, NOT when the pulleys come to the same point.

To check this;

Usual rules of tractor safety; engine off, trans in neutral, brake on, keys in pocket, the mower SHOULD be blocked, etc.

Remove the cover, turn the whole thing over slowly by hand while watching the idler pulley. When it gets to it's max take up mark both the pulleys at their top with chalk, mark the 3 belts too. Continue turning until it again comes to the point of max take up, check the chalk marks to figure if you have an eccentric pulley or stretched belt. Mine are "longer" in one particular position.
So, I'm guessing there is some stretch from sitting idle.
I could probably "tune it out" by moving two of the belts around 1/3 of their length, one clockwise, one counter clock. That would verify my theory, but then I would just have 3 belts with different slack spots and a hidden problem.

BTW, someone asked if it is counter rotating, i.e. opposite to the direction the tractor wheels turn when going forwards.
Yes, a glance at the belt system tells you so.
The idler/tensioner is on the slack run of the belt, which is at the rear, so the tension run is at the front, so (viewed from the left side) everything must turn clock-wise.

[sunspot]

The setup manual is dismal. I would like to get the belt specs from Caroni so as to buy them locally. I was hoping that my belts would of been delivered yesterday to have the weekend to install them and check the pulleys.

[Iron Horse]

It sounds like the idler pulley springs are not strong enough , i cut 3-6' tall grass all day and my belt cover never gets hotter than luke warm . Can another spring be fitted down the inside of the original one ? If it where me i'd remove the spring and put a piece of chain in it's place and tighten the belts to give 3/8" slack at thier longest the way most flails are . The idea of automatic belt tensioning sounds good but it also sounds like it does not work in practice . sunspot , how do you find running at 1000PTO at lower engine revs . Its much quieter and fuel efficient when all your doing is mowing lawn is'nt it . I was howeled down for suggesting this earlier in the other threads but works perfectly for me .

[IslandTractor]

I used my TM1900 today for two mowing jobs. One was light, just mowed the grass around the house for 30 minutes and the other was tough, mowed about three acres of three foot grass and briar. I checked the heat of the belt cover after mowing around the house and I could keep my hand on the cover for about 5 seconds before it was too uncomfortable. After the tougher mowing job I could only keep my hand on the cover for a couple of seconds. The bearing cover on the other side of the mower (non powered side) was barely warm after the big job.

I haven't rechecked the belt tensioner but will do so tomorrow and see if IronHorse's idea is practical (for me).