Slip clutch on rotary cutter may not slip: BAD??

[beppington]

A thread on slip clutches caught my eye one day last week - I was never even aware that the rotary cutter I've been using since last June has one, until spotting it last weekend. It's an old, rusty Ford cutter that that I've been greasing in hopes of course of keeping it going as long as possible of course.

But I've never checked the slip clutch - How important is it?

I tend to run over some pretty big stuff, not realizing that I guess I really need the cutter's clutch to have the ability to slip if needed? If that's right, do I need to take it apart to make sure it's working/ slipp-able?

Or is a slip clutch really more important on ground engagement implements like tillers?

If the clutch won't slip when it needs to, am I gonna tear up my tractor (currently in the shop for repairs after this debacle)?

 

[beenthere]

Yep. Need to loosen the clutch enough so that it does slip, and then adjust it back evenly until it doesn't slip. Should adjust and verify it will slip at least once a year. Like you say, it isn't worth catching a stump and having your innards of the tranny in shambles.
So loosen each bolt the same number of turns and tighten after slipping the loosend clutch. Then tighten evenly (or measure the length of each bolt) to just tight enough to work on regular mowing duties. Slipping will be noticed when it is smoking (gone too far then but sometimes first clue).

 

[Eric_Phillips]

You are at high risk of damaging your tractor if the slip clutch does not slip. The slip clutch will take the shock out of the system when you hit something with the mower.

Beenthere beat me with a more complete answer.

 

[bullbreaker]

Bepp :
Scroll down to page 20 on this pdf. Yours should be like one of these and adjust according to specs(instructions).

http://www.bushhog.com/images/stories/documents/manuals/Squealer.pdf

Boone

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Make sure all slip surfaces will actually slip. They can tend to 'weld' together.

 

[nybirdman]

If you can't get it to work properly,replace it..save you a lot of grief/expense.

 

[daveinnh]

I put a slip-clutch on a no-name rotary mower after changing too many shear bolts. from Agri-Supply.

Each spring, I loosen the bolts so the plates spin (they'll smoke - dont let them spin too long), then tighten up so they don't.

Now I'm fixing up an old Mott 6' flail mower.

 

[Baby Grand]

You might want to take the clutch apart so you can check the friction discs and make sure they aren't damaged. If you do, order a set of spare discs because you can never find them when you need them (like Sunday mowing).
-Jim

 

[TripleR]

Yep, get the slip clutch working, we had to replace a couple of gear boxes because of this.

 

[art]

Any safety item for your equipment should be checked regularly. Shear bolts should be removed and shafts spun to keep free.

Slip clutches loosened and slipped and then retightned.

We've seen gear boxes on mowers destroyed from both methods from rust!

We've also seen tractor PTO systems taken out as well from lack of lubrication on the sliding PTO shafts.