Smoked a clutch on my tiller....

[foggy1111]

Yesterday I was tilling about an acre of new ground (after clearing and de-stumping the land....and discing it first). Because of all the remaining root trash on new land.....this is hard-duty on a tiller. After a few rounds I noticed the clutch smoking a time or two.....but had left my wreches back at the tool shed.

Well....I got things very hot....cause I hoped I could finish without driving back for the tools to re-adjust the slip clutch. No dice.

I finally admitted defeat and went back to get some wrenches. First I had to cool off the clutch with a light mist of water. Big time steam and cooling process. But no known damage. I tightened everything up a half a turn and re-greased the joints as I had cooked most of the grease out of the U-joint. Thus adjusted.....the tiller worked great again.

MY QUESTION: How many of these episodes before a clutch "goes south"? (I thought I had destroyed this clutch yesterday.....as I did not know it was as hot as it was )

I think I better get a clutch and a U-joint for my "parts department".

 

[beenthere]

Sounds like a plan. Some wrenches along next time will prolly take care of business too.

But smoke means heat.........excessive heat. Glad you are back in business now. Good lesson for the rest of us.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Yesterday I was tilling about an acre of new ground (after clearing and de-stumping the land....and discing it first). Because of all the remaining root trash on new land.....this is hard-duty on a tiller. After a few rounds I noticed the clutch smoking a time or two.....but had left my wreches back at the tool shed.

Well....I got things very hot....cause I hoped I could finish without driving back for the tools to re-adjust the slip clutch. No dice.

I finally admitted defeat and went back to get some wrenches. First I had to cool off the clutch with a light mist of water. Big time steam and cooling process. But no known damage. I tightened everything up a half a turn and re-greased the joints as I had cooked most of the grease out of the U-joint. Thus adjusted.....the tiller worked great again.

MY QUESTION: How many of these episodes before a clutch "goes south"? (I thought I had destroyed this clutch yesterday.....as I did not know it was as hot as it was )

I think I better get a clutch and a U-joint for my "parts department".

Back when I first bought my KKII 6'er, about 9 years ago, I had a plan to use it to work up more than 45 acres of what would become my hay fields. It was full of stumps and rocks. So I put the tiller on the back of my 2640 Deere (70hp) and went at it. That's just a bit more tractor than KK intended for that tiller (and it's slip clutch) During the week long ordeal, I let the smoke out of the clutch maybe 4 times..... Each time I would re-adjust it to "spec" (static height of springs) After I finished, there was some thought of getting new fiber disc's for the slip clutch.....Then I forgot about them... until I read this thread.

So, after torturing the clutch to a point where most people would have given in, I just kept using what I had. 9 years later, the original friction disc's are still in place, still working just fine. And I still occasionally use the tiller with that 70 hp tractor.

My opinion? Adjust properly and keep on tillin'.....

 

[SPYDERLK]

A smoking slip clutch is an operator asleep at the wheel. The clutch is supposed to slip on catastrophic level overloads only. These are either too brief to cause significant heat or should be caught quickly by the operator. Then either tighten the clutch or lighten the load.
larry

 

[Farmwithjunk]

A smoking slip clutch is an operator asleep at the wheel. The clutch is supposed to slip on catastrophic level overloads only. These are either too brief to cause significant heat or should be caught quickly by the operator. Then either tighten the clutch or lighten the load.
larry

And THAT is a statement that is totally unfounded......NO basis in fact....None whatsoever.

It DOES NOT need to be a "catastrophic overload"..... Simply reaching the point of torque input exceeds resistance makes 'em slip. (or SHOULD anyway...) They should slip well BEFORE approaching the "catastrophic overload" point......In my case, they WERE "caught quickly".....It took just a couple seconds of hitting a stump to send smoke sailing. With a hand on the hydraulic lever, the tiller was raised LITERALLY as fast as it would lift. The heat was generated. again, literally in seconds.

If a slip clutch DOESN'T slip under less than catastrophic overload levels, you simply lower the point where it BECOMES catastrophic..... Myself? I'd rather see a little smoke now and again than I would see a gear box explode, or a pto u-joint snap.

Lighten the load? You mean do an inadequate job? Not happening.....I own equipment to USE and to accomplish work, NOT to play around as if it was a toy. That's why there IS a slip clutch, so you can do work, even if it is near the capacity of the equipment, without having to treat it like it's a fragile toy.

No, they should NOT be tightened to the point where they don't slip when you hit something typically found "in the ground".

And tightening the clutch BEYOND where it should be for routine service is a HORRIBLE IDEA and should not be passed along as "good advice". Someone might actually be foolish enough to follow that advice. It's a quick way to destroy a tiller.

 

[SPYDERLK]

And THAT is a statement that is totally unfounded......NO basis in fact....None whatsoever.

It DOES NOT need to be a "catastrophic overload"..... Simply reaching the point of hp exceeds resistance makes 'em slip. They should slip well BEFORE approaching the "catastrophic overload" point......In my case, they WERE "caught quickly".....It took just a couple seconds of hitting a stump to send smoke sailing. With a hand on the hydraulic lever, the tiller was raised LITERALLY as fast as it would lift. The heat was generated. again, literally in seconds.

Lighten the load? You mean do an inadequate job? No, they should NOT be tightened to the point where they don't slip when you hit something typically found "in the ground".

And tightening the clutch BEYOND where it should be for routine service is a HORRIBLE IDEA and should not be passed along as "good advice". Someone might actually be foolish enough to actually follow that advice. It's a quick way to destroy a tiller.

... So you describe valid catastrophic overload condition with stuff stuff blended in about exceeding steady state HP. 70HP on a 6' tiller is not a catastrophic overload. If you are putting the 70HP to it continuously tho you really are endangering the gearbox a little, and could tell this by feeling it occasionaly. Lightening the load can be done by slowing down.
larry

 

[Baby Grand]

The first time I tried to till our North field I smoked the clutch a lot. It was my fault as the surface looked good and dry - hadn't had significant rain for a week or two. But the soil there is about 2 - 3 inches of sandy loam on top of a heavy clay/sand mixture (varved clay), which never dries out. It would ball up in the tiller spool, making something that looked like the wheels on the Flintstone's car - of solid, moist clay - that I had to pick out with a crowbar. But I digress. I adjusted the clutch several times before it would keep spinning through the clay. Then ran the tiller for another 3 years without incident. This Spring, during the annual Slipping of the Clutches festival, I noticed that one of the friction discs was missing some pieces - about 30% was gone. Good luck finding replacements locally - I wasted a perfectly good Saturday on that drill. A little patience and a charge to AgriSupply and my friction discs were on the front step in 4 days.

My advice is to get a spare set now, so you can get it running quickly when you need it.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

... So you describe valid catastrophic overload condition with stuff stuff blended in about exceeding steady state HP. 70HP on a 6' tiller is not a catastrophic overload. If you are putting the 70HP to it continuously tho you really are endangering the gearbox a little, and could tell this by feeling it occasionaly. Lightening the load can be done by slowing down.
larry

No, I stated WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC OVERLOAD had I taken your previously posted BAD ADVICE. Allowing the clutch to slip BEFORE reaching the point of destruction is what SAVED the gearbox. You're drastically OVERthinking a relatively simple concept. With doing things THE CORRECT WAY, I've never endangered my gearbox. Your way would be certain death......

NOT a "theory" to be debated, but long hours of actual "on the job" experience..........

 

[SPYDERLK]

A smoking slip clutch is an operator asleep at the wheel. The clutch is supposed to slip on catastrophic level overloads only. These are either too brief to cause significant heat or should be caught quickly by the operator. Then either tighten the clutch or lighten the load.
larry

No, I stated WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC OVERLOAD had I taken your previously posted BAD ADVICE. Allowing the clutch to slip BEFORE reaching the point of destruction is what SAVED the gearbox. You're drastically OVERthinking a relatively simple concept. With doing things THE CORRECT WAY, I've never endangered my gearbox. Your way would be certain death......

NOT a "theory" to be debated, but long hours of actual "on the job" experience..........

Here is a convenient opportunity to read the post you might be talking about. If there is any steady state slippage of the clutch something is wrong. Tighten or lighten.
larry

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Here is a convenient opportunity to read the post you might be talking about. If there is any steady state slippage of the clutch something is wrong. Tighten or lighten.
larry

No one said (except you, in yet ANOTHER of your incorrect statements) anything regarding "a steady state of slippage". That shows us a defiinate lack of reading comprehension skill on your part. (OR....A tendency to make things up as you go along... ) Your comments are living proof of what one of my dear old friends (who happened to be one of my engineering professors) often said. "Don't choke to death on your text books. They might have been written by ANOTHER engineer who didn't have any practical application experience, just living in the theoretical world...."

In other words, your "theory" doesn't hold water in the real world.