Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height?

   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height? #1  

Theowegian

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2003
Messages
444
Location
Emporia, Kansas
Tractor
Kubota L3130 HST
Last week I bought a used Landpride rear discharge finish mower, FDR 1572 model, 72" 3 pt for my L3130.

Well, I burned up the belt after three hours of use. I probably was cutting too thick of grass, making the belt slip -based on an inspection of the belt remains. The finish cut is set for 3" high, but the fescue grass was about 6" high to start with. I know that's a pretty tall cut for a finish mower, but...

1. what is the max height of grass I should cut with a finish mower? Do you finish mower users cut when the grass becomes 4-5" or..?
2. What is an average belt life on a rear finish mower?

I also could only cut about 3 mph without loosing my 540 rpms.

p.s. My Landpride manual does NOT talk about these questions.

dwight
 
   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height? #2  
I am wrapping up the 12th season of using my 72" Land Pride RFM. In the thousands of hours of use, I've changed the belt once (it broke) and changed the blades twice (they were just plain worn out). I have mowed grass as tall as 24" with the mower and have it hooked up to about 45 PTO hp. I also mow my grass right at about 3 1/2" tall.

My belt is showing cracks and will need to be replaced next year, but that still gives me about 6 years of hard use per belt. All of my deck spindles are perfectly tight as well are the wheel spindles and the shafts that allow the gauge wheels to twirl (whatever they are supposed to be called). I've checked the gear oil in the gear box each spring, but have never had to add any. I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to change it.

Anyway, the only thing that I have made sure to do is to grease every grease fitting at least every 8 hours, if not more often. I really don't see any potential problems that need to be addressed for the the near future other than the belt it likely needs, and maybe another set of blades. The stinking crawdad hills by the lake are brutal on my blades!
 
   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Hello Dargo.
Thanks for your thoughts. What I learned from you:
1. That mower can be run in tall grass - basically whatever the tractor can handle.
2. Cut the grass whenever it needs it...
3. Final grass cut height, for you is typically 3-1/2".
4. Don't neglect routine greasing and inspect your machine often, especially if you put a lot of demands on it.


So far this mower has been a mower from "HECK". /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

I bought it used from an implement dealer in my hometown. It was only $650. I thought that was a great price for a quality Landpride rear discharge mower....so I THOUGHT!

I guess the old adage is still true.
"Good things are seldom cheap and Cheap things are seldom good".

Anyway, I checked everything over, using the operator and parts manuals that I downloaded from Landprides website, even before I even took one pass. So I was trying really hard to be careful and it still cost me a bundle...

Here's what I found when I got it home:
1. Gauge wheels didnt swivel. Rusted solid...
2. Wheels themselves turned, but a axle nut came off on the first pass and I reinstalled with Locktite.
3. The initial cut was absolutely terrible! I could have done better with a corn knife. So I took off the blades. They were Woods brand. But the cutting edge was on the wrong edge. The Woods blades were made to rotate the opposite direction. So, I bought new Landpride ones and then it cut great. $75.
4. Had a flat tire, immediately. Installed some UltraSeal in the tire and reinflated. No flats yet. That is awesome sealant!!!
5. I checked the belt tension before mowing and was satisfied it was tight enough. Wrong. It slipped and burnt up before I could catch it before it was ruined...
6. Gear oil sprayed everywhere when the gearbox began to warm up. The vent was not free to open and close and it actually sprayed gear oil out on top of the mower deck before I could shut it down. I should have checked that...I did check the oil level though.
7. The mower obviously sat outdoors for so long that all the pulleys were very rusty. So I took a power wire brush and some 120 grit emery cloth to each v-belt pulley and dressed them up the best I could to minimize any slippage.
8. With the belt off I could check the side and end play on each pulley. They were solid. No excessive play.
9. But I found that each pulley had been overgreased and the excess grease flung everywhere and I suspect all over the old belt, too before it failed. So I had to clean up the grease and belt rubber pieces before I installed the new belt...what a mess. $77 for a new belt.
10. The PTO absolutely would not go on the tractor. Had to take it to the workbench and I eventually found a significant burr on the spline which needed to be filed smooth.
11. The blade bolts were on so darn tight, I absolutely could NOT get the blades off. In utter frustration, I went and bought a new electric impact wrench 'cause my air powered impact wrench was useless. About 5 seconds with the new electric wrench and the bolt came right off. Cool tool, that Milwaulkee impact wrench. $169.

In summary, I think the combination of an old belt, extremely rusty pulleys with excessive spindle greasing made the belt slip and eventually fail after about only two hours of use.

later, dwight
 
   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height? #4  
I used to own an LP of the same model which I got new. I usually didnt let the grass get too tall before I mowed it. That said I did press it into service as a brush mower a few of times. There were no trees per se but a fair population of scrubby bushes and *very* tall grass. I didnt have any problems and proceeded as fast as the tractor would go. The belt never slipped. In fact this mower has an automatic belt tensioner that should regulate the tension correctly. I was careful to keep the blades sharp though and had a couple sets...one set to go and the other on the machine. I did store the mower outside under a tarp though and for winter removed the blades, wheels/spindles and brought them inside. I also removed the gear case vent and replaced that w/ a solid plug. It sounds as though your mower was just stored imprperly...w/o an eye for care.
 
   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height? #5  
Dwight… I also have a Land Pride. It’s a FDR2584. Keep your PTO RPM at 540 and you should have no problems cutting anything. If you can not hold that RPM you are moving too fast for the mowing conditions. Low PTO speed puts a big load on belt.

The belt for my mower is a long Kevlar B series belt and only costs $44.00 …

Electric impacts are GREAT for removing bolts… be careful and do NOT use them to tighten your blade bolts with them. Use a torque wrench. KennyV.
 
   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height? #6  
Theo,

I'll answer your original question from another perspective. Since you bought a finish mower, you obviously want your grass to look great. Most grass and turf experts recommend no more than 30% of the grass length be cut. Using the 30% rule, you will be cutting fairly often, but not putting a big load on your mower. The good news is that you can run your tractor in a much higher gear when you mow often.

Good sharp blades make a huge difference in the horsepower needed to spin the blades, and the quality of the cut. I recommend that you develop a quick method for sharpening, and touch up every time you mow. Touching up is very easy and quick. Re-sharpening can be time consuming, and a real pain.

I bet that belt was dry rotted, and would have soon broken whether or not the grease had gotten to it.
 
   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Where do you get your replacement Kevlar belt?
I got mine at the local LandPride dealer.

dwight
 
   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height? #8  
Dwight..
I also went to my local Land Pride dealer, Wichita Tractor Co. I could have the same belt ordered in by a local bearing company for a couple dollars less, but Wichita tractor keeps them in stock, and I will try to buy from the dealer if they keep parts and prices in check. You can price check your part # with them at, http://www.wichitatractor.com/ KennyV.
 
   / Finish mower-expected belt lifeand grass height? #9  
I bought a used 2572 side discharge about 10 years ago, have used it probably 75-100 hours a year since I got it mowing fescue and buffalo grass (although mostly crab grass this year). First on a B8200 now on a L3010. Never done anything to it except grease it and keep the blades sharp. Have put new blades on it once. Never changed the belt, but never lug it in heavy grass either. This spring I screwed up one of the guage wheels (mine are solid, no pneumatic) and had to change it. Replaced two to keep the mower level and that was a little pricey, but considering its all I've done to it, I'm not really complaining.

About dealer service-your local Land Pride dealer didn't have the guage wheels in stock, but took new ones from a mower in stock and let me have them, this after I walked in after they should have been closed on a Saturday.

When I wear this mower out, I'm going with the 2584 rear discharge from your dealer in Emporia, they made me a customer with that kind of service. May be waiting a while though. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
 
 
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