Mid PTO shaft

[Jeff396]

I'm to the point where I need (read way overdue) to sharpen my blades. What's been keeping me from doing it is two things.....how do I get them off and how tight do they need to be when I reinstall. I will definately try the ramp idea as I wasn't looking forward to trying to flip the deck. As for tightening, if I remember right I had read that the torque on the blades needs to be about 300 ft lbs. Do you actually torque them or just give them a good healthy hit with the air impact? Also, how do you check and see if they are still balanced after sharpening?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Jeff

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Do you actually torque them or just give them a good healthy hit with the air impact?</font color=blue>

I just used the air impact myself. If you know what the torque rating of your impact wrench is, I don't see a problem. Of course for your wrench to get that torque rating, you have to know a couple of little things, like, is your air pressure at 90 psi? Is the torque rating for a 5 second burst (as some are rated)? Or is the rating the "ultimate" number; i.e., continue until it can't turn anymore? Nah, too complicated./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif I just ran'em up snug and gave it a couple more seconds./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[MReeter]

Jeff,I have never put the Torque Wrench on the studs to ck. it.I have a cheap $25.00 1/2" Impact that has 4 settings on it,I set the torque between 2-3.I use about 90-100 lbs. of air to run it.

One time I marked the blades and the spindle cover to see if they were spinning out of sequence,and they hadn't moved,so I called the settings I had on the wrench "good enough"

Yes,I balance all of our blades(15 total) after cleaning them up and sharpening.I use a small 2 piece blade balancer that you can pick up at any Hardware Store. It's not Rocket Science,but it works for me...

 

[Jeff396]

Thanks, I'll take a look for that balancer.

Jeff

 

[drcollie]

I've no cover for the mid-PTO shaft on my BX22 either.

As for sharpening blades on the 60" MMM, it's WAY-WAY-WAY too much a pain to remove the deck and flip it over.

I grab a floor jack and pick the rear of the tractor up with it, then brace the tractor with some wood blocks or jackstands once the rear is fully raised. Ramps would work just as good.

You'll need an air impact gun to pull them off like that, however. It's a big socket...I recall 24mm but would have to look in my toolbox to be sure.

Blast off - Blast on. Watch how the washers and caps come off, there are several to stack on there.

As for torque values, forget it. There is no air impact gun in the world that can be 'calibrated' by the gun settings to be even reasonably accurate. You can install a Torque Stik between the socket and gun, and they are accurate to +/- 5% generally, but then your tool rig is so long you can't access the blade nuts unless you have the tractor up on a lift, etc.

I sharpen blades about every 6th mow. It's amazing how fast they get dull and banged up. Good news is they're relatively cheap for a set and you can afford to have a couple sets in reserve.

-Duane C

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Drcollie... Thanks for the information. I will check to see if I have a 24MM impact socket. I sharpened my blades on my Wheel Horse every other month. That seems to be the correct interval for my operating conditions.

Do you know if Gator blades are available for the 60" Kubota deck?

John

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>There is no air impact gun in the world that can be 'calibrated' by the gun settings to be even reasonably accurate.</font color=blue>

I think there actually IS a way, but the instruments to do it will cost you well over $1,000./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[jrlichina]

If I don't feel like taking off the deck I just put it on my truck lift push the button and walk underneath to take them off. A lift is really handy!

 

[k8ny]

Socket is a 30mm

 

[Kelvin]

I don't know how different the designs are, but the mid-PTO cover is a necessity on my B2150. I think that on most of the newer tractors, the mid-PTO and rear-PTO operate independently. With the B2150, the mid-PTO and rear-PTO cannot be operated independently; they are both ON or both OFF.

Here is a repeat of a "war story" that I told a couple of years ago. While using a rear rotary mower in tall grass, the grass wrapped around the spinning mid-PTO shaft, which caused two major problems:

(1) I kept smelling something burning (before I found the problem). I finally saw a smoldering wad of grass laying where I had mowed on a previous pass. It was a very dry time of year and I nearly set the field on fire. There were plenty of houses and dry woods in the neighborhood. Could've been a very expensive lesson.

(2) The grass that was wrapped around the spinning PTO shaft damaged the seal around the PTO shaft, thus allowing my hydrostatic fluid to leak out. Something was wrong with the first replacement seal, so I had to get another. It worked fine.

So...

There is proabably not much NEED for a PTO shaft cover if the PTO is stationairy while operating in tall grass. But if there is no PTO shaft cover, make sure that you don't ACCIDENTALLY turn on the mid-PTO.

Hope this helps,
Kelvin