Mowing Power Trac Mowing Performance

   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #1  

Sedgewood

Platinum Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2002
Messages
589
Location
Columbia Co, Eastern NY
Tractor
PT-1845
If I may I would like to continue this discussion from the closed thread "Power Trac PT425"

<font color=green>Reds said: I also noticed that the front half of the tractor seems to be sliding sideways (dowhill) as i move across the hill. I'm not sure why.</font color=green>

<font color=green> MossRoad responded: That is an interesting comment. I've noticed that on sideslopes where I lose traction due to snow or wet grass, the machine tends to want to crab across the hill, with the front wheels pointed slightly up hill and the rears silghtly downhill. The more I want to correct it by steering uphill, since the unit articulates in the middle, actually agravates the situation.</font color=green>

This may be a bit of an aside but I've found the 1845 tends to crab in really muddy going and attribute it to the sort of positraction front & rear effect created by the hydraulics. I once had a Ford Bronco that I ordered with positraction front & rear. You couldn't stick it but then again you never knew just where you'd end up because of the crabbing and the 1845 feels similar when all 4 wheels are slipping & gripping.

<font color=green>Just how steep is this slope? Here's a handy diagram to help figure it out.</font color=green>

You describe a method for determining PERCENT slope, which is the way I've always seen road grades etc expressed. Throughout the threads here at TBN and on the Power Trac literature slopes are expressed in DEGREES, which has confused me a bit.
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #2  
Reds:
You described that the front of your tractor slips down hill a bit while going forward, to me that spells a definet float problem. While going forward gently pull the deck up a bit then push the deck back into float. The tractor will not "crab walk" unless the tires are actualy spining, wich I don't think will happen when mowing grass. I have'nt any time to check the arms on my tractor when in float yet but will do so as soon as possible (my wife works 2nd shift so I am Mr. Mom). Perhaps some one else does? Keep us posted, we will work this out.
PTRich
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #3  
<font color=red>You describe a method for determining PERCENT slope, which is the way I've always seen road grades etc expressed. Throughout the threads here at TBN and on the Power Trac literature slopes are expressed in DEGREES, which has confused me a bit.</font color=red>
We can't have a Power Trac owner-operator "a bit confused" when complete confusion is so readily available. If you haven't already, grab a cuppa and read the following in flat mode: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=genbuy&Number=123879&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post123879>Thread link</A>
Then haul out some measuring tools and a calculator, or a laptop with mathcad, and you will be able to calculate the pucker factor to three decimal places.
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #4  
I just figure the degrees is half of the percent and that's that. So, a 45% grade is 22.5 degrees, which is close to the limit that Kohler states for the 25HP Command series engines. I don't know what the Robbin engine is rated at. That is a tremendously steep slope, IMHO /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #5  
Reds:
Have not heard from you today, how did you make out?
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance
  • Thread Starter
#6  
<font color=red>If you haven't already, grab a cuppa and read the following in flat mode:</font color=red>

Geez Charlie, that was a four cuppa read! I just couldn't put it down, except of course to go earn a PT loan payment. My bit of confusion came not from the calculation but from making sure in my investigations that folks were in fact using degrees and not what to me has always been percent to describe slope. Especially in trying to come to terms with Power Tracs 45 degree claim for the 1850. I can't imagine keeping my shorts dry on such a slope much less keeping from sliding into a fence as we well know can happen. I've had a couple of really close calls with my 484 at less than twenty degrees that should have killed me. Thanks for the link.
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #7  
Thanks Charlie, just what I need in my life ... more confusion!
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #8  
Okay ... i've just spent all morning reading different posts on TBN. So i really don't have the time to post at the moment ... but i will say that i took pictures ... measured the slope (in degrees) and cut the front hill!
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #9  
John:
I agree about the 40 and 45 degree slopes for the 1845 and 1850. On those, to quote Daffy: "Not this little black duck!"
Last evening, I cut two weeks of growth on a very lush pasture. It is one of the areas I got the Power Trac for, because of some unscheduled rides down the hill on conventional tractors. (No one hurt, but no one talking about whether their shorts were damp ) I haven't measured the slope but will some day.
My PT 1845 has single turfs. One aspect of the front mower, of course, is that you are always driving on fresh cut, and therefore wet grass. On the steepest side cuts, I had trouble holding the hill, and actually tore some turf, turning the front uphill, which has the rear pushing downslope. I experimented a bit and found that I had been going too fast, of course. At slower speed, I could set up the crabwise traverse of the slope that you see on the Power Trac videos of the 1850 with duals on a 40 plus degree hill. The back end is a bit downhill, so all drive wheels hold the machine up the slope, and it moves a bit sideways.
Having played with it until the field was done, I reached two conclusions.
First: The PT 1845 is exactly what I want it to be. I can sidehill cut where I need to, in complete comfort, no pucker at all. It slides, but completely controllably. I can turn uphill or down at any time. If I go too fast, it's a bit less precise in placement, but poses no risk of a long slide or rollover.
Second: I may have chosen the wrong tires, and some day will change to the Michelin bar treads that Mark Chalkley has recommended. In the wet, the turfs probably do more damage than bar tires, either ags or R-4s. I am sure, however, that I don't need the duals. I'm not going any steeper than I already have tested. With dual bar tires, I wouldn't have slid at all, but the machine would be a lot wider and clumsier to make it better on a small percentage of use.
By the way, mine seems to run a bit hot with the rough mower. The needle doesn't peg, and it doesn't smell hot, but it's in the upper range. Have you seen that? Terry Estep, at PT, advised me to blow out the oil cooler exit on the left rear, which I haven't yet done. This Saturday is cleanup day.
 
   / Power Trac Mowing Performance #10  
Here's a view of the front hill showing the tractor from our driveway. The camera should be level since it was sitting on the BG&E box out front and the tractor is stopped where i lost contact with the ground to the point where i had to stop. I raised the mower, which lowered the wheel ... put the joystick back in float and moved forward. Front end starts sliding downhill and the wheel comes back off the ground.

The direction that i'm mowing is reverse from my previous problems. So left to right or right to left is no different. Now i didn't try upside down but i'm gonna assume that has no effect either!

Next i made a couple passes in reverse .... no problems except for a stiff neck. Back to forward ... raising the deck just to the point where you release the downward pressure off of the deck but the front mower wheels are still on the ground seems to solve the problem. Now i can go across the hill in forward without the front wheel lift or the sliding downhill.

So the question is ... is this normal? No one else seems to be complaining about front wheel lift.

The loader arms seem to put too much downward pressure on the mower deck which causes the front end to lose traction and slide downhill and raise the tractors front wheel. It seems as if the two pivioting wheels on the mower deck also are trying to steer the tractor downhill as they are pointed in the down hill direction due to the tractor sliding in that direction??? I'm guessing here!

Driveway picture is too big. I can repost this later after i resize it. Here's a view from the sidewalk in front of the house

I've used a tool that measures degrees. It can be used to truss angles i believe. Anyway ... i mounted to the tractor and it read 20 degrees.
 

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