Members home made attachments / improvements
- Thread starter Barryh
- Start date
MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 60,250
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
aczlan
Good Morning
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2008
- Messages
- 18,078
- Tractor
- Kubota L3830GST, B7500HST, BX2660. Formerly: Case 480F LL, David Brown 880UE
8 GPM at 2500 PSI about 13 horsepower. That would probably handle a 4-foot flail for light work.
Aaron Z
MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 60,250
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
I think we figured it out to be about 11.5HP once a long time ago, but can't be certain.
CreativeGuy
Bronze Member
Seems like I recall someone modifying a flail mower (4? to work on a 425. I would really like to find a flail mower solution for my tractor.
MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 60,250
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Yep, it could be handy.
agjones
Platinum Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2010
- Messages
- 590
- Location
- Jessup Mill, NC
- Tractor
- Rk55HC 4n1 fel/bh, Power-Trac 1850, 425d, Terex pt30, Kubota kx033, bx1880, yanmar 8x8 dumper, Magnatrac mh5000 w/ loader, six way blade & backhoe, Dew-eze ATM72LC Slope Mower, Terramite t6 4wd, DR Power brush mower
The 425 punches well above its weight on most fronts... But the fh-d160 is both to heavy 900#, and too demanding of power, 30+hp, .
I think the other posts get it right that 4' is about the max flail a 425 can wield. Track width would be better, if heavy grass is on the menu.
I have an alamo ac 48" in the queue for conversion, I'll document that process and results.
The repower is the same as the bigger mower. In general, flail mowers are powered by the the pto shaft coupled with a gearbox with a 90 degree output shaft spinning a belt/pulley setup that rotates the drum.
The gearbox, most often is 1:1 and the pulley setup is sized to achieve final rpm with 540 input.
In my opinion, the most efficient adaptation of the power path is to direct drive the drum pulley with a suitable hydraulic motor. However, this approach is often not practical bc the hyd motor is side mounted, like our pt tiller, power rake etc... Fine on those tools but increases the width of the mower. It also means no more using a tractor to drive the mower.
Less efficient, but making use of existing mounting and belt protection is to remove the 90deg gearbox output shaft and directly power the belt assembly. This yields about the same efficiency as the original design, protects the motor and does not add width.
The approach I used is easy, but not terribly efficient. I chose to mount a motor that would achieve ~540 rpm at my flow, 18ish gpm. That motor is next to the gearbox, coupled by chain to drive the gearbox. No other power path mod. Why? Fast, undo-able (this was an experiment on a $4k attachment!) & I can remove the chain... Still use the attachment with a tractor.
It works great. Will work more efficiently when i eventually repurpose the gearbox and directly drive the belt where the gearbox input is. This will only require turning the motor and matching a shaft to the pulley. Nbd. An additional benefit is that you can reverse flow to reverse the drum if something is caught... The gearbox free wheels in reverse. Not too useful without extra plumbing (to reverse flow) in our pt's... More useful for machines that can reverse the flow.
For the alamo, I will direct drive the belt system at the shaft input. It won't be field switchable like my current mower for tractor use... But pretty quick to change in the shop.
Beyond the power transmission, the only mod is where to put the qa plate for forward mounting.
In shopping for a
Overrunning clutch on a tractor pto shaft is the same function as relief valve in a hydraulic setup... So unnecessary.
Two considerations: the specs and capabilities of tractor carried flail mower depend on the tractor for 2 things: laying down mowing material for the tractor to draw the mower through & (when going forward) prevention of impact w the mower frame.
I searched for an older heavy body mower, alamo ac 48, for it's stout frame. If necessary, a simple push bar can be front mounted on the mower to improve the in feed of materials.... Further, teeth (like a comb) could be a part of the pushbar to orient rather than just lay down infeed material.
I hope to modify the alamo next month and I will source a motor that develops significant torque and 540 rpm... Bc i have confirmed the gearbox output is 1:1 from gearbox to pulley/sheave. That hyd motor will be ~3ci displacement.
FYI on used flail mowers the gearbox/pulley might be changed by dealer/user depending on application. So verify...
Also coming up, hydraulic repowering a 6' power rake.
I think the other posts get it right that 4' is about the max flail a 425 can wield. Track width would be better, if heavy grass is on the menu.
I have an alamo ac 48" in the queue for conversion, I'll document that process and results.
The repower is the same as the bigger mower. In general, flail mowers are powered by the the pto shaft coupled with a gearbox with a 90 degree output shaft spinning a belt/pulley setup that rotates the drum.
The gearbox, most often is 1:1 and the pulley setup is sized to achieve final rpm with 540 input.
In my opinion, the most efficient adaptation of the power path is to direct drive the drum pulley with a suitable hydraulic motor. However, this approach is often not practical bc the hyd motor is side mounted, like our pt tiller, power rake etc... Fine on those tools but increases the width of the mower. It also means no more using a tractor to drive the mower.
Less efficient, but making use of existing mounting and belt protection is to remove the 90deg gearbox output shaft and directly power the belt assembly. This yields about the same efficiency as the original design, protects the motor and does not add width.
The approach I used is easy, but not terribly efficient. I chose to mount a motor that would achieve ~540 rpm at my flow, 18ish gpm. That motor is next to the gearbox, coupled by chain to drive the gearbox. No other power path mod. Why? Fast, undo-able (this was an experiment on a $4k attachment!) & I can remove the chain... Still use the attachment with a tractor.
It works great. Will work more efficiently when i eventually repurpose the gearbox and directly drive the belt where the gearbox input is. This will only require turning the motor and matching a shaft to the pulley. Nbd. An additional benefit is that you can reverse flow to reverse the drum if something is caught... The gearbox free wheels in reverse. Not too useful without extra plumbing (to reverse flow) in our pt's... More useful for machines that can reverse the flow.
For the alamo, I will direct drive the belt system at the shaft input. It won't be field switchable like my current mower for tractor use... But pretty quick to change in the shop.
Beyond the power transmission, the only mod is where to put the qa plate for forward mounting.
In shopping for a
Overrunning clutch on a tractor pto shaft is the same function as relief valve in a hydraulic setup... So unnecessary.
Two considerations: the specs and capabilities of tractor carried flail mower depend on the tractor for 2 things: laying down mowing material for the tractor to draw the mower through & (when going forward) prevention of impact w the mower frame.
I searched for an older heavy body mower, alamo ac 48, for it's stout frame. If necessary, a simple push bar can be front mounted on the mower to improve the in feed of materials.... Further, teeth (like a comb) could be a part of the pushbar to orient rather than just lay down infeed material.
I hope to modify the alamo next month and I will source a motor that develops significant torque and 540 rpm... Bc i have confirmed the gearbox output is 1:1 from gearbox to pulley/sheave. That hyd motor will be ~3ci displacement.
FYI on used flail mowers the gearbox/pulley might be changed by dealer/user depending on application. So verify...
Also coming up, hydraulic repowering a 6' power rake.
aczlan
Good Morning
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2008
- Messages
- 18,078
- Tractor
- Kubota L3830GST, B7500HST, BX2660. Formerly: Case 480F LL, David Brown 880UE
Whoops, I used the calculator to find how much horsepower you would need to make that much flow and pressure. I forgot to account for efficiency losses. It would be around 13 engine horsepower used to produce that flow, 80-85% of that would be available to use on an attachment which would be 10.4-11.5hp.
Aaron Z
MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 60,250
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Yep. Either way, it beats using a push mower. :laughing:
ernemats
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2002
- Messages
- 1,019
- Location
- Bolivar, pa.
- Tractor
- power trac 422, and agco-allis 5660, john deere 550 dozer ,1845 power trac
Here are some pictures of my flail mower. I have had it for 3 plus years and probably have not used it over 10 hours total. It cuts ok but I like the convential mower . The person I got it from , it was his fathers who passed away who had purchased it and adapted it to his power trac 425.
