leonz
Super Member
When I went into the village last week for a drive belt for our walk behind Toro the NAPA clerk told me the belts they have are made by The Gates Rubber Company for what its worth.
leon
leon
Caroni Flail Belt Failure
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Eagleview
Veteran Member
It would take many hours of use before the bearings would show any signs of dust ingress or overheat because of lack of grease as they have plenty in them now .
IslandTractor
Super Star Member
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- Prudence Island, RI
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- 2007 Kioti DK40se HST, Woods BH
That makes sense. So if this is true then why not leave well enough alone and just continue to liberally grease at regular intervals (as one would normally). That would keep the bearings greased and presumably force any dust contaminated grease near the ?popped seal pushed back away from the bearings.
Eagleview
Veteran Member
Mainly because it is unknown if and when the bearings may fail causing damage to the shaft and housings . If it fails in the middle of the season , which worries IMF , it is going to be inconvenient . If it is checked or fixed now it can be used confidently without having to check the bearing temps while working with a Laser pointed Temp Gauge he now has to carry with him .
It's up to him totally naturally but the seals are put there for a purpose and to run it with the thought that one or more are dislodged will not be reassuring .
If I may use this analogy , if the dipstick was lost from the engine and you didn't bother to replace it and you know for a fact the engine leaks oil . Would you simply add a quart/litre every so often not actually knowing just how low the oil level is and if the crank is going to lock up at any moment ? It is the same in the case of the flail , he has no way of knowing if the bearings are being greased at all as the grease could be taking the easy way out . Straight through the bearing and into the rotor cavity . The seals not only stop the grease leaking out and dirt getting in , but also form part of the reservoir to hold the grease in situ .
It's up to him totally naturally but the seals are put there for a purpose and to run it with the thought that one or more are dislodged will not be reassuring .
If I may use this analogy , if the dipstick was lost from the engine and you didn't bother to replace it and you know for a fact the engine leaks oil . Would you simply add a quart/litre every so often not actually knowing just how low the oil level is and if the crank is going to lock up at any moment ? It is the same in the case of the flail , he has no way of knowing if the bearings are being greased at all as the grease could be taking the easy way out . Straight through the bearing and into the rotor cavity . The seals not only stop the grease leaking out and dirt getting in , but also form part of the reservoir to hold the grease in situ .
IslandTractor
Super Star Member
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- Prudence Island, RI
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- 2007 Kioti DK40se HST, Woods BH
Fair enough. It does seem however that any repair/investigation could be safely postponed until convenient and not interfer with current mowing needs.
Bill the Elder
Member
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- JD2150 and JD2305
Looking more and more likely that my "pop" was a grease "fart." I want to thank Iron Horse for his concern and if I had your ability, experience, tools and a good space to work on equipment (I'll have that by this time next year), I probably would have torn it apart and checked.
But I don't so I took a chance and ran the mower while monitoring temps. The good news is that after 2 to 3 hour stints of mowing everyday for the past two weeks I've never had belt shroud temps over 110 degrees Fahrenheit and the temp outside the bearings has remained within 10 degrees of the rotor.
I do want to thank all of you for your input and good wishes, the mower is off and stored for the winter. Next step is to dig some holes with my new post hole digger and then get ready for winter plowing.
Thanks again to you all and I'm grateful for a community that will help a mechanical neophyte like me.
But I don't so I took a chance and ran the mower while monitoring temps. The good news is that after 2 to 3 hour stints of mowing everyday for the past two weeks I've never had belt shroud temps over 110 degrees Fahrenheit and the temp outside the bearings has remained within 10 degrees of the rotor.
I do want to thank all of you for your input and good wishes, the mower is off and stored for the winter. Next step is to dig some holes with my new post hole digger and then get ready for winter plowing.
Thanks again to you all and I'm grateful for a community that will help a mechanical neophyte like me.
mytoken
New member
Ne to posting...
Been lurking for along time. Nothing to add until now.
Bought a Caroni Flail in January. The forum convinced me it was the way to go.
Love the mower, heavy duty and does what I need.
now the bad news... well not to bad.
After 4.5 hrs I lost my belts. at first I was
. Then I called Agri for some info.
Found that the week point of this mower is the belt. They are sending a replacement set. But not wanting to wait for them I went to our local Napa and picked up 3 Gates PowerRated 6946 belts. Installed in about 5 min. Tightened and greased everything so I was off to test. Mowed for about 1.5 hrs checking heat in cover every few passes. No Problem.
After 1.5 hrs went to shop to inspect. Belts looked great, tightened a little.
My first pass on 20 acres is tough on the flail. we are cleaning up an old apple orchard that was never cleaned after they removed the trees. Lots of 1 to 2 in wood on ground and uneven were mower is knocking down ridges in ground.
For me --- If I need to replace 3 sets of belts on the 20 acres it will be worth it. Easy to replace and cheep.
BTW --- Blades look great and mower is still tight after now 8 hrs of hard use.
Going to tackle another 4 acres today so we will see how the belts perform after that. I have finished 10 acres so far.
2 places I found to purchase the belts much cheaper than local. (Local was 25.00) each
This is the one I have on now
More Information for GATES 6946
GATES Part # 6946 PoweRated; 5L 21/32" x 46"
Category: 21/32" Belt
$12.71
Kevlar V-Belts - 5/8 Kevlar Corded Belts - B Section
B43K / 5LK460 Kevlar Belt
Price: $ 8.02
Bottom line is I would buy this flail again (if medium duty is the rating) what must heavy duty mow down 3 in steel. LOL
Hope this helps someone out...
BTW the forum is fantastic... Thanks...
Been lurking for along time. Nothing to add until now.
Bought a Caroni Flail in January. The forum convinced me it was the way to go.
Love the mower, heavy duty and does what I need.
now the bad news... well not to bad.
After 4.5 hrs I lost my belts. at first I was
. Then I called Agri for some info.Found that the week point of this mower is the belt. They are sending a replacement set. But not wanting to wait for them I went to our local Napa and picked up 3 Gates PowerRated 6946 belts. Installed in about 5 min. Tightened and greased everything so I was off to test. Mowed for about 1.5 hrs checking heat in cover every few passes. No Problem.
After 1.5 hrs went to shop to inspect. Belts looked great, tightened a little.
My first pass on 20 acres is tough on the flail. we are cleaning up an old apple orchard that was never cleaned after they removed the trees. Lots of 1 to 2 in wood on ground and uneven were mower is knocking down ridges in ground.
For me --- If I need to replace 3 sets of belts on the 20 acres it will be worth it. Easy to replace and cheep.
BTW --- Blades look great and mower is still tight after now 8 hrs of hard use.
Going to tackle another 4 acres today so we will see how the belts perform after that. I have finished 10 acres so far.
2 places I found to purchase the belts much cheaper than local. (Local was 25.00) each
This is the one I have on now
More Information for GATES 6946
GATES Part # 6946 PoweRated; 5L 21/32" x 46"
Category: 21/32" Belt
$12.71
Kevlar V-Belts - 5/8 Kevlar Corded Belts - B Section
B43K / 5LK460 Kevlar Belt
Price: $ 8.02
Bottom line is I would buy this flail again (if medium duty is the rating) what must heavy duty mow down 3 in steel. LOL
Hope this helps someone out...
BTW the forum is fantastic... Thanks...
GinNB
Gold Member
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- Dec 8, 2007
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- NB, Canada, eh?
- Tractor
- 2x Kubota M108S, M105S, 2x M9000, IH885, IH584, IH484, IH454, F3000, F3610, C50, JX70, Landini 5830, JD4630 sprayer
You should be able to find B43s somewhere locally for about $8 if not a hair more. Look in industrial belting or rubber supply businesses.
DaNag
Silver Member
Yet another data point.
Suffered catastrophic belt failure (all three) yesterday. All of them twisted, melted, shredded and snapped. Significant melted/hardened residue on the tensioner. Not sure of exact hours, but I've only a single 50 hour engine oil change since purchasing the unit last year, and mowing is the minority of my use. Probably less than 20 hours on the Caroni.
These were the original belts, and mowing conditions were far from severe - I've mowed through much taller/wetter material with ease. Mostly dry field grass, max 24" height, most much lower.
On the "perhaps I share some responsibility" front - while I've shot a couple pumps of grease in each zerk every time used and kept the gearbox full, I've never had the belt cover off to inspect or adjust tension. Given that all three belts were destroyed, I can't say where things were prior to failure. Also, I did notice while mowing that things seemed a bit off for 10 minutes or so prior to failure...there was no belt squeal I could hear, but it did seem to be down on cutting power a bit. The m0wer was lugging somewhat in grass/conditions that I recall it having zero issues with before.
No obvious problems upon taking things apart - everything spins freely, no excess grease residue, etc.
New belts on the way - unsure of the brand, but found some for $27 delivered via Amazon. Everywhere local wants $17+ each, Gates or otherwise.
Suffered catastrophic belt failure (all three) yesterday. All of them twisted, melted, shredded and snapped. Significant melted/hardened residue on the tensioner. Not sure of exact hours, but I've only a single 50 hour engine oil change since purchasing the unit last year, and mowing is the minority of my use. Probably less than 20 hours on the Caroni.
These were the original belts, and mowing conditions were far from severe - I've mowed through much taller/wetter material with ease. Mostly dry field grass, max 24" height, most much lower.
On the "perhaps I share some responsibility" front - while I've shot a couple pumps of grease in each zerk every time used and kept the gearbox full, I've never had the belt cover off to inspect or adjust tension. Given that all three belts were destroyed, I can't say where things were prior to failure. Also, I did notice while mowing that things seemed a bit off for 10 minutes or so prior to failure...there was no belt squeal I could hear, but it did seem to be down on cutting power a bit. The m0wer was lugging somewhat in grass/conditions that I recall it having zero issues with before.
No obvious problems upon taking things apart - everything spins freely, no excess grease residue, etc.
New belts on the way - unsure of the brand, but found some for $27 delivered via Amazon. Everywhere local wants $17+ each, Gates or otherwise.
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