Brush Hog, Slip Clutch, and Shear pins

[IslandTractor]

I dont maintain the one on our 60" 127 Gyramor other than put a little grease in its fitting a few times. Ive had to tighten it up a couple times over the years when it would get slippy. Id say the time invested over 40+ years has been less than an hour. larry

I live near the ocean. My problem is not slipping but rusting and sticking together of the clutch surfaces. I have to loosen the pressure plate, break the clutch free and then retighten and test. PITA considering it is a mower i use only five or six days as i generally mow with my flail.

 

[SPYDERLK]

No salt atmosphere here, altho the mower is stored outside. The only weakness Iv found with the 127 is due to its underbody frame. That combined with a long blade carrier bar [no stumpjumper] allowing enuf upward flex to hit the frame in extreme circumstances. The frame is beaten apart unless this problem is dealt with. The gearbox is 100+ HP -- I think the JD guy said 125HP when we bought it used back in ~ '63. My dad - then I - ran this for years on the 45ptohp 2010 Tricycle and have cut up to 8" trees going forward over them. Now it gets babied at ~ 30HP by our smaller Kubs. Ive always taken prompt action to tighten the slip clutch if it wont bog and stall the tractor promptly when the blade carrier hits a stump or lodges a small log underneath. The clutch is original. This item seems nothing like the bushogs I hear discussed on TBN. Its only 600#, but extremely strong and durable.
larry

 

[DK35vince]

I have used both shear bolts and slip clutch on bush hogs. I initially thought shear pins were a pain in the butt but after switching to a slip clutch I have to say that I spend more time maintaining the slip clutch than I ever did changing shear bolts. If I was using a cutter regularly year round, I'd certainly go with the slip clutch. However, I use my bush hog seasonally and therefore need to reset the thing every spring. Takes maybe 30-40 minutes. Only takes about 5-10 minutes to replace a shear bolt in the field.

I much prefer a slip clutch.
I have my slip clutch adjusted where I like it.
To keep it from rusting/sticking I just count the number of turns I loosen the adjuster bolts.
Put the cutter in deep grass, slip the clutch a few seconds, retighten the adjuster bolts the same # of turns and go.
Takes 5 minutes once a year.

 

[1980 F1500]

Shepherd, Please don't take this as anything but advice from some unknown person on the internet. Your mower is not recommended for use with a tractor above 30 hp. It looks to be a light-duty cutter so I agree with Jinman about keeping the mower high enough to avoid the unknowns. It should be fine cutting brush if adjusted correctly.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Shepherd, Please don't take this as anything but advice from some unknown person on the internet. Your mower is not recommended for use with a tractor above 30 hp. It looks to be a light-duty cutter so I agree with Jinman about keeping the mower high enough to avoid the unknowns. It should be fine cutting brush if adjusted correctly.

I finally looked that one up. ... Oh my! Dont take it off the lawn until you get some reinforcement. You have enuf tractor to bend it so easily that you wouldnt even feel it on the seat. You must immediately provide some torsional rigidity in the body because any deformation is likely to twist the plane of the body. A huge improvement would be to add a 2" round tube all the way across on the back side of the front lip. It must be well attached all the way across and at the ends to the side skirts. Even water pipe will keep that body from taking a twist - a cheap mod before it happens.

,,,Also take a good look at the gearbox mounting ... lift mounts, tailwheel , etc. A little more can go a long way theres.
larry

 

[IslandTractor]

I much prefer a slip clutch.
I have my slip clutch adjusted where I like it.
To keep it from rusting/sticking I just count the number of turns I loosen the adjuster bolts.
Put the cutter in deep grass, slip the clutch a few seconds, retighten the adjuster bolts the same # of turns and go.
Takes 5 minutes once a year.

That is what I do with the adjuster bolts too but it takes me longer than five minutes. Awkward getting two wrenches into the housing too. I also have difficulty getting the clutch to break loose so that takes some time up too. All in all, not my favorite task.