Acres cut per hour

[Farmwithjunk]

Yes they make gadgets, but they arent as good as an actual torque wrench.

Bt I use neither. About the only thing I break a torque wrench out on anymore is head bolts, rod and main cap bolts, and some automatic transmission stuff.

I just hammer on them with the impact til it quits. Then get the 3/4" drive socket and breaker bar with ~3' cheater pipe and see if I can tighten it anymore. Usually not and I call it good:thumbsup:

?????

The "gadget" is called an air pressure regulator. Most air compressors will have one already. There is a (reasonably close) torque value assigned to the air pressure to the gun. Within a certain air pressure range, the guns torque is reasonably controllable and the GOOD guns are fairly accurate. The gun does need to be sized close enough to be within an operating window (max/min psi) That's why I have 3 sizes.

Just a thought, yeah, it "aren't as good as an actual torque wrench", but, comparing it to "hammer on them with the impact til it quits. Then get the 3/4" drive socket and breaker bar with~3' cheater pipe and see if I can tighten it anymore" .....My way ain't too far off being dead nuts on...... :0

An air impact is all that's needed if used correctly. That'll get it really close.

torquing way beyond "good enough" just stretches bolts, distorts threads, and finally ends up breaking. It may or may NOT break while you're wrenching away, or it may JUST AS LIKELY snap while you're USING the mower. Even with proper torquing, blade bolts will still have a usefull (read SAFE) lifespan. "Average Joe" may not bolt/unbolt his mower blades enough times IN A LIFETIME to stretch the bolts, but dramatically over-tightening will put "Average Joe" out of the average range right quick.

There are reasons why manufacturers include torque values in their manuals for bolts that are routinely worked during normal maintenance. It's that ol' saftey thing again......

 

[flusher]

Anyone ever see a chart that combines ground speed with deck width to calculate how much acreage can be cut in an hour?
Got a finish mowing contract-about 20 acres. I usually do larger rough areas with bush hog. Would like to calculate time it will take to cut. Have to buy a flail or finish mower for the job. Would like to see what width & speed would be needed to finish it in 8 hours.

Gee, if you're in a hurry to mow those 20 acres, I wouldn't be leaning toward a flail mower. I run my 6-ft brush hog in 4L gear (Mahindra 5525, 54 hp engine, 45 hp pto) for a clean cut and a 68" flail in 3L to get that thing to cut decently (both with engine rpm set to get 540 rpm at the pto). The flails I see CalTrans using to mow the ROW are moving significantly slower than the 15-ft batwings. My guess is that you'll have to make two passes--first with the hog and then with a finish mower if the weeds are more than 18" tall.

 

[LD1]

?????

The "gadget" is called an air pressure regulator. Most air compressors will have one already. There is a (reasonably close) torque value assigned to the air pressure to the gun. Within a certain air pressure range, the guns torque is reasonably controllable and the GOOD guns are fairly accurate. The gun does need to be sized close enough to be within an operating window (max/min psi) That's why I have 3 sizes.

Just a thought, yeah, it "aren't as good as an actual torque wrench", but, comparing it to "hammer on them with the impact til it quits. Then get the 3/4" drive socket and breaker bar with~3' cheater pipe and see if I can tighten it anymore" .....My way ain't too far off being dead nuts on...... :0

An air impact is all that's needed if used correctly. That'll get it really close.

torquing way beyond "good enough" just stretches bolts, distorts threads, and finally ends up breaking. It may or may NOT break while you're wrenching away, or it may JUST AS LIKELY snap while you're USING the mower. Even with proper torquing, blade bolts will still have a usefull (read SAFE) lifespan. "Average Joe" may not bolt/unbolt his mower blades enough times IN A LIFETIME to stretch the bolts, but dramatically over-tightening will put "Average Joe" out of the average range right quick.

There are reasons why manufacturers include torque values in their manuals for bolts that are routinely worked during normal maintenance. It's that ol' saftey thing again......

The gadgets that I was refering to were them torque sticks. That basically look like an extension and are each assigned a torque value.

And yes, nothing beats a torque wrench for accuracy. But I did say that I use neither.:confused2:

If it something that the torque spec is not "critical" on, I will use MY method.

It the spec IS critical (head bolts, rod bolts, etc) I will ONLY use a torque wrench. Not a torque stick, or fooling around with a pressure regulator on the air compressor.

ALL bolts of ALL kinds for EVERY application will have a torque spec. Even if it is just a generic spec related to bolt size. Which specs you chose to break out the torque wrench, thats up to you.

For 99% of the bolts I tighten, we refer to it as the German torque spec: gooduntight