Batwing Gear Box blew up

[Complete Turf Care]

I'm interested in the drone video. Did you speed it up with editing software? Or did you do that with the drone itself? And, how long was the drone up taking the video?

 

[Hay Dude]

I would really like to do the drone thing.

 

[dadohead]

I've removed stump jumpers several times using home-made wood wedges. I initially measured the distance between the underside of the deck and outer lip of the SJ. 4 sets (2 each) of wedges (5" long) were cut from 3/4" scrap. A small notch was cut in the 4 wedges that contact the SJ.... so they don't 'walk' when its mate is struck.

I loosen the main castle nut (but leave it on), position a notched wedge on the rim of the SJ, and slide in its mate against the top deck. With all 4 wedge sets in position around the SJ, I start tapping the deck side wedges in with a 16 oz hammer. Within a minute or so the SJ releases with bang! I've kept the wedges in the shop in case there is a 'next time'. Works well!

 

[EddieWalker]

The mower was Titan when I bought it, but a couple months later, they changed their name to Iron Craft after losing a court case against the other implement company in Tennessee that's also called Titan.

This is the top of the gear box.

 

[Runner]

Unrelated to the failure, but it seems odd how the splines on the main drive shaft extend through the front of the gear box. I wonder how you can ever get a seal with that kind of arrangement? I can't see this part on my Frontier cutter, but I'll bet it is the same and probably explains why it leaks oil out the front with very low hours (100 hours, estimated).

This is how I would have expected it to look:

 

[EddieWalker]

My drone has a micro SD Card that records everything. For this video, I flew it into position that gave me a good view of where I was going to mow, and then left it there. The battery is rated for about 30 minutes, so I just let it fly until the battery was dead, and it returned to the landing pad on it's own. This was my first time trying that. I take out the card and download it to my computer for editing.

The drone is a DJI Mini 4 Pro

I'm struggling with editing the video, and using ClipChamp and CapCut to get it done. I prefer ClipChamp, but it never stops buffering on the drone footage. I can get Cap Cut to edit it down to what I want, then upload it back to my "Video" file, and then load it back to ClipChamp to add captions and change the speed. Both Apps can do this, but with the free versions, I'm limited to what they offer. I'm debating on paying for the full versions, but I'm not sure if I like them, or if I need to keep looking. I also think that I need a new computer, since mine is something like 13 or 14 years old. The fastest speed that I went to in that video was 22X

 

[rockinbbar]

I wonder if there’s even ONE manufacturer of bush hog gear boxes left in the USA or EU? Or did NAFTA and other horrific trade policies eliminate them all?
My Deere gearboxes are made in china and have been excellent. I’m afraid to switch to CHG because the oil has been just fine and never had a drip of oil.
It’s the best for if you get a catastrophic leak.

Eddie, what brand bush hog did you buy?

On 12 foot cutters, 3 of the brand names use the same chassis. Bush Hog 2212, Land Pride 2512, and Modern Ag 12' Viper and Predator.

I don't think BH still makes theirs, but it's a Bush Hog design platform... They have gone even lighter and cheaper built since then.

The older ones were much better. Big square gear boxes.

I'm using CHG because the vented caps in my gear boxes throw out oil onto the deck. According to the maker, it's because of the direction the gears are running inside. Not sure I buy that, but the CHG sure stopped it from blowing out.

 

[japody]

The mower was Titan when I bought it, but a couple months later, they changed their name to Iron Craft after losing a court case against the other implement company in Tennessee that's also called Titan.

This is the top of the gear box.

View attachment 881658

Oh man - I just bought the 12' Ironcraft. This doesn't give me a good feeling.

 

[rockinbbar]

Oh man - I just bought the 12' Ironcraft. This doesn't give me a good feeling.

At least you didn't buy a Woods BW12... Total junk. Sold mine for half of what I paid for it while it was still under warranty.

 

[Hay Dude]

At least you didn't buy a Woods BW12... Total junk. Sold mine for half of what I paid for it while it was still under warranty.

I took a big hit on my Woods BW-180HD
Nice machine when I bought it, but single layer deck was ruined in a year and at best, it was painted with a mop over rust haze.