rScotty
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2001
- Messages
- 9,566
- Location
- Rural mountains - Colorado
- Tractor
- Kubota M59, JD530, JD310SG. Restoring Yanmar YM165D
I'm in the sort of the same camp as broadsword6, arrow, and ovrszd. And I've also been running chains for more years than I like to admit.
I've found that one rule doesn't fit all tractors. Our little compact utility tractors like the 16 and 30 hp Yanmars have turf or universal tires for summer work on lawns but in the winter they are pulling a back blade or using their loaders in snow. In the winter they pretty much have to have chains to move at all. So I modify passenger car chains by adding or removing end links and cross links until they are a good fit on the tires. 4wd, so they get chains all around. You only have to modify one set of chains in the life of a tractor, but it needs to fit pretty closely....almost good enough of a fit that they could probably run without any additional tensioner at all. Until I do get the fit just right I'll sometimes add a passenger car type of endless rubber tensioner to the outside of the chain. Picture below. The rubber tensioner doesn't really do anything except reduce the motion of the center of the chain in that deep turf tire wheel. It's mostly to keep the chain from slapping until I get the fit just right. It's all about fit. The better the chains fit, the more optional the tensioner becomes. These smaller lighter tractors do benefit hugely from chains regardless of the type of tire they have. They can use use a modified passenger car chain and tensioner effectively because in deep snow they don't have the torque or weight or traction to tear up a set of slightly loose chains anyway.
On our bigger machines like the Ag tractor, and the 10 ton loader/backhoes the chains simply have to fit right, period. These machines have way too much traction for any type of tensioner to be effective. I want them to fit so well that when I lever the fastener over-center to clamp it those chains grab tightly to the tire. It can take a day of modifying chain links to get a good fit. And even so, when putting them on I have to arrange the crossing links in the tire tread to get the chain fastener to close. Once mounted right, the chains stay on for the whole winter season and last 20 years or so. A tight fit without tensioners is the only way I know of to get chains to last on a large tractor.....just keep modifying the chains until they fit perfectly. Yes, its a pain....but only has to be done once in the life of the tractor. Any looseness and the chain will fail. I've nothing against trying a tensioner on them, but have never found a tensioner that will stand up to the torque generated by loose chains on a big machine in hard going.
The plus side is that after all the futzing around with chain links to get a good fit is the way they run and work. A really nicely fitting set of chains is a joy to drive. You can't even tell they are there. They don't make any vibration or noise and they grip like someone snuck in and put a nice brand new set of hugely lugged logging tires on your old tractor. The traction is awesome.
enjoy,
rScotty
I've found that one rule doesn't fit all tractors. Our little compact utility tractors like the 16 and 30 hp Yanmars have turf or universal tires for summer work on lawns but in the winter they are pulling a back blade or using their loaders in snow. In the winter they pretty much have to have chains to move at all. So I modify passenger car chains by adding or removing end links and cross links until they are a good fit on the tires. 4wd, so they get chains all around. You only have to modify one set of chains in the life of a tractor, but it needs to fit pretty closely....almost good enough of a fit that they could probably run without any additional tensioner at all. Until I do get the fit just right I'll sometimes add a passenger car type of endless rubber tensioner to the outside of the chain. Picture below. The rubber tensioner doesn't really do anything except reduce the motion of the center of the chain in that deep turf tire wheel. It's mostly to keep the chain from slapping until I get the fit just right. It's all about fit. The better the chains fit, the more optional the tensioner becomes. These smaller lighter tractors do benefit hugely from chains regardless of the type of tire they have. They can use use a modified passenger car chain and tensioner effectively because in deep snow they don't have the torque or weight or traction to tear up a set of slightly loose chains anyway.
On our bigger machines like the Ag tractor, and the 10 ton loader/backhoes the chains simply have to fit right, period. These machines have way too much traction for any type of tensioner to be effective. I want them to fit so well that when I lever the fastener over-center to clamp it those chains grab tightly to the tire. It can take a day of modifying chain links to get a good fit. And even so, when putting them on I have to arrange the crossing links in the tire tread to get the chain fastener to close. Once mounted right, the chains stay on for the whole winter season and last 20 years or so. A tight fit without tensioners is the only way I know of to get chains to last on a large tractor.....just keep modifying the chains until they fit perfectly. Yes, its a pain....but only has to be done once in the life of the tractor. Any looseness and the chain will fail. I've nothing against trying a tensioner on them, but have never found a tensioner that will stand up to the torque generated by loose chains on a big machine in hard going.
The plus side is that after all the futzing around with chain links to get a good fit is the way they run and work. A really nicely fitting set of chains is a joy to drive. You can't even tell they are there. They don't make any vibration or noise and they grip like someone snuck in and put a nice brand new set of hugely lugged logging tires on your old tractor. The traction is awesome.
enjoy,
rScotty
