Rotary Cutter bush hog gearbox rating & sheer pin vs. clutch

[Soundguy]

Ant mounds will do it too.

I maintain my torque limiters 1 per year with no bad results.. yet.

soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Maybe I got a good one, because I haven't found that to be true. I used to disassemble/clean/reassemble/adjust mine twice a year. Skipped one of them a couple years ago, so the thing went a year without maintenance. Still worked fine. Even though mine's parked out in the pasture year round, I've had no problems at all cutting the maintenance back to once a year.

//greg//

Same results here. Used in the mowing business, we have 5 mowers, and used here at my place, I have 2 more. All are slip clutch protected. All get ONE servicing per year. And all have worked without any problems when called upon to do so. (I had smoke rolling off one just 2 days ago I ran over a wad of fence wire ) In fact, when we service them in March each year (to prepare for the upcoming season) NONE have ever appeared to be rusted/stuck.



And they ALL set outdoor in the elements.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Maybe I got a good one, because I haven't found that to be true. I used to disassemble/clean/reassemble/adjust mine twice a year. Skipped one of them a couple years ago, so the thing went a year without maintenance. Still worked fine. Even though mine's parked out in the pasture year round, I've had no problems at all cutting the maintenance back to once a year.

//greg//

Impossible! - someone who agrees with my experience. In 40 yrs of outdoor storage, other than grease in the fitting and tightening the spring diaphragm when I notice it slip enuf to heat up, I have done no maintenance on either of the two I have. From some of the stories I hear on here it sounds as if the slip clutches are designed to be camouflaged booby traps. Mine havent proven to be designed that way.
larry

 

[john_bud]

Interesting.

I have a cutter and a tiller that will both rust the slip clutch up when not used.

I wonder if you guys are torquing them looser that I am?

There is probably a balance between replacing frictions and the time to diddle with them.

jb

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Interesting.

I have a cutter and a tiller that will both rust the slip clutch up when not used.

I wonder if you guys are torquing them looser that I am?

There is probably a balance between replacing frictions and the time to diddle with them.

jb

In one instance, my Bush Hog 286, which is now 3 seasons old and working on #4, the slip clutch has NEVER been touched. It still slips when called upon to do so and doesn't slip when it ISN'T supposed to. No need for replacing friction disc. It has seen far more hours of use that "average", as it is used in the mowing business. (Probably around 600 to 700 hours use last summer alone)

In the case of any that ARE serviced, they're re-installed with springs at the same exact stack height as found originally.

The ONLY slip clutch I've ever had to replace was/is the one on my King Kutter tiller. Coincidentally, that's the ONLY slip clutch I ever "serviced" more than once per year.

 

[DK35vince]

I service the slip clutchs on my tiller and brush mower at the beginning of each season to make sure they are working properly and thats all they have ever needed.
I have never needed to take my clutchs apart to check them for being stuck. I simply loosen the bolts and count the # of turns, slip the clutch to make sure its working, tighten bolts back to same position.
Takes me less than 5 minutes one time per year for each slip clutch.

 

[CDsdad]

I had to loosen and slip the clutch on my SQ600 a couple of weeks ago. It had an occasional whine. I tightened it to spec and it was fine for a couple of days and now whines again occasionally, I think it's a little tight. I've had it 2 years and that's the first time I've touched it. It does what it's supposed to.

The flip side is my dad who's sheared one bolt in his Howse in 6 years. And he took down willow trees by his pond with it.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I had to loosen and slip the clutch on my SQ600 a couple of weeks ago. It had an occasional whine. I tightened it to spec and it was fine for a couple of days and now whines again occasionally, I think it's a little tight. I've had it 2 years and that's the first time I've touched it. It does what it's supposed to.

The flip side is my dad who's sheared one bolt in his Howse in 6 years. And he took down willow trees by his pond with it.

No reason for a slip clutch to whine. It just spins as one unit [no moving parts] til it slips. It should not be slipping. That whine is probably the transmission.
larry

 

[JerryG]

Different slip clutches rust up at different rates. Climate has a part to play in it but there are also other things involved. Clutches are made different by different manufactures and different manufactures have different ideas about the design of a slip clutch. A clutch disc with a high metallic content will last longer but will rust and seize sooner than an all organic disc. The type of steel used to make the clutch plates can also have an effect on how soon the clutch freezes because some steels and or alloys rust sooner than others. Because of these things, you can't say with total certainty when the clutch will seize.

 

[Ed_C]

you guys that don't service your slip clutch much--could it be that you aren't seeing rust because your machines get regular exercise? What about those that cut weekly and occasionally skip a week?

BTW, how do you insure exact spring length? Tighten and then count turns to loosen?