Caroni Flail Belt Failure

[IslandTractor]

Are you sure that residue is grease? My first set of belts failed by burning up this summer and I had a mess just like that.

 

[sunspot]

IT.
It's a mix of grease and rubber. When my first set failed, it was all rubber residue.

How often do you hit he grease fittings?

 

[Big Bri]

IT.
It's a mix of grease and rubber. When my first set failed, it was all rubber residue.

How often do you hit he grease fittings?

i pump 3 in each every time i cut.

 

[IslandTractor]

i pump 3 in each every time i cut.

That is about what I do too.

 

[beppington]

Boy this is bothersome. I was all settled on getting a Caroni, & now this huge thread about belts burning up. I guess I could just put an extra set on the tractor & replace as needed, but man how irritating ... & for something that "should" be simple to design right. i.e. my Craftsman riding lawn mower belts last a loooong time, & would seem to endure alot tougher conditions.

Knowing what ya'll know now about the belts, would you still buy your Caroni?

 

[IslandTractor]

Knowing what ya'll know now about the belts, would you still buy your Caroni?

Yep. And what I know is that I had the original set burn up during the third season. New set is Gates which I think is probably a better belt. We'll see how long they last but if I have to replace 40 bucks worth of belts (20 minute task) every 2-3 years that just seems like routine maintenance for a hard working mower. I actually spend more on flails and attachment hardware given the yearly crops of rocks around here.

 

[beppington]

Yep. And what I know is that I had the original set burn up during the third season. New set is Gates which I think is probably a better belt. We'll see how long they last but if I have to replace 40 bucks worth of belts (20 minute task) every 2-3 years that just seems like routine maintenance for a hard working mower. I actually spend more on flails and attachment hardware given the yearly crops of rocks around here.

Ah, OK. Sounded like belt problems more often than that. No big deal then I guess.

 

[Woodcanoeguy]

Don't mean to veer off the thread too much......but....Can anyone detail the task of replacing the belts on Caroni Flail Mowers...Nothing at all in the manual

I loosened the tension bolt and removed it with the spring..... but the belts sure seem to be still firmly on the pulley's. Anything else I need to do before trying to lever them on or off?

 

[Reg]

Don't mean to veer off the thread too much......but....Can anyone detail the task of replacing the belts on Caroni Flail Mowers...Nothing at all in the manual

I loosened the tension bolt and removed it with the spring..... but the belts sure seem to be still firmly on the pulley's. Anything else I need to do before trying to lever them on or off?

I went through the "OMG, belts MIGHT burn up" phase of near panic soon after this thread started.
I got a replacement set from Agri, put them on, switched them back, scratched my head about the perceived "design problem" with the tensioner and belt routing,,, on and on.
Then just used the mower and have never had an issue.

I honestly can't remember there being anything unusual about their replacement.
Thinking it through I would probably have had the mower on the tractor at the time and raised.
If there was an "almost too tight" situation with getting them on and off I probably had the tractor (STOPPED) in neutral and would have "wound" them on one at a time and stepped them over.

Maybe I "mow slow" or have found just the right ground speed and cutting height for what I cut that the "belt issue" isn't (for ME).

 

[IslandTractor]

If I recall correctly I just loosened the tension idler completely then levered the new belts on. No problems doing so if memory serves. This is about how tight I got them. This photo was with the Caroni spring controlling tension.

(Note: during the hysteria about weak tension idler springs I replaced mine with a solid piece of heavy gauge wire/rod. I never went back to the spring though I was convinced that the rod made no difference as measured by tension (thumb test) or heat build up. If you are interested in details I posted those temperature measurements somewhere in one of these threads a couple of years ago)