Draft Control

[SMJ]

I've had my 1445 a little over 1 year. No significant problems. Recently, my brush cutter will slowly rise up when the draft is on. Not a little. The rear wheels are 2 feet off the ground. Any ideas? Is there a draft control adjustment?

SMJ

 

[MikeOConnor]

yep. there's a page that describes the process in my 1850 "manual" (insert grumbling about PT manuals here...). here are the high points. quoting from the manual now;

" - the draft control adjustment valve is located in the engine compartment of the rear section close to the oil tank behind the operators seat

- to properly adjust the draft control valve, turn the machine on and turn on the draft control valve (they really mean "draft control" here, not the valve)

- when you turn on the draft control (i'm deleting the word "valve" again), the mower will pick up slightly

- also be sure to leave the PTO switch in the off position and leave the park brake set.

- after you turn on the draft control (no "valve"), press down the treadle enough to build up the pressure, but not enough to tram through the brakes

- next, you release the lock-nut knob on the draft control valve cartridge with the two black adjustment knobs on top.

- then you slowly turn on the adjustment knob until the mower raised up enough that the caster forks turn free, then back it out 1/4 turn and lock it down there.

- this should properly adjust the draft control and pick up the mowing deck enough to give the unit plenty of traction on slopes."

boy do i hate that manual. first of all, my PT 1850 has the seat interlock, so all this talk about adjusting while the engine is running means that this is a two-person job.

no -- there is no picture of this gizmo in the manual -- but it's the only dingus with 2 knobs on it back where they describe it to be.

are there any tech writers out there? maybe we should start a Wiki to document these things...

 

[MikeOConnor]

here is an "establishing shot" that shows the dingus in relation to the battery (at least, on my 1850)

 

[MikeOConnor]

and here's a close-up shot -- the knob on the left (it has a lock-nut thingy under the knob) is the one that you adjust.

 

[SMJ]

My "manual" must be worse than yours. Thank you!!

SMJ

 

[cqaigy]

nice job with the camera.

 

[tracdoc]

A question....
Is the draft control on the 1445 and other larger PTs equivalent to the "float" positioning on the smaller PTs, such as the 425, or do your units have both float and draft control??

 

[Highridge]

We have both. The Draft Control is more efficient for the larger, heavier, mowers.

 

[Bob999]

No, Draft control provides hydraulic pressure to provide an adjustable amount of "lift" to the mower (or other attachment) and transfer some of the weight to the tractor. Float simply removes any hydraulic pressure -- either lift or down pressure.

 

[SMJ]

I have found the draft control to be important. When it didn't work right on my 1445, I used float only. The combined weight of the mower deck and the PT arms really started to wear out the tires of the deck. So thanks again to Mike for the adjustment info.

SMJ