Engine Speed and Shifting Question

[duckhunt]

I just got my hands on an old, worn out bush hog, thats looks badd, I've been looking for one like this so I dont scratch and bend my new one. Anyways I have recently started underbrushing about 3-4 acres of small - medium trees ranging from .5" to 3". Its very tight between bigger trees and backing up and going forward is a must. I've been using low range and I keep my RPM's around 2100 - 2200. Do yall decelerate between shifts or just clutch her and change leaving the engine speed the same. It doesnt jerk since I'm shifting between Low 1 to Reverse. Reverse to Low 1. I worry about wearing my clutch because it takes so much time to clean such a small area, backing up and pulling forward. Just wanted some other opinions. Thanks.

 

[VALENT]

Pretty much, you do what you have to do. I never slow the engine speed down in a situation like this. The tractor and clutch is made for this type of work and I really wouldnt worry about it.

 

[DK35vince]

Not me.
When mowing in a tight area I use the foot throttle. I let the throttle off to forward/reverse then speed the engine back up.
My opinion, leaving the enine speed up when foward/reversing is harder on the clutch, the throw out bearing and the sycronizers (syncro shuttle transmission) . And it is no faster than just leaving up on the throttle for a second.

 

[TCR78]

Not me.
When mowing in a tight area I use the foot throttle. I let the throttle off to forward/reverse then speed the engine back up.
My opinion, leaving the enine speed up when foward/reversing is harder on the clutch, the throw out bearing and the sycronizers (syncro shuttle transmission) . And it is no faster than just leaving up on the throttle for a second.

I think I would have to agree. Our 2350 is a gear and any time I change directions I let off the throttle and bring it to almost idle. Even then somtimes the gears don't stop completely and grind a little. I don't see how it could be good for the clutch or the gears to not slow the engine down. Just my .02

 

[TripleR]

Pretty much, you do what you have to do. I never slow the engine speed down in a situation like this. The tractor and clutch is made for this type of work and I really wouldnt worry about it.

That is the way I have done it for over 50 years and I have two tractors over 50 years old that haven't broken or worn out yet.

 

[RoyJackson]

With a 2-stage clutch, you leave the rpm set and press the clutch about ½ down. Then you shift gears and release the clutch. I don't hurry the shifting, but I don't wait more then a few seconds for the gears to slow.
I'd be very surprised if the Mahindra did not have a 2-stage clutch. What you don't want to do is ride the clutch...after you shift, remove you foot from the pedal.

 

[duckhunt]

With a 2-stage clutch, you leave the rpm set and press the clutch about ｽ down. Then you shift gears and release the clutch. I don't hurry the shifting, but I don't wait more then a few seconds for the gears to slow.
I'd be very surprised if the Mahindra did not have a 2-stage clutch. What you don't want to do is ride the clutch...after you shift, remove you foot from the pedal.

I have a two stage clutch and I dont or try not to ever ride the clutch, when shifting I dont clutch the PTO only the Tranny, I dont think I'm doing any damage. Hopefully its designed for this type of use.

Just wanted to see what everyone else does when using their equipment is this type of situation. Its takes some time to declerate each time you change directions when going 2' - 3' and backing up over and over.

Thanks for the replys.

Jonathan

 

[RoyJackson]

After re-reading duckhunt's posts, I wondering if a tractor is the right tool for this job. His description of .5" to 3" trees spaced 2-3 feet apart suggests a tree farm or grove of some sort.
If the area isn't too rough and the material being mowed is grass, a zero-turn mower or even a regular riding mower might be a better choice for mowing those few acres. Either might be quicker and definitely more nimble. There's a lot of riding mowers on Craigslist...pretty cheap too (if you're OK with a beat up older mower).
I'm a fan of gear transmissions, but I wouldn't want to be shifting gears every few feet...not for any length of time anyway.
Just a thought...

 

[duckhunt]

After re-reading duckhunt's posts, I wondering if a tractor is the right tool for this job. His description of .5" to 3" trees spaced 2-3 feet apart suggests a tree farm or grove of some sort.
If the area isn't too rough and the material being mowed is grass, a zero-turn mower or even a regular riding mower might be a better choice for mowing those few acres. Either might be quicker and definitely more nimble. There's a lot of riding mowers on Craigslist...pretty cheap too (if you're OK with a beat up older mower).
I'm a fan of gear transmissions, but I wouldn't want to be shifting gears every few feet...not for any length of time anyway.
Just a thought...

The small trees I was describing are the ones that I'm trying to mow and shred. Only problem is that there are trees much to large to cut 3 inches up to 2-3 foot in diameter, these are the ones that get so close together that I have to back into the tight areas. I'm just trying to open up the woods around my house before the leaves start budding out.

 

[ModMech]

A wet clutch (almost all motorcycles, many tractors and a few HD trucks) will tolerate a tremendous amount of abuse compared to a typical dry clutch (all cars, Lt trucks, most HD trucks and some tractors).

Motorcycle and tractor clutch/transmissions are very similar in that they are durable and pretty tough to severely damage if you are taking even basic care not to knowlingly do damage. The gears are often "straight cut" and sometimes engaged by a sliding "dog clutch" on a shaft where the gears (expensive parts) are always in mesh but are connected and disconnected in order from the shaft by the "dogs". The "dogs" are splined to the shaft(s) so they slide forwards and back slightly to engage different gears - they are between two gears.

You can "double clutch" if you get gnashing during shifting while operating PTO driven equipment (gear trans only). The steps are:
- Depress clutch (removed Tq to trans)
- Move gear lever to "N" (placing trans in neutral)
- Engage clutch (applies Tq to input of trans, all gears are now spinning but not connected to the output)
- Depress clutch (removes Tq from trans)
- Select next gear (engages transmission output)
- Engage clutch

This is essentially "necessary" with any non-synchronized transmission when shifting under power to prevent transmission damage. Tractors are fairly unique in that they don't produce much power (tq) from the engine compared to the capacity of the parts in the transmission. So, they tend to tolerate a lot of mistakes and operational errors without slamming your wallet. A car, Lt truck or HD truck OTOH, will destroy the trans in very short order if you try shifting under power w/o double clutching.