Rear Finish Mower Exceeding max HP rating for finish mower

[JimR]

My SIL breaks 2 or 3 finish mower belts per year,, and he is within the horsepower spec with the tractor/mower,,
He even orders OEM belts, because they last "longer", but, he simply mows too fast.

he has been doing that for 3 years, and 2 different Woods finish mowers.

So, I say the belt will fail if you push the speed of mowing.

What happens with the belts is that the cords inside of it break. Once that happens the belt just rips apart. Hitting any objects will cause this to happen as does clogging up the mower. I think that I am going on 12 - 14 years with my 7 footer and I normally go through one belt a year. I do cut along the field edges clearing small trees with it under 1/2 inch. Sharp blades will extend the life of your belt.

 

[Richard]

Had a tractor out of commission and the field (which I use a Woods 72" finish mower) was starting to get tall. Weeds were approaching knee height and the thicker stuff was couple inches above ankle.

I didn't know if it would work but wanted to give the field a quick height reduction so tried (successfully) to put the 72" finish mower behind my International 1066. I don't know the PTO rating but I think it's maybe 100 HP.

The Cat 3 arms BARELY closed in enough to hold the mower and of course, I needed to put the bushings in....

Worked fine. I tore up the field a little bit on corners but, I tend to drive firm and turn firm....I don't tally.

I wouldn't cut our regular fields with it but the field in front of house that is grass....and flat.... it worked in a pinch quite fine.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I run a 6 foot flail mower with belt drive, with 120 HP tractor, and never had any issues...

 

[Industrial Toys]

I started breaking the mounting frame of my FORD 917 Flail when using it on out larger JD 6200. I don't understand why.

I think in normal service, using more HP isn't an issue. BUT, if something goes wrong or seizes up, THEN, you could have some much worse damage to the drivetrain.

 

[4570Man]

Farmers make hay on smooth well cared for fields with tractors far bigger than 70 hp. If the soil is not wet and you do not drive like an idiot a 70 hp tractor will not damage sod. Condemning the use of a tractor of that size without considering tire style and contact patch is just blowing smoke.

Not wet is the key words. If water isn’t currently falling from the sky I’m gonna mow. I don’t have the luxury of waiting 3 days for dry ground and you might have to wait a lot more than 3 days in the spring.

 

[jjp8182]

Over-revving shouldn't be a problem as long as the PTO is running at the intended speed for the mower (i.e. 540rpm PTO speed for a mower designed for a 540rpm PTO) in which case the only difference in PTO horsepower is the max torque the PTO can provide.

So unless something is hit, or the mower is bogged down (by either going faster than it can handle, through thicker material, or a combination thereof), or the mower is started at full PTO speed then the excess torque available won't matter. ....almost like using an 1500ft.-lb. impact wrench to take off a nut that's only hand tightened or able to free-wheel by hand.

On the other hand, a heavier tractor may be capable of swinging the mower into places faster than the mower casters can react and end up bending the casters as a result .... (wish I could say I've learned from experience, but as many times as I've bent them I apparently haven't learned and have instead just given up on having straight casters).

 

[JimR]

On the other hand, a heavier tractor may be capable of swinging the mower into places faster than the mower casters can react and end up bending the casters as a result .... (wish I could say I've learned from experience, but as many times as I've bent them I apparently haven't learned and have instead just given up on having straight casters).[/QUOTE]

I see you noticed the weak casters on these finish mowers. Mine bend all the time and I am always throwing them in my hydraulic press to straighten them out. Had they used a harder bar stock we wouldn't be having this problem. I plan to remove my spindles eventually and replace them with a harder piece of bar stock. Mowing at a higher height is what causes the spindles to bend.

 

[jjp8182]

On the other hand, a heavier tractor may be capable of swinging the mower into places faster than the mower casters can react and end up bending the casters as a result .... (wish I could say I've learned from experience, but as many times as I've bent them I apparently haven't learned and have instead just given up on having straight casters).

I see you noticed the weak casters on these finish mowers. Mine bend all the time and I am always throwing them in my hydraulic press to straighten them out. Had they used a harder bar stock we wouldn't be having this problem. I plan to remove my spindles eventually and replace them with a harder piece of bar stock. Mowing at a higher height is what causes the spindles to bend.[/QUOTE]

Agree, though for the most part when I've seen them bend has been when the mower was swung into a slight incline, and the caster bent instead of turning and rolling. Also, have had the press fit rubber tires come off more times than I can count for a similar/same reason, so this last time I changed over to a cheaper aftermarket laminated tire.

 

[DK35vince]

Mowing at a higher height is what causes the spindles to bend.

Must be, because I run mine set around the middle height ( mower set at around 2 1/2 - 2 3/4" mow height) and I have never bent a caster/spindle.

 

[JimR]

I see you noticed the weak casters on these finish mowers. Mine bend all the time and I am always throwing them in my hydraulic press to straighten them out. Had they used a harder bar stock we wouldn't be having this problem. I plan to remove my spindles eventually and replace them with a harder piece of bar stock. Mowing at a higher height is what causes the spindles to bend.

Agree, though for the most part when I've seen them bend has been when the mower was swung into a slight incline, and the caster bent instead of turning and rolling. Also, have had the press fit rubber tires come off more times than I can count for a similar/same reason, so this last time I changed over to a cheaper aftermarket laminated tire.[/QUOTE]

I've never lost a tire unless it had a tube in it and blew out. I just recently had to replace three tires due to them falling apart from dry rot. All of them were filled with hard rubber. Two of the rims were rotted out so I just replaced them with solid tires. The other one I put a new tire on it. If I have any issues with that one I will have have it filled.