Was supprised at how hot the gearbox was on my rotary cutter after about 3 hours continuous use. Would guess it to be around 160 degrees F. Is there a typical operating range of the gearbox on a six foot rotary cutter in thick heavy field grass at about 4 to 5 mph? Yes it is full with the proper amount of grease. Thanks for the help.
gearbox running temperature
- Thread starter BudinTenn
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Toyboy
Platinum Member
My thoughts, say it's 80 deg outside when you start. Now 3 hours later your gearbox has only gained 80 deg to get to the 160 yours was. I don't think that's excessive. But that's just my thoughts. Most people don't figure in ambient temps, but I try to take that into consideration.
Baby Grand
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I think that's exactly right. There's not much in the way of heat dissipation hardware (fins, etc) so the heat doesn't have much help getting out of the oil and into the surrounding air. Considering the amount of HP being transmitted, 80 deg temp rise seems reasonable.
Typically, hydraulic fluid and gear box oils are designed to run ambient +100F. So if it's 80F, they can run 180F and be fine. It starts to get worry some
when it's 100-110F outside and the oils get over 200, but it's not really a concern until they get over 250F. If you are in the south or are doing stuff that brings the temps over 250, you may want to go to a thicker oil like 90w140 or a real synthetic.
when it's 100-110F outside and the oils get over 200, but it's not really a concern until they get over 250F. If you are in the south or are doing stuff that brings the temps over 250, you may want to go to a thicker oil like 90w140 or a real synthetic.
brain55
Veteran Member
john_bud said:
Exactly