Grillo with Gravely mower

[oldmech]

Hi! I make one adaptor for use my Gravely implements. Front PTO on GRILLO is SAME rotation as GRAVELY. I try this afternoon the 30 in. Gravely mower. Good balance. Easy to drive. Maybe I could remove 1.5 in on bottom of mower for better level I dont know. Later I could try my Gravely snowblower on my Grillo. Good luck! Oldmech

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey Oldmech,

Congrats on the adaptor. It looks great. Are you gonna make a couple to sell? You could also put taller tires on the Grillo to make it more level.

Bill in WI

 

[oldmech]

Hi! I adjust my 30 in. Gravely mower for good level I Just remove one inche. I try my Columbia-Gravely snowblower on my GRILLO 107d. I must Put counterweight (About 15 lbs) on engine side for better balance. I use also weight on my Gravely diesel engine because Gravely snowblower are very heavy. I am glad. I can use now my Gravely implements on my GRILLO 107d. All run very well. Mowers and snowblowers are very expensives . Gravely implements are very strongs and reliables . Good luck! Oldmech

 

[js5020]

Good job oldmech,, looks like it works very well. What size tires do you have on the Grillo? Might think about putting the caster wheels on the blower, with them on you just steer no need to manhandle the blower and add counterbalance weight, it will also help keep the blower down in hard snow. Very nice now all us Gravely guys can get a modern 2 wheeler at a reasonable cost and gradually update the attachments instead of having to do it all at once.

 

[oldmech]

Hi All! Tires size on my Grillo is 5-10 With 5-12 center pto height will be near the same as Gravely. We can order Grillo with 5-12 Too late for me.
Caster wheels are good for very heavy things.
You know Gravely are a lot more easy and fast to operate. I think the Gravely-Tranny is the best on two wheels.
With Grillo we must put PTO lever OFF before reverse. But this is minor problem for me and more SAFE for operator. Anyway we cannot blow snow in reverse.
They are a lot of Gravely implements available at reasonnable price. Later I look for a Power brush. Possibility to use Gravely equipments is a more for Grillo
Thank and Good luck! Oldmech

 

[lkjhg]

I have no experience with BCS or Grillo. Its been 20 years since I used a Gravely. What are the differences in the Gravely Transmission vs the BCS or Grillo? Would one have to turn the PTO off on a BCS snow-blower before placing the BCS tractor in reverse? It would seem to me that having to turn off the PTO every time one backed up would really slow down the snow removal process. Do you have to stop the PTO every time the sickle-bar mower bunches up and one needs to reverse the transmission? Is that how a BCS works or is the PTO shutdown specific to the Grillo? I agree that used Gravely tools are more readily available at much lower prices than BCS tools. Do you think the Grillo and the BCS designs are close enough that there is a chance to readily adapt Gravely tools to BCS tractors?

 

[farmerboybill]

Hi Lkjhg,

Oldmech here has made his own one-of-a-kind adapter for Grillo tractors to Gravely implements. I'm sure he'll explain why he needs to disengage the PTO on his unit. I'll answer your second question -

BCS machines automatically disengage the PTO when going into reverse. Personally, I've only owned used BCS machines and all have had the reverse lockout overridden before I bought them. However, I shut down my snow blower every time it's not under load (when I turn to make the next pass or in reverse) because it makes a gawdawful gearbox whine unless it has snow in it (there's no fix for the whine. It's the nature of the beast). It's really no big deal to re-engage the PTO because you're disengaging the clutch to shift from reverse to forward anyway. It only takes one second longer to bump the PTO lever in when changing direction.

Grillo has the advantage of having the same PTO rotation as Gravely. Like oldmech has proven here, it's just a matter of having the skill to make an adapter and getting the height right. I think there's an issue with different working RPM's as well. Unfortunately, the BCS rotation is wrong and would require more engineering.

 

[lkjhg]

Let me test whether I understand the BCS clutch mechanism: When you squeeze the clutch lever the drive wheels stop moving but the PTO continues to turn [therefore BCS has a 'live PTO']. Is that correct?

 

[farmerboybill]

No, The PTO stops as well. It does not have live PTO. That would be nice to have in some situations...

 

[oldmech]

Hi! All! The Gravely tranny is a two planetary gear sets and bands as automatic. Front or reverse by one lever as shuttle tranny. First or second gear with no stop. But for range change we must stop. Gravely tranny is SUPERIOR more fast and reliable. The best after 60 years.

Grillo and BCS have clutch and straight gears no syncromesh as cars or trucks so we must press clutch for stop and change gears. GRILLO PTO is from secondary shaft in tranny so if you reverse direction you reverse rotation. BCS PTO is from primary shaft in tranny and always same rotation.
When I press clutch lever I separate motor to tranny But the big mower blade turn tranny and move the tractor. I must put PTO off for stop and reverse. Anyway PTO OFF is more SAFE for reverse. I think may be same thing for BCS because PTO power is from tranny. So if you turn PTO shaft (ON position) tractor in gear you move tractor TRY IT.
Gravely Grillo and BCS are differents. EACH have quality and defects. For Gardening I prefer my GRILLO. New BCS are a lot more versatile than old GRAVELY. Thanks and good luck Oldmech