Live PTO on a BCS - Attention BCSSHOP

   / Live PTO on a BCS - Attention BCSSHOP #1  

farmerboybill

Platinum Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
782
Location
Southwestern Wisconsin
Tractor
BCS 850 diesel and 735 diesel
Hey John

You had mentioned the easydrive being live PTO. I was looking over the BCSagri.it website and could find no mention of live PTO. I saw the easydrive. But, from what I can tell, that is only a clutchless instant reverser. How long can you leave the easydrive in the middle position? It looks like a great feature that would interest me, but as far as I can tell it isn't live PTO. Live PTO is where you can disengage the main clutch to stop forward or backward motion, but the PTO keeps turning. I did find this very short video on youtube, but it's very short on info -

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4jO7oQvaZ4&feature=player_detailpage]BCS 730 EasyDrive al lavoro con spazzaneve - YouTube[/ame]


Please direct me to the information showing live PTO as I'm very interested to see it on a two-wheel tractor.
 
   / Live PTO on a BCS - Attention BCSSHOP #2  
If you don't squeeze the clutch the PTO does not stop. You can do that today with current models for a while until the gears break! It has been reported that a farmer using the sickle ran his machine for many years after he removed all the cables that got hung up on on low limbs of the trees he was mowing around. The transmission was not broken. Just the coupling to the cutter blade!

I got an 850 in for what a customer claimed was a warranty after a customer let the clutch get stuck the first year he owned it. It was six years old and had been run the entire time without the clutch. The gear to the PTO was broken but the wheel gears and reverse were fine!
 
   / Live PTO on a BCS - Attention BCSSHOP
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Hey John,

So, when the center position on the easydrive, the wheels stop but the PTO keeps turning?

Example - You're blowing snow and hit the berm left by the plow truck. In order for the blower to catch up, you flip the easydrive to center, then flip it to forward, then back to center as you go along to chew through the heavy stuff.

Example II - you have several small piles of debris to chip/shred over a fairly large area. Each pile will take a couple minutes to do. You don't really want to subject the tractor to the shock of stopping the 37 pound flywheel in the chipper several times over an hour, so you just leave the chipper running. You drive to each pile, flip the easydrive to neutral, chip/shred for a couple minutes, and flip it back to forward to go to the next pile.

Example III - you're mowing your lawn and a kid's toy is sitting in the way. You flip the handle to neutral, move the toy, and go back to mowing.

None of these examples will damage the transmission?

Usually a tractor with Live PTO has either two clutches or a two stage clutch - one clutch or the second stage runs only the PTO. The other clutch or the first stage runs only the transmission. Live PTO revolutionized farm tractors in the 50's. People got killed when the momentum from the flywheel on the baler or rotary mower they were running would keep pushing the tractor forward via the PTO even after the clutch was disengaged. You can still buy an overrunning PTO for older nonlive PTO tractors at any good farm supply store. Live PTO also allowed you to disengage the clutch on the forward gears, but not lose power to the implement. This works great for haying because if you need to stop the tractor and disengage the PTO while under load, you'll potentially plug your haybine/chopper/baler/etc.

It doesn't seem to me like the easydrive is a second stage of a clutch or a second clutch. Am I wrong on this? It looks like a great feature for moving forward and back with a snowblower or mower, but not live PTO.
 
   / Live PTO on a BCS - Attention BCSSHOP #4  
Bill,

I don't know how BCS chose to implement the clutchless forward/reverse control. There are lots of ways to create this function. I haven't seen it so I don't know if there is true center position where the control can be left without the possibility of the tractor moving when it is in gear. Your snowthrowing and mowing back and forward seem what it is intended for. As far as moving the chipper/shredder with it turning sounds like a bad idea. The gyroscopic forces on the flywheel could make it dangerous to move under any circumstances with any tractor. The stored rotational energy can back drive the transmission and could cause the tractor to move if it is left in gear. I always have the transmission in the neutral anytime the the engine is running and I am not at the controls. I don't like surprises!

As far as starting up the chipper from a dead stop I engage the clutch slowly with the engine at 1/2 speed or slower then rev up the engine when the clutch is fully engaged. I engage the clutch on my TroBilt Super Tomahawk at idle then let the engine rev up the rotor. To let the clutch out so fast it tries to tip the chipper unit is abusive. Try that with your new diesel pickup by putting the transmission in top gear, rev the engine to 3600rpm then let the clutch out very quickly. Bad things can happen.

We'll see if North America get the EasyDrive controls next year. It would very nice for snowthrowing as you suggest.
 
   / Live PTO on a BCS - Attention BCSSHOP #5  
Bill,

I talked with someone who has used the EasyDrive system on the EU model of the 730. All of the scenarios you proposed will work fine. There is a neutral position between forward and reverse that will stop power to the wheels while maintaining full power to attachment. He believes there is a secondary wet clutch used to control the forward and reverse directions. This would be in agreement with the European brochure which describes it as:

EasyDrive hydromechanical reverser system is an innovation which allows moving forward and backwards without using the engine clutch control, but simply by operating the "EasyDrive control". When operating, the EasyDrive by-passes the clutch, with the advantage it is not engaged and disengaged for each manoeuvre, always transmitting torque. The system offers effective protection for the transmission, reducing the frequency of maintenance."

This seems like the model we always wished we had.
 
   / Live PTO on a BCS - Attention BCSSHOP #6  
Thanks BCSSHOP! That is what I've always wanted.
 

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