Problems with new brush cutter...Concern of tractor damage?

[diesel85]

Try some 3000' of fishing line.

At work, some kids unrolled a ton of high test fishing line and webbed it in the grass. Well our maintenance folks got on their fairly new 36HP Ferris Zero turns, and started mowing. A few minutes later when they started winding up the fishing line in the mower deck, the mower just slowly started choking, then finally just stopping.

After jacking up the machine, there was this huge ball of fishing line wrapped up around all the spindles.

Funniest crap I've ever seen... but they didn't think it was funny.

They were like, "Who would do this nasty trick?!"

 

[CobyRupert]

Your 7060 engine at 1,800 RPM is probably producing only about 40 or so PTO HP. It is no wonder that the engine stalled immediately upon hitting a stump.

Tractor/rotary cutter combinations are not designed to hit stumps except in rare exceptions.

SDT

Manufacturers know that owners will hit stationary objects and design the mowers to do so.

Unlike a lawn mower, blades are also designed to swivel when they hit a stationary object.
On your 1606, the blades attach to a 1/2" plate called a STUMP JUMPER.
Hitting an object will introduce shock into the drive line, for this they provide a slip clutch or shear bolt.

I've never seen instructions on how to set up a slip clutch for a mower with a 100 hp gearbox to be run on a 40 HP pto, versus setting it to run on a 100 hp tractor. When you think about it, the slip clutch should be set up to protect the weakest component, in this case the 40 hp pto.

I'd loosen clutch and monitor it with an IR thermometer as others have suggested to ensure it isn't slipping when normally operating.

An easy way to break the rust, or verify there is none, is to loosen the clutch, turn tractor's pto "on", but with engine off (or otherwise have pto locked), and reach under deck and turn blade while verifying pto shaft doesn't turn. The other way is turn tractor on, rev up rpm's and slam the pto on. I prefer the former.

 

[Rmart30]

A controlled burn is always pretty good for new ground. Make sure to ck the regs in your area and with a forestor for best time to do the burn if you have trees you are wanting to save.

 

[B2150hsd]

Inode also while your checking things over from great advise you have been given check your b hogs gear box oil level if you have not done so already and not take dealers word for it just in case . Remember it goes filled to a correct level and not completely jam packed with oil . Read specs on weight might be 80/90 .

Good suggestion. Several years after using my cutter I learned that their should be a safety C clip/snap ring at the and of the gear box shaft that the pto driveline attaches to. This clip is to keep the pto driveline from slipping off the shaft if the shear bolt breaks. If the driveline ever slips off it can fly around and do lots of damage or worse.

 

[diesel85]

Yeah, the worse is the driveline will turn into a large metal weedwhacker. Not good.

 

[crashz]

When mowing unfamiliar ground I go slow and keep the loader bucket very low and curled up. That way if it hits a rock or stump, it rides up, but lets me know about it.

A simple solution for the stumps you found would be to cut them flush with a chain saw.

Also - my JD cutter has a slip clutch that was tuck last year. I hit a small hill of dirt and it actually popped my PTO out of gear. No noticeable damage, but it scared me. So I adjusted it, slipped the clutch and then tighten up to what I thought was right. Now, it slips under heavy loads. And as a previous poster pointed out, you can't tell when it slips. Until its smoking. And on fire. So keep an eye and NOSE on it!