Ransomes HR 9016 bat wing mower

[Gords]

Hi Guys,

I own an HR9016 turbo which is now 14yrs old, I believe they are now called/built by Jacobson.

It has 3 deck motors on each wing and 5 motors on the front bed (11 total)

Over the past 7 months I have gone through 6 new motors & 4 re-seals costing a small fortune (｣2300 UK).

Can anyone give me any guidance to what may be causing this problem. I have been told it could be the manifold having a blockage (of what)? Also some have said the case drain pipes are too small and I should replace with larger!! Not sure this is the correct road to go down.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Go slowly broke...

Gords

 

[J_J]

Extra clean fluid using a bypass filter.

The drain lines should have no restrictions at all. Drain hose should be same size as the drain port of larger.

Keep the fluid temp below about 200 degrees. Use extra fan and radiator if necessary.

 

[Gords]

Thanks JJ,

The oil is changed every 12 months, I also change the filter every 6 months unless anything major occurs so the oil is I believe fine. The machine isnt working any harder than before and the temp gauge stays constant due to us blowing out both oil cooler & rad at the end of each working day with the airline.
Today I had a guy do a pressure check, which he did on the case drain returns. This gave a reading of 1.5 bar, I was told this should be no more than 0.5 bar but still no wiser as to why this has increased? Also noticed another deck motor seal is starting to leak.....another £300 I reckon...

 

[Farmerford]

As hydraulic motors age, the leakage into the case increases because the gears/rotors wear, particularly on the ends/sides, which allows more fluid to flow into the case. If the case drain system was adequate to keep case pressures within limits when new, it may not be adequate when the case flow increases. Increased case pressure against the shaft seal causes the seal to press harder against the shaft, which causes the seal to wear quickly; it may also create a groove in the shaft.

I have seen only one machine like yours, but I recall that the case drains were in series; that is, each motor did not have its own dedicated line back to the reservoir, but rather all the motors on each section (front, wings) were connected into a common drain line. Thus all five motors on the front section drained through a single line.

Can you install a dedicated drain line for each motor; i.e., a line from each case drain directly to the reservoir? If I am correct, that will reduce the drain flow through each dedicated line to one-fifth of that through the common line and there will be a corresponding decrease in case pressure.

 

[Gords]

Hi Farmerford,

You are correct, each motor connects to the next teeing into a single line. I never thought about the wear side of the older motors, like you say. This is an option I will look into in the morning (late in the day here UK time).

Many thanks, will let you know how I get on.
G

 

[boggen]

http://www.ransomes-jacobsen.eu/001_golftech/downloads/ersatzteillisten/jacobsen/hr_9016.pdf
page 128
it looks like all case drains on...hyd motors on left/right/front wings, plus all 4 hyd motor tire case drains, run back into a single manifold, goes to filter (on side of oil cooler) and then through oil cooler.

is correct oil being used? and is all locations for correct oil be checked and filled correctly?
when blades were sharpened were they balanced?
how does the oil look before starting it up for the day? how does it look after running it for a while and decks engaged? different color?
if you had a hyd failure some place, and send shavings of metal through the hyd oil... how many other spots did those shavings get into, and cause problems for you?
what problems have had beside these issues over the years? history report per say on the machine?

 

[Gords]

Hi Ryan,
The oil was changed in April as was the filter, since then the filter was changed again last month. We do have the blades sharpened as and when but I haven't ever had them balanced. I did have two of the motor shafts checked out (I thought they may have hit a tree root and bent) but they were true, so assumed that not to be the problem.
This machine has been relatively problem free, we bought it in 2001 and was an ex-demonstrator around 6 months old at the time. It's only this past season all these problems started, including pressure build up in the oil tank.
I've decided I'm going to start with the manifold (get the machine on the lift and remove and have a look) if that looks good, will see about replacing or altering the case drain pipes/system.
Will let you all know, appreciate all your help guys.
Gords.

 

[boggen]

if the mower blades are out of balanced... they can cause extra vibration, that is sent up into the hyd motors

if you have someone just taking a grinder to the blades and sharpening, ya ok, but the step of hanging a blade from something, to see if it heavy on one side or the other, and taking a little more off if need be is an important step. an completely out of whack blade on just a regular belt driven deck. is enough to turn it into what sounds like a helicopter of a HOOWF HOWF HOWF and lots of vibration. to a nice smooth sound.

with a regular belt and pulley finishing mower deck. the belt acts kinda of a spring and takes abuse (belt wears down quicker), allowing out of balance blade not to effect much of anything else. and the bearings for the blade/shaft/pulley, lets the deck vibrate but with hyd motors going directly down to the blade, the mounts for the hyd motor hold everything more "firmly" so vibration is not released into the deck, instead that vibration is shoot straight up into the hyd motor and i would imagine might cause some seal issues / bearing issues, and more likely premature wear.

with the decks being able to be folded up. i am taking more of a stab, of someone getting the angle grinder out, and sharpening the blades while on the deck :/ not a good thing, pull them off, and check there balance. a good amount of time with 11 blades but.. *shrugs* simple easy check. and no cash involved beyond your time.

 

[Farmerford]

Gords:

"It's only this past season all these problems started, including pressure build up in the oil tank."

The oil tank should have a vent, either a separate port or perhaps built into the filler cap. If the vent is plugged, there would be some pressure build up from the heating of the oil and air in the tank. Have you checked the vent?

 

[Gords]

Hi again,
Yes, I went a step further re the tank pressure. I bought a new filler cap with a pressure release valve fitted, so no more problems on that front.
As for the blades, we do remove to sharpen but no we don't check the balance after. We are now removing and checking this....! However, I can't say I noticed any adverse vibration or noise.