Self built Mulcher .

tonyoz · Mar 25, 2016

Onya Mate, you may end up putting the so called "pros " to shame:laughing:

Eagleview · Mar 26, 2016

farm boy00 said:
I'm not 100% sure that you meant by the screen but do you mean expanded metal? ?

Any mesh , expanded metal , woven , punched etc , that is why I will be using toughened 12mm pool glass .

Mysfyt · Mar 26, 2016

I'm envious of the fun you're having and will be having during this build! I've always wanted to build a track vehicle for some reason.
Great job so far!

Eagleview · Mar 28, 2016

tonyoz said:
Onya Mate, you may end up putting the so called "pros " to shame:laughing:

I dont know about that Tony , but I do think it will punch above it's weight with 175 PTO horsepower and be around the same size as a Positrac with mulcher .

Eagleview · Mar 28, 2016

Mysfyt said:
I'm envious of the fun you're having and will be having during this build! I've always wanted to build a track vehicle for some reason.
Great job so far!

Thank you , I have had other people say they would have fun doing this type of thing . It is something I need to try and do as it is just more work for me to do at the present . I really should try and look at these projects as a fun hobby type thing .

Eagleview · Mar 28, 2016

This is what I did on Easter Monday .

Removed the grille panel and side doors , but left the bonnet frame to give me an idea of what the confines were I had to work with and sat the engine into position . I just need to fab up some mounts for it now .

It sits nice and low , keeping the weight all down low on the machine . It will easily cross hillsides sideways without trying to tip over . I may need to weld grouser lugs on the track plates for traction though .

Having the engine low mounted also gives me plenty of room above it for an air cleaner etc .

TSO · Mar 28, 2016

Cool project!

Do you feel that the engine will do ok handling the shock of running a PTO Shaft directly off it? A PTO on a tractor has numerous connection points that can fail (as a buffer) before damaging the engine, and a mulcher can really "shock" the driveline.

pmsmechanic · Mar 28, 2016

Subscribed. I like builds like this.

Eagleview · Mar 28, 2016

TSO said:
Cool project!

Do you feel that the engine will do ok handling the shock of running a PTO Shaft directly off it? A PTO on a tractor has numerous connection points that can fail (as a buffer) before damaging the engine, and a mulcher can really "shock" the driveline.

It will still be protected in several places . The first line of defense are the belts on the mulcher itself , they can slip if the mulcher swallows an engine block in the grass . Second line of defense is the standard clutch on the series 8 PTO shaft . 3rd is the standard truck clutch , 4th is the inertia the flywheel and pressure plate has that protects the crank from twisting and 5th is the clutch pedal that I will be stomping on within a second in an emergency .

YES , if it was running the PTO shaft on the FRONT of the engine , as many tractors do and all that inertia was going through the crankshaft , then yes the crank is the weak link .

This is not a first , there are many PTO driven tracked mulchers on the market , as well as Wood Chippers etc that are driven straight off the flywheel .

TSO · Mar 28, 2016

We have a PTO driven mulcher, so I am familiar... I don't mean to refer to the actually "rotation" force of the unit on the PTO, I just mean the actual shock and vibration of the unit. I wasn't sure how you planned to attach and secure the output shaft.