Today's disaster - rethinking HST

[gregfender]

Today was a gorgeous day for working in the yard...65 degrees and sunny. So the wife, myself, MIL and a couple of nephews trim some old brush, haul everything to the burn pile and then call it a day...almost.

I decide to take the old Craftsman lawntractor up and down the hill on my yard a few times to knock down some winter growth. Fairly steep yard, between 30-35 degrees, perhaps slightly more at the edge. I have the HST lever all the way down but as soon as I hit the steep part of the slope it takes off...clutch/brake does nothing. Long story short, machine starts to skid, pitches me off, fortunately doesn't roll on me, engine shuts down as soon as I make my less than graceful dismount, and I am left on the ground, skinned, bruised and royally pi$$ed off.

This brings me to my concern and I hope some of you folks with more experience and knowledge can help me out. I am in the market to purchase a new tractor for the place. While I won't be using it to mow the yard, the rest of my property has a few hills and such like the yard. I had been leaning really hard toward HST but after today I am not so sure. Granted, I know that a HST lawn tractor is set up different than a a HST CUT, but if a complete release can happen on the lawn trac., could it ever happen on a CUT? I would hate to find myself barrelling down on of the hills on the property with less than complete control.

I appreciate any feedback!

 

[whistlepig]

Today was a gorgeous day for working in the yard...65 degrees and sunny. So the wife, myself, MIL and a couple of nephews trim some old brush, haul everything to the burn pile and then call it a day...almost.

I decide to take the old Craftsman lawntractor up and down the hill on my yard a few times to knock down some winter growth. Fairly steep yard, between 30-35 degrees, perhaps slightly more at the edge. I have the HST lever all the way down but as soon as I hit the steep part of the slope it takes off...clutch/brake does nothing. Long story short, machine starts to skid, pitches me off, fortunately doesn't roll on me, engine shuts down as soon as I make my less than graceful dismount, and I am left on the ground, skinned, bruised and royally pi$$ed off.

This brings me to my concern and I hope some of you folks with more experience and knowledge can help me out. I am in the market to purchase a new tractor for the place. While I won't be using it to mow the yard, the rest of my property has a few hills and such like the yard. I had been leaning really hard toward HST but after today I am not so sure. Granted, I know that a HST lawn tractor is set up different than a a HST CUT, but if a complete release can happen on the lawn trac., could it ever happen on a CUT? I would hate to find myself barrelling down on of the hills on the property with less than complete control.

I appreciate any feedback!

The HST that comes on a Craftsman lawn tractor is a far cry from the HST that comes on tractors.

 

[Wacky]

The HST that comes on a Craftsman lawn tractor is a far cry from the HST that comes on tractors.

+1. It really is not nearly the same animal.

 

[gregfender]

The HST that comes on a Craftsman lawn tractor is a far cry from the HST that comes on tractors.

That I am sure of. I was just wondering if there are instances of HST fail on significant slopes. Keep in mind I am not planning on trying to be mountain goat, just that there are lots of hills on the property and I wonder if HST might be an issue on the steeper slopes.

 

[Code54]

Did you happen to check to see if soon as you hit the slope you started to slide? The ONLY time I have ever had HST "take off" was in 2 wheel drive going down a slope and it slid. That also would explain why the brakes did nothing to help you. I would guess it started in a straight slide.. Does the HST work now?

 

[Wacky]

That I am sure of. I was just wondering if there are instances of HST fail on significant slopes. Keep in mind I am not planning on trying to be mountain goat, just that there are lots of hills on the property and I wonder if HST might be an issue on the steeper slopes.

Not going to be a problem. That is why I bought mine. As long as you go up and down and not side-hill the tractor you should not have a problem. I use mine on very steep terrain, that is all we have around here, without a hitch. You just need to make sure that you use 4 wheel drive on steep terrain or the tractor will slide down the hill if you are decending, which sounds like you were doing on your craftsman. There is not enough weight on the rear tires to keep traction, the CG gets thrown forward when going down a hill. That is when 4 wheel drive will help. I have yet to hear of anyone loosing the HST on a SCUT or CUT causing them to "free wheel" down a hill.

 

[whistlepig]

That I am sure of. I was just wondering if there are instances of HST fail on significant slopes. Keep in mind I am not planning on trying to be mountain goat, just that there are lots of hills on the property and I wonder if HST might be an issue on the steeper slopes.

I did commercial brush hogging with a gear drive tractor for decades. I trust my HST that I have owned for four years on slopes every much as I did the gear drive. I would not own a tractor that could fail and kill me on a slope.

 

[gregfender]

Did you happen to check to see if soon as you hit the slope you started to slide? The ONLY time I have ever had HST "take off" was in 2 wheel drive going down a slope and it slid. That also would explain why the brakes did nothing to help you. I would guess it started in a straight slide.. Does the HST work now?

Off the slope, it worked fine. Things started fine, nice and slow, then as I progressed down the slope, it just picked up speed and even the brake did nothing.

Naturally, I know comparing a 25 horse lawn tractor to a CUT is not the same, but it just made me wonder about HST in general. Keep in mind, I have never owned a HST tractor (real tractor). I grew up with my Dad's old Oliver gear model.

 

[k0ua]

The brakes have nothing to do with the hydro. they are brake pads, do the brakes work now?

 

[John_in_TN]

Code 54 beat me to it but: it sounds more like you just lost traction and slide. If the problem was a hydrostat release, the brakes should have still worked.

Loosing traction with one rear wheel (one wheel spins backward while the other rolls forward), is very scary and can happen with any type transmission, and the brakes won't help UNLESS you ALSO have a differential lock engaged. The brake pedal on my JD X740 engages both the brakes and the diffential lock.