I just acquired a Kershaw 10-10 with a Fecon grinder head on it with a shredded 3 sheave unibelt on one side. I suspect another unibelt will be rather pricey and may take Purvis a few days to get. Will 3 separate matched belts work in place of it?
3 singles will work and are much cheaper BUT they can and do twist no matter how tight you have them.So at end of the day you end paying the same. What HP has the Kershaw got?
It's a mid 80's model with a 3208 Cat pushing 225 hp. It originally had a shredder style head on it but has been properly converted to a Fecon drum grinder. I haven't got to really try it to its full capability being that only one motor was driving but even the little bit I did was impressive.
Maybe someone can expand the pic to full size.
With only one motor working is the reason for the buggered belt. Just couldn't take the HP
Got a new set of Gates belts on it today and tried it out. Made a world of difference having both motors driving. Figured out what killed the old unibelt. A previous op had pushed mud up into the belt case and some got into the sheaves, packed in, and busted the belt. Took a while with a screwdriver and hammer to get it all cleaned out.
3 strand belts are pretty easy to find and fairly cheap. I've been ordering some D&D Powerdrive 5 stranded belts off of Ebay for my Seppi cutter with good results. It's been a while since I had to replace any on the Fecon head. I consider running single belts an non-option. That is more trouble and a waste of money as you will burn through those belts much faster. You can always change over to a timing belt style system. I used that on one of my heads and those belts would easily last for over 2000+ hours. Last time I priced a change over to that style, it was about $1,200 for all of the components. Hendrix Eqpt in Texas will have all that you need for it if you go that route.
3 Gates belts from my local auto store were all of $63 and quickly available so for now I'll see what happens. Thanks for the source info though as I may want to go back to the uni. I went with the singles as all of the tractor mounted belt drive hay mowers we and many around run 4 singles without issue. As this is an older machine with a conversion on it, running the newer machines, do you have to ease in and out on larger stuff to keep the head turning? Mine will load the engine but begin to slow until I back out and give it a sec to recuperate. This is my first experience running one so I don't quite know what to expect. I know it won't be like a lawnmower in short grass, but...
Pressure and flow rate on your pump, plus available torque, will determine your recovery time and what size material you can process without backing off too much. The larger your motors are, the more torque you will have but the slower your drum speed will be. Unless you are cutting small stuff, you don't just walk the dog unless you have really big horsepower. If your pump is sized for about 200 hp and you have dual motors in the head, you should be able to walk through single 4"-6" trees depending on species. If you get into thick stands of trees, life will slow down a lot. If you do not have a turbo charged engine, life will suck. There are a lot of variables when mulching - species, density, terrain, finish quality, physical size, etc. Sharp teeth vs dull teeth will also be a factor in production. AND, don't forget to plan on a lot of repairs and maintenance - if you are not a mechanic, you won't last long in this business. It's nothing like a dirt machine.
Like any mowing job ground speed is dictated by the mower. You will find that at times you have never operated a machine so slowly. X1 on the mechanic bit
Mechanic bit is covered as I am stepping out of my farm repair shop into this and have a good service truck to work out of. Travel speed is where I will need seat time. I have a JD 790E LC hoe and D6C with rake for the big stuff (6" and up) and I bought this for the bushes and sapplings. The previous op on the property had dozer cleared and piled the big stuff and then started rolling dirt to shave off the underbrush into the piles. 16 burned out piles were a nightmare to dig out, sift, reburn then bury what was left. 34 hours on the hoe and 55 for a friend subbing with his hystat D5C doing cleanup and level down on 17 acres. I vowed I wouldn't make that kind of mess on the 100 I have to clear. Little to no dirt in piles, clean burnout and grind the small stuff. I had done skid shearing before so I was proud of a clean burn pile. By the time I get through, I may be an expert in this .