jlasater Posted May 30, 2019 Posted May 30, 2019 (edited) I'm working on mounting the vac bagger attachment (pn 16904025142) I bought onto my 716H. Everything seems to line up but the belt is an issue. I purchased the correct 77" belt but if I pull up on the belt idler by hand, the belt will rub on a part of the transmission. A couple pictures: The belt return at the bottom is what wants to rub on the transmission. If any of you have this setup, could you post a picture of how the belt runs on yours? I'm going to look into whether the driven pulley on the blower can be moved to provide more clearance. Edited May 30, 2019 by jlasater
PhanDad Posted May 30, 2019 Posted May 30, 2019 I had the opposite problem, when I used the PECO unit on a 7100 series tractor, the belt was hitting the top of the side mounted hydro filter. I put a large hose clamp over the filter so that would wear rather than the filter side wall. Also in the first pic, at the left edge, you can see the 7100 series "Rear PTO Drive Kit" that keeps the belt away from the filter when running a tiller. If I remember correctly, I had to jury-rig it's location so that it was in contact with the belt which helped the rubbing situation, but didn't eliminate it. A couple of pics: I'm using the belt that came with the PECO unit when I got it in 2015. I believe I ran the PECO unit that fall on the 7016H without an issue (PECO came with the 7016H). It was the next year when I ran it on my 75th that the belt rubbing issue showed up. I don't know the actual belt size, but it's very tight and hard to put on. I don't have any other pics of the PECO mounted and currently it's disassembled and stored away until fall leaf season. Based on comparing the pics, it appears the my belt runs further away from the tractor tranny than yours - could be the angle of the pics. But it definitely appears my PECO driven pulley is higher than yours based on the distance the upper belt is away from the tranny charge pump. That makes me suspect I'm running a slightly shorter belt.
jlasater Posted May 30, 2019 Author Posted May 30, 2019 That makes me wonder if I can use the belt idler bracket that is used with the rotortiller on my 716H for this purpose. It has a V-belt idler that separates the two runs of the belt (out and back) just enough so they don't touch the transmission housing. It depends on which pulley sheave it lines up with on the PTO pulley (double-grooves).
PhanDad Posted May 30, 2019 Posted May 30, 2019 1 hour ago, jlasater said: It depends on which pulley sheave it lines up with on the PTO pulley (double-grooves). It's the same one, the outer groove for the PECO and tiller. So it might work. I didn't think to try to use the tiller idler.
jlasater Posted May 31, 2019 Author Posted May 31, 2019 I tried the tiller idler setup and it's way out of whack, alignment-wise. I'm not sure if the vac attachment frame is slightly bent or what, but the belt definitely is not running dead straight. I'm thinking if I resolve that, it might not hit the transmission any more.
TimJr Posted May 31, 2019 Posted May 31, 2019 I don't have any pics of my PECO mounted on my 1997 Sovereign that show this in specific detail, but I think I had to run the wide, flat idler that bolts to the LH frame plate to deflect the belt up a little to clear my HST filter. Seems like the belt rubbed a little on the HST charge pump.
jlasater Posted May 31, 2019 Author Posted May 31, 2019 The belt isn't runny nearly that straight on mine.
jlasater Posted May 31, 2019 Author Posted May 31, 2019 (edited) Maybe a 76" belt would push the idler down far enough to clear the charge pump...just thinking out loud. The 77" belt is pretty tight to get on though. Edited May 31, 2019 by jlasater
TimJr Posted June 1, 2019 Posted June 1, 2019 I don't remember what size that belt is on mine. It is packed away in storage - I haven't used it in a couple of years. We had to remove the maple trees that caused the biggest need for it.
jlasater Posted June 1, 2019 Author Posted June 1, 2019 Seeing no other way to get the belt to line up properly, I ended up carefully slitting the weld beads on the two lower mounts with a cut-off wheel, and moved them to the right 1/2". The belt is almost dead straight now. I'd still love to know what was out of whack.
PhanDad Posted June 1, 2019 Posted June 1, 2019 37 minutes ago, jlasater said: Seeing no other way to get the belt to line up properly, I ended up carefully slitting the weld beads on the two lower mounts with a cut-off wheel, and moved them to the right 1/2". The belt is almost dead straight now. I'd still love to know what was out of whack. Oh the power of being able to weld! 1
jlasater Posted June 1, 2019 Author Posted June 1, 2019 Successfully mounted and tested. Barely took any off the lawn and still filled two of those garbage cans. I'm looking for a larger one that fits the tray for more capacity. It doesn't seem to cause much drag on the engine when running. The hoses are in pretty good shape, and the belt clears the charge pump, but just barely. Belt didn't seem to wear at all when running. I can't wait for fall now! 3
jlasater Posted June 4, 2019 Author Posted June 4, 2019 Gave the bagger its first real test today. Drove the tractor across town and helped a friend to mow his yard. Did a lot of edging with the Stihl Kombi KM131R (love that thing) and had some pretty significant piles of grass as a result. The vac was working great for a while and then started plugging very easily. Just before getting really frustrated, I found a good sized stick up inside the tube coming off the deck. I must have picked it up around one of the trees. Once that was removed the vac worked flawlessly and the place turned out looking really nice. Thanks to the Gator blades, the clippings were very small and dense in the garbage can. That particular trash can has to go. If I can't find one that fits better I'll probably have to either fab a container, or have an HVAC place bend me up a box with a hinged back on it. 2
PhanDad Posted June 4, 2019 Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) 37 minutes ago, jlasater said: I found a good sized stick up inside the tube coming off the deck. Been there, done that. In my experience, if the stick makes it into the blower, it'll chop it up. Only plugs I've ever had were stick related on the suction side. (Unless you don't empty the bag before it fills ) Edited June 4, 2019 by PhanDad
jlasater Posted June 5, 2019 Author Posted June 5, 2019 I found what should be a proper size garbage can at Home Depot as well. Just need to figure out how to seal the discharge to it somewhat. Even has wheels so I can roll it over to where i need to empty it.
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