Thor's Hammer
ArboristSite Guru
There is an inverted ring gear set that holds the clutch plates.
Chipper Clutch Problems....
- Thread starter Beast12
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transporter
ArboristSite Lurker
was the clutch ring gear worn like that when you replaced the clutch last time? you may find the teeth are hanging up on the worn part when engaging cuasing them stress and then to fail and also when the machine idles without the clutch engaged they will rattle about more which may be damaging them?
Does anyone else agree with this? They have looked like that for a while. I don't really think it is a lot of wear but maybe I am wrong? If I am wrong I think it should last A LOT longer than 2.5 years!
-Matt
-Matt
neighborstree
ArboristSite Operative
i agree that older chippers last alot longer.
you should get atleast 3000 hours out of a clutch, with proper adjustment
you should get atleast 3000 hours out of a clutch, with proper adjustment
juststumps
ArboristSite Guru
did not know that,,, never saw a rockford clutch apart.... learn something every day...
transporter
ArboristSite Lurker
if you have tried everything else i would replace that ring gear and the clutch, do you leave the chipper idling with the clutch disengaged alot? I was advised by a twin disc dealer that this was not doing the clutch plates any favours and it was far better to leave it engaged all the time at idle
Call these people and speak with them
http://www.naclutch.com/
In a past life I dealt with them - alot. To clarify a point made earlier - Twin Disc clutches are not all 2 disc plate clutches - you must get to the SP211 series before it is a 2 plate - most on 125HP on down are SP111 which is a single plate clutch. Twin Disc is just their name
The pilot and tailshaft bearings were a good place to look, but if what you say is true you have another problem. What about shock/impact loading?? What are the knives like?? I imagine a lot of dead hard wood could shorten clutch life.
What is the clutch model number??? Should be on the cover plate??
You really can't blame the machine mfg unless the clutch is undersized for the horsepower/application.
Let us know what the guys at NACD tell you.
PS - I love my Kubota and it is not on a tractor!!
http://www.naclutch.com/
In a past life I dealt with them - alot. To clarify a point made earlier - Twin Disc clutches are not all 2 disc plate clutches - you must get to the SP211 series before it is a 2 plate - most on 125HP on down are SP111 which is a single plate clutch. Twin Disc is just their name
The pilot and tailshaft bearings were a good place to look, but if what you say is true you have another problem. What about shock/impact loading?? What are the knives like?? I imagine a lot of dead hard wood could shorten clutch life.
What is the clutch model number??? Should be on the cover plate??
You really can't blame the machine mfg unless the clutch is undersized for the horsepower/application.
Let us know what the guys at NACD tell you.
PS - I love my Kubota and it is not on a tractor!!
DWittenbreder
ArboristSite Member
clutch problem
First I would put a new ring gear w/ the new clutch. Second check to make sure the bearings are o.k. in the clutch housing. The freeplay must be set w/
a dial indicator to insure proper preload. also use a high quality grease and grease those bearings daily. Hope this helps.
First I would put a new ring gear w/ the new clutch. Second check to make sure the bearings are o.k. in the clutch housing. The freeplay must be set w/
a dial indicator to insure proper preload. also use a high quality grease and grease those bearings daily. Hope this helps.
Beast I feel your pain. We bought a factory refurbished 200+ from Brush Bandit a year ago and have had some problems with it including having to replace the old clutch with a new NACD. In addition we needed a new anvil, starter, alternator (due to a bad connection that finally broke), hyd bypass valve, and had to cut a bent flap out of the discharge chute. Oh and the chipper body cracked near the feed rollers. The engine, disc, frame, have all been fine. We also had a folding infeed chute kit added to replace the fixed chute.
I know that the money spent is only a part of the picture. The real issues are down time and the fact that you need to rely on your equipment. Yes everthing needs maintenance and anything can beak but you need to have basic reliabilty from new equipment. I'll remember the name Dynamic if someone asks about new chippers. For us Brush Bandit is the way to go because we have a good dealer, Cal Line Equip, an hour away who has provided good service and a loaner machine when ours has gone down.
Good luck my friend. I have been where you are.
I know that the money spent is only a part of the picture. The real issues are down time and the fact that you need to rely on your equipment. Yes everthing needs maintenance and anything can beak but you need to have basic reliabilty from new equipment. I'll remember the name Dynamic if someone asks about new chippers. For us Brush Bandit is the way to go because we have a good dealer, Cal Line Equip, an hour away who has provided good service and a loaner machine when ours has gone down.
Good luck my friend. I have been where you are.
CalTreeEquip
ArboristSite Guru
too much-too big- too fast
Time for me to weigh in. All the problems you have described could be the result of the chipper being fed too much, too big, to fast. No chipper holds up to constant abuse and if this is your first big machine then maybe you didn't realize that just because it can take 15" wood doesn't mean you should feed it that all the time. I have seen perfectly good chippers trashed within 500 hours because of being feed too much big wood too fast. This will throw the drum or disc out of balance, stress the bearing and the clutch.
The cracked fenders are a symptom of an out of balance drum. And I know that Dynamic knows that a balanced drum is key to a smooth running, long lasting machine. That is why they focus a lot of attention on balancing and strengthening that drum. It is the week link in the Vermeer's and Morbarks and they know that.
The Cone-Head is renowned for being a very smooth and strong machine and I have heard nothing but good things about them. The only bad comments have been that they are to big and heavy compared to their capacity.
My advice is to replace the clutch and ring gear and then slow you feed rate down, especially when your chipping big wood.
And on the insults, come-on guys lets show a little more respect for each other.
And, no I don't sell Cone-Heads.
Time for me to weigh in. All the problems you have described could be the result of the chipper being fed too much, too big, to fast. No chipper holds up to constant abuse and if this is your first big machine then maybe you didn't realize that just because it can take 15" wood doesn't mean you should feed it that all the time. I have seen perfectly good chippers trashed within 500 hours because of being feed too much big wood too fast. This will throw the drum or disc out of balance, stress the bearing and the clutch.
The cracked fenders are a symptom of an out of balance drum. And I know that Dynamic knows that a balanced drum is key to a smooth running, long lasting machine. That is why they focus a lot of attention on balancing and strengthening that drum. It is the week link in the Vermeer's and Morbarks and they know that.
The Cone-Head is renowned for being a very smooth and strong machine and I have heard nothing but good things about them. The only bad comments have been that they are to big and heavy compared to their capacity.
My advice is to replace the clutch and ring gear and then slow you feed rate down, especially when your chipping big wood.
And on the insults, come-on guys lets show a little more respect for each other.
And, no I don't sell Cone-Heads.
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We don't leave it idling out of gear a lot. It has been the same since we bought the machine new. Usually just to warm it up a few minutes and also to let it cool down (the turbo) before shutting off.
What bearings are you talking about? The whole machine is greased twice during the week. I figure we are putting an average of 8-10 hours on it a week.
Well, there is only ONE speed for the feedwheel on this machine. There is no way to slow it down unless we manually do it with the handle for the feedwheel. There is no knob or anything that allows us to do it.
This machine is not as you say "being fed too much, too big, to fast" in any way at all. I have early on learned that this is NOT a 12" capacity machine like Dynamic "claims". It very rarely sees anything bigger than 8" unless it is a softwood (and even then not usually). We are in firewood sales so we cut a lot of wood up for that.
We are a family owned and operated business so our equipment is taken care of VERY WELL. We tend to keep our equipment until it is basically junk.
The fenders on the machine cracked VERY early on (within 6 months?) The machine does vibrate but it does not seem that the drum is out of balance.
Also, it is a DISCONE chipper, not a Conehead.
I wish we would have waited for the Rayco 16.5 machine we demoed the other day.
-Matt
P.S. The newest clutch has been in for 3 weeks. Seems to be fine...for now. Not really engaging like it used to but still OK. ??????
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Thor's Hammer
ArboristSite Guru
Matt, is your machine a full cut or half cut drum? This half cut machine has no problem eating big timber, this was a pile of fresh oak
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay...l=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay...l=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
It's the same as the chipper in that video. I have put big wood like that in before but not much any more. If I do, I stand right at the handle for the feedwheel and put it so the handle is between neutral and forward. That will slow the feedwheel down enough to not stall the machine out.
-Matt
-Matt
Thor's Hammer
ArboristSite Guru
If you notice in that Video, Earl smith (CEO Dynamic) overides the autofeed with the control bar for the big pieces.
To have an adjustable infeed takes 2 hydraulic T pieces, 1 needle valve and a 12" length of hose. real easy to do.
To have an adjustable infeed takes 2 hydraulic T pieces, 1 needle valve and a 12" length of hose. real easy to do.
Ya, I have been thinking about doing it. If we are feeding some bigger stuff I will change the autofeed settings so that the feedwheel will stop when the engine RPMs get to 2650. It seems to help a bit. If you feed too much then the chips look like crap. And we sell them so we can't have that.
-Matt
-Matt
CalTreeEquip
ArboristSite Guru
ring gear
Ya replace that ring gear.
All gear teeth need to be well matted to each other otherwise you get undo stress. I'm thinking that has been the problem all along.
I see a lot of used chippers, and it is not unusual to see a fairly new machine with low hours that has had a new clutch or bearings.
1000 hours is getting up there and you can expect to start replacing a few key components. I see engines fail with fewer hours.
The old chuck-n-ducks are much more reliable and really do last forever.
Keep yours, your going to need it.
Ya replace that ring gear.
All gear teeth need to be well matted to each other otherwise you get undo stress. I'm thinking that has been the problem all along.
I see a lot of used chippers, and it is not unusual to see a fairly new machine with low hours that has had a new clutch or bearings.
1000 hours is getting up there and you can expect to start replacing a few key components. I see engines fail with fewer hours.
The old chuck-n-ducks are much more reliable and really do last forever.
Keep yours, your going to need it.
Bowtech
New Member
We have a bandit 19xpc that is only 1.5 years old and already going on it’s third clutch. So I highly doubt it’s just the brand that’s having an issue. I’m believing it’s the clutch manufacturers making junk parts
I might be able to help. I really need to know the name brand of the clutch. We're seeing many issues with NACD clutches. Does the pilot bearing mount into the flywheel or a pilot bearing carrier? Either way, it could be bad as well.
I train people to bump the clutch handle in and out. You want to make sure there's no wood blocking the drum from turning. I bump the clutch handle in and I watch the drum shaft to make sure it's turning. If it's turning, I bump the handle in and out until the drum catches up to the RPM of the chipper engine. Once it catches up, I then engage the handle and idle all the way up.
If this is a NACD clutch, you have to torque the clutch weekly on the end of the engagement handle and set it to the foot lbs. on the inspection plate. I recommend this practice for all chippers that have a NACD clutch. We're doing 5-7 NACD clutch replacements per month.
Hope this helps!
Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400
I train people to bump the clutch handle in and out. You want to make sure there's no wood blocking the drum from turning. I bump the clutch handle in and I watch the drum shaft to make sure it's turning. If it's turning, I bump the handle in and out until the drum catches up to the RPM of the chipper engine. Once it catches up, I then engage the handle and idle all the way up.
If this is a NACD clutch, you have to torque the clutch weekly on the end of the engagement handle and set it to the foot lbs. on the inspection plate. I recommend this practice for all chippers that have a NACD clutch. We're doing 5-7 NACD clutch replacements per month.
Hope this helps!
Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400
