Rayco 1625 A electric clutch on fire

[Dadatwins]

My Rayco 1625A is less than a year old, has about 150 hours on it. While grinding today heard a loud bang and screeching noise, and saw smoke and fire come out from drive clutch. Engine locked up and burning metal was falling out of clutch. Engine would not start back up since clutch was so hot it would not release. Sprayed some wd 40 and waited about 10 minutes until it loosened up enough to get the engine started and back on the trailer. Taked to salesman at dealer that I bought it from and he thinks the parts should be warranty, just a matter of getting someone to pull the old one. I will find out tomorrow how long its down for. Anyone else have similiar problem with electric clutch? Did not pull off belt shields to check for drive belt damage and hope that the heat did not damage the engine seal on that side.

Attached picture of fried clutch

 

[Dadatwins]

I guess what is left of the ball bearings.

 

[Nickrosis]

Looks pretty new to me. Sorry to hear. I had to keep my hand on the clutch - switch connector a couple of weeks ago to keep the clutch engaged on ours...nothing like what you ran into.

Last time I used it, I had no problems so someone must have fixed it.

 

[a_lopa]

another reason not to buy new equipment,unfortunantly,reminds me of a 75'telescopic bucket 300k went up full height and hoses wernt long enough inside boom ive got the same rayco,all bearings are upgrded,a guy i know converted his 1625 main poly chain belt to a row of fan belts4 belts instead of one,thats the only thing ive broke on mine

 

[Dadatwins]

Brought the unit to dealer today 2 hours away, they were short handed on help to send my way but were willing to repair on site if I brought it to them. Repair tech had new clutch in and running in an hour. As for cause of premature failure, he has seen several units come in with drivetrain damage which Rayco believes is being caused by the type of teeth I am using. Since it is this site policy not to bash any company I will only say the teeth are the same color as August leaves. Seems that the extra weight and amount of wood being sheared off puts additional strain on drivetrain parts causing similiar clutch failure like mine. He has also seen a larger percent of bearing failures coming in on units with this type of tooth. It was his opinion that the larger machines might be better suited for this type of tooth, but the company was still compiling data to see repair frequency on larger machines. According to the tech the smaller machines have a higher frequency of drivetrain part failure when using this type tooth verses the factory tooth. He also showed me some wear points on my cutting wheel that were not on a similiar unit in for service running factory teeth. I do like the convienence of the 'august leave' tooth but after talking to the service tech I think I may be setting myself up for more problems down the road. I am going to switch around my teeth and use the factory teeth on the inside of the wheel and put the 'august leave' teeth on the outer cutters. This is what the service tech suggested if I insisted on using the 'august leave' tooth as it would help cut down some weight and drag on the drivetrain system. Has anyone else had any similiar problems or ideas on this?

 

[Merlin]

Originally posted by aussie_lopa
another reason not to buy new equipment,unfortunantly,reminds me of a 75'telescopic bucket 300k went up full height and hoses wernt long enough inside boom ive got the same rayco,all bearings are upgrded,a guy i know converted his 1625 main poly chain belt to a row of fan belts4 belts instead of one,thats the only thing ive broke on mine

Howdy,
Have you got the specifics of how and what he used to get rid of the poly chain belt? I would like to get rid of my poly chain on my 1625 as I've replaced it 4 times in the last 100 or so hours. At $175 a pop it ain't cheap! Especially at this turnover rate. Any info would be GREATLY appreciated.
Merlin

 

[a_lopa]

Originally posted by Merlin
Howdy,
Have you got the specifics of how and what he used to get rid of the poly chain belt? I would like to get rid of my poly chain on my 1625 as I've replaced it 4 times in the last 100 or so hours. At $175 a pop it ain't cheap! Especially at this turnover rate. Any info would be GREATLY appreciated.
Merlin

you can move the bottom pulley by losening it ,you gotta do this as the drive belts stretch,centring the belt and you wont have a problem

 

[Merlin]

A BIG PROBLEM!

Yup, I've centered the lower pulley, even bought the "Belt Tensioning Gauge" to ensure proper tension (as per the factory rep) and still snap belts. Am not too happy about the whole situation.
merlin

 

[Lumberjack]

Originally posted by TreeCo
I've got 3 or 4 hundred hours out of a poly belt. You must have some problem to go through 4 in 100 hours.

Dan Nelson

Ditto.. We have been running them for 6 years.. the problem isnt with the belt.

We have only broke 1 belt, the very first one.

Are you replaceing the sprockets when they wear out? They do wear out, BTW.

 

[Toddppm]

I doubt they wear out with only 150 hours on them?
Mines got about that many hours too, no problems yet.
The guy I bought my old 1620 from had put bigger pullies on that machine and they were never right, I could never get the belts to line up properly and went through many belts.

 

[Dadatwins]

Originally posted by Merlin
A BIG PROBLEM!

Yup, I've centered the lower pulley, even bought the "Belt Tensioning Gauge" to ensure proper tension (as per the factory rep) and still snap belts. Am not too happy about the whole situation.
merlin

Have to think this is an adjustment or 'bite' problem, not a belt problem, worst case taking to much of a 'bite' with your grinder and snapping the belt. I ran a few hundred hours on a 1620jr belt and had no trouble. I would rather leave the a regular drive belt slightly loose that overtighten it and let it slip if machine was bogged down rather than worry about snapping it. The poly belt does not give the option of leaving it loose. It has no slippage, if the machine boggs down the most pressure is on the ribbed belt. Do you stall your machine frequently while grinding from taking to much of a bite.? Might be cause of belt problem. Suggest letting dealer set up belts and go over pulley setup to make sure everything set right.

 

[Merlin]

You have a good idea Daddtwins,
I'll leave the main belts slightly loose.
I don't take big bites out of stumps but after a few hours of grinding, it seems like
the cutting wheel will grab on anything causing stalling. As for having dealer set it up. I went round & round with the dealer & the factory with this problem. Dealer says one thing factory says another. Service rep & mechanic at dealer laughed when I mentioned the belt tensioner gauge for adjusting the belt. The just "tighten it up until the belt squeels then back it off". Didn't instill a whole lot of confidence in me. Besides, this is something I MUST be able to do in the field as needed not wait two weeks to get into dealer.
I really appreciate the reponses I've gotten and will give them a try. I'ts always easier when someone else has been through a similar situation.
Thanks again
merlin

 

[Dadatwins]

Originally posted by Merlin

I'll leave the main belts slightly loose.
I don't take big bites out of stumps but after a few hours of grinding, it seems like
the cutting wheel will grab on anything causing stalling.

I would only leave the main belt loose enough that it will deflect the width of the belt when pressed down mid span. Excessive slipping will cause the pulley to wear out. Also note that if machine has lots of hours pulley might be worn and have sharp ridges cutting belt. As for grabbing, what type of teeth are you using and are they sharp? Sharp teeth cut and slice, dull or poorly sharpened teeth hammer and pull.
I reset my machine using 'august leave' teeth on the outer cutters and back to factory teeth on the inside. Machine does seem to cut well with this configuration and have a quicker recovery if it does get bogged down.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

It's interesting that you should bring this up as the same thing happened to my buddy today. The clutch caught fire and stopped the grinder dead.

 

[Merlin]

Hey Daddatwins,
That's what I've got the belts adjusted to now. I think a little looser will help. As for teeth I'm using Leonardi's with their "quick change" pockets. I change them quite freguently (more than it's seems I should need to) as they don't seem to last too long. One thing I've noticed is that no matter how tight I crank them, the leading or outermost sets always loosen & slide inward. I like your setup. I might go back to stock setup & try your green teeth leaders.
Thanks again for you help & suggestions
Merlin

 

[Dadatwins]

Originally posted by RAHTREELIMBS
It's interesting that you should bring this up as the same thing happened to my buddy today. The clutch caught fire and stopped the grinder dead.

Probably had the same reaction as I did, WTF was that loud noise and why did my machine just stop dead? What type teeth? Hopefully covered under warranty?

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Originally posted by Dadatwins
Probably had the same reaction as I did, WTF was that loud noise and why did my machine just stop dead? What type teeth? Hopefully covered under warranty?

He runs only Rayco teeth. These were new teeth too!


We unlocked the drive wheels and used a Maasdam ropepuller to pull the grinder back on the trailer.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Just talked to my buddy today. He informed me that Rayco will cover the bulk of the cost for the new clutch. The machine is almost 2 yrs. old. Although he would have liked to see them pickup all of the cost he is satisfied with this.

 

[Dadatwins]

Some is always better than none at all, It was a good idea for him to ask them to cover it and I am glad they will.

 

[a_lopa]

i know of a few cos using triple fan belts instead of the polychain belt(standard)because they say they break to easily and are expensive,i have a rayco and ive brocken 1 belt in over 12months at a cost of $230. i feel its a cheap skate method that will ultimatley ruin the engine/ machine IMO,anyone done this and had the machine long term??