Vermeer 1800 clutch issues

[greg1227]

We have a Vermeer BC1800XL a year ago it came into the shop with the clutch in shambles , took it apart and found one of the fingers on the pressure plate stuck in , we replaced the clutch , pressure plate, flywheel , pilot and through out bearing . Belt had an alignment issue but was soon fixed. A week ago the chipper came back in same problem no matter where engage lever was it seemed the clutch was always engaged , started had as it was turning drum as well. The chipper has less than 250 hours on the clutch , it was installed correctly followed all of the procedures in the manuals. One thing we thought may have at least added to clutch issue was injection pump went out while chipping , replaced pump back in business. 2 weeks later it was brought in again for shutting down during chipping and found oil pressure sensor was bad, 3 weeks go by and comes back in for shutting down during operation found operator ran it out of fuel and then again 2 weeks lasted it came in for shutting down and we found bad ignition switch . Every time it died the clutch was engaged , every time it came back to the shop we got it running and let it run for a least 1/2 hour sometimes longer to be sure it was working . Could the drum turning the engine over cause the clutch to go so soon. Could it be workers just dumping the clutch we are not out with machine we just get the problems and never get the full story of what happened. 2 clutches in a year with only a couple hundred hours ,

 

[Eq Broker]

Hi Greg,

We work on many clutches and the Vermeer has an auto clutch. I would say the few times it has shut down while engaged, shouldn't have hurt the clutch. I've seen many crews trying to engage the clutch improperly. When I train crews, the first thing they should do is to spread the feed rollers apart and make sure there isn't any wood up against the drum/disc acting as a chock and stopping the drum. So many people try to force the clutch in when the drum/disc isn't turning. If there's wood, remove the key in the ignition and clear the debris before engaging the clutch. The clutch should be bumped in order for the drum to start spinning. If they can see the drum shaft spinning, everything is fine to start the engagement process. You bump it a few times until the drum catches up to the RPM's of the engine. Once this happens, you then engage the clutch. When disengaging, idle the chipper down until it levels out then disengage. I've seen many people just walk up and disengage it while it's running wide open.

I hope the above helps you get more life out of the clutch. I would put one person in charge of the chipper.

Hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400

 

[greg1227]

Hi Greg,

We work on many clutches and the Vermeer has an auto clutch. I would say the few times it has shut down while engaged, shouldn't have hurt the clutch. I've seen many crews trying to engage the clutch improperly. When I train crews, the first thing they should do is to spread the feed rollers apart and make sure there isn't any wood up against the drum/disc acting as a chock and stopping the drum. So many people try to force the clutch in when the drum/disc isn't turning. If there's wood, remove the key in the ignition and clear the debris before engaging the clutch. The clutch should be bumped in order for the drum to start spinning. If they can see the drum shaft spinning, everything is fine to start the engagement process. You bump it a few times until the drum catches up to the RPM's of the engine. Once this happens, you then engage the clutch. When disengaging, idle the chipper down until it levels out then disengage. I've seen many people just walk up and disengage it while it's running wide open.

I hope the above helps you get more life out of the clutch. I would put one person in charge of the chipper.

Hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400

thanks for the response , we do teach them how to and when to engage the clutch and make sure feeds are free and clear . I am just no certain it is practiced once out in the field, and my main question is how else could the clutch get damaged with so few hours. I know the engine quiting a few times should not destroy the clutch so quick even though it is turning the stopped engine over and fitting the compression of the engine just trying to figure out what is happening i do not want to have to replace it again in another 200 hours

 

[Eq Broker]

thanks for the response , we do teach them how to and when to engage the clutch and make sure feeds are free and clear . I am just no certain it is practiced once out in the field, and my main question is how else could the clutch get damaged with so few hours. I know the engine quiting a few times should not destroy the clutch so quick even though it is turning the stopped engine over and fitting the compression of the engine just trying to figure out what is happening i do not want to have to replace it again in another 200 hours

It's really hard to say when you're not there. Maybe let them think you're leaving and get to a spot and watch them from a distance. If you need a clutch, give me a call and I might be able to save you some money.

 

[user 159780]

thanks for the response , we do teach them how to and when to engage the clutch and make sure feeds are free and clear . I am just no certain it is practiced once out in the field, and my main question is how else could the clutch get damaged with so few hours. I know the engine quiting a few times should not destroy the clutch so quick even though it is turning the stopped engine over and fitting the compression of the engine just trying to figure out what is happening i do not want to have to replace it again in another 200 hours

Mount a dummy go pro camera on the machine so they think they are being monitored. Better yet mount a real camera on the chipper.

 

[lone wolf]

Hi Greg,

We work on many clutches and the Vermeer has an auto clutch. I would say the few times it has shut down while engaged, shouldn't have hurt the clutch. I've seen many crews trying to engage the clutch improperly. When I train crews, the first thing they should do is to spread the feed rollers apart and make sure there isn't any wood up against the drum/disc acting as a chock and stopping the drum. So many people try to force the clutch in when the drum/disc isn't turning. If there's wood, remove the key in the ignition and clear the debris before engaging the clutch. The clutch should be bumped in order for the drum to start spinning. If they can see the drum shaft spinning, everything is fine to start the engagement process. You bump it a few times until the drum catches up to the RPM's of the engine. Once this happens, you then engage the clutch. When disengaging, idle the chipper down until it levels out then disengage. I've seen many people just walk up and disengage it while it's running wide open.

I hope the above helps you get more life out of the clutch. I would put one person in charge of the chipper.

Hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400

Great advice there.

 

[greg1227]

Great advice there.

It's really hard to say when you're not there. Maybe let them think you're leaving and get to a spot and watch them from a distance. If you need a clutch, give me a call and I might be able to save you some money.

how much for a new clutch

 

[Eq Broker]

Hi Greg,

Vermeer used many different styles of auto clutches. I need to know what engine you have. There might be some numbers on it like HD 1300. Let me know.

Thanks,
Dave
770-420-6400

 

[greg1227]

clutch disc pn 180015226 pressure plate 180015225

 

[lone wolf]

how much for a new clutch

Last I checked years ago 1000.00 for the whole kit.

 

[Eq Broker]

HI Greg,

Are those Vermeer part numbers? If so, they won't help me. Please let me know if the chipper has a John Deere as they used many different styles of clutches in their chippers.

Thanks,

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400

 

[greg1227]

John Deere

 

[Eq Broker]

Hi Greg,

I just hung up the phone with auto clutch. We would need the diameter of the splined shaft and the output shaft as well. Vermeer used 3 different versions.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[greg1227]

1 3/4”. 10 spline almost 12 inch diameter

 

[Eq Broker]

Thanks and I'll work on this now.

 

[Eq Broker]

Hi Greg,

The service pack includes disc, pressure plate, throw out and pilot bearing, and alignment tool for $837.31 plus the freight.

Thanks,
Dave