Maximizing the life of your PTO clutch

[HonorAndHonesty]

Whenever I engage the PTO clutch I try to have the throttle between half and three-quarters and when I disengage the PTO clutch I run the motor down to idle first.

I do this to try to minimize wear on the clutch, normally I try to minimize wear on things and I worry about things that most other people don't even think about. PTO clutches are very expensive, the one for my mowers almost $300.

I feel that I was finally Vindicated I was at a steel Hustler dealer and I was looking at the Hustler commercial mowers there was a sticker on the mowers indicating that the clutch was a wear item and not a warranty item and it gave tips on how to maximize the clutch life which included not engaging the clutch at Full Throttle and not disengaging the clutch at Full Throttle.

I don't know how many Duty Cycles a PTO clutch on a commercial mower is designed for, I'm sure it's many, my goal is to never have to replace it so I do what I can to help it have a long service life does anyone else do the same?

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Too late to edit... I meant a stihl dealer. Darn auto correct.

 

[bioburner]

No issues yet on a Husqvarna 6126, 2005. I was a guinea pig with first model with twin fuel injected Kohler. About 7 acres a week. Double that in the spring. Think the manual said to engage at half throttle or so.

 

[fields]

I use less than 1/4 throttle.

 

[Garak]

My dad had me follow pretty much the same practice on the various equipment on the farm over the years. In any case, we never had to do any clutch repairs.

If only auto correct were as robust.

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Originally Posted By: fields
I use less than 1/4 throttle.


I wish I could do this, it will kill the engine on my mower. I hate slamming it in even at half throttle but what are you going to do.

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

I figure my PTO clutch is engaged roughly 2 to 3 times per hour of mowing on average. Do for me that means my PTO roughly has 1000 cycles on it. I had actually considered putting a counter on it for my own curiosity, but never did. Not many people even think about such things which is probably why this forum is a good place for me, It seems there are like minded folks here. Im not saying I worry about it or lose sleep over it, its just I will do my best to make it last.

The reason I asked this is I noticed that a lot of lawn care companies here will cycle the pto clutch at full throttle many times, to blow off the sidewalk, driveway ect... I have even seen the owners of these companies doing this.

My neighbor has not figured out the reverse safety system on his mower yet, Whenever he mows I call it a PTO clutch durability test, Every time he gets to the end of a row and makes the three point turn the clutch cycles off, at full throttle of course, and then he reengages it at full throttle and makes another pass. This must go on 20 to 30 times each mowing session.

The neighbors are not the most friendly and I haven't talked to them in years and I don't feel its my place to flag him down and explain the reverse safety system to him, I feel it may offend him more than anything, Plus I am curious how much it can take...lol

 

[dave123]

Originally Posted By: fields
I use less than 1/4 throttle.

+1 or lower Ogura clutch

 

[bioburner]

Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
I figure my PTO clutch is engaged roughly 2 to 3 times per hour of mowing on average. Do for me that means my PTO roughly has 1000 cycles on it. I had actually considered putting a counter on it for my own curiosity, but never did. Not many people even think about such things which is probably why this forum is a good place for me, It seems there are like minded folks here. Im not saying I worry about it or lose sleep over it, its just I will do my best to make it last.

The reason I asked this is I noticed that a lot of lawn care companies here will cycle the pto clutch at full throttle many times, to blow off the sidewalk, driveway ect... I have even seen the owners of these companies doing this.

My neighbor has not figured out the reverse safety system on his mower yet, Whenever he mows I call it a PTO clutch durability test, Every time he gets to the end of a row and makes the three point turn the clutch cycles off, at full throttle of course, and then he reengages it at full throttle and makes another pass. This must go on 20 to 30 times each mowing session.

The neighbors are not the most friendly and I haven't talked to them in years and I don't feel its my place to flag him down and explain the reverse safety system to him, I feel it may offend him more than anything, Plus I am curious how much it can take...lol

Non of that foolishness on a zero turn. Just another example of someone to lazy or uneducated to read the manual.

 

[Little_Lebowski]

1/2 Throttle on - 1/2 Throttle off. I'm Averaging 2k Hrs. on my ExMark mowers clutches. I've have to believe they are cycled a couple hundred times a day. More importantly is to let your mower idle for 5-10 minutes after mowing as to cool down. That's my 2 pennies.

 

[JTK]

I've had a few E-clutch mowers. First thing I do if they don't have an interlock disable feature built-in is jumper out the PTO cut-out when put in reverse. I too have neighbors that literally cycle the clutch on their mowers dozens of times per usage because of not understanding this "feature". Even though I'm friendly with all of them, I feel it's best to leave it in place unless they specifically ask me about it.

Another reason why I like the super simple cable operated "clutch" on my lowly Craftsman LT2000 rider. It kills ignition if you try to mow in reverse, but comes with a disable feature. Super easy to jumper out if need be as well.

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Originally Posted By: JTK


Another reason why I like the super simple cable operated "clutch" on my lowly Craftsman LT2000 rider. It kills ignition if you try to mow in reverse, but comes with a disable feature. Super easy to jumper out if need be as well.


I like lever operated PTOS as you can ease into it. I suppose electric PTOS have their advantages but it always seemed harsh to me to just slam load on like they do.