How do I slow this thing down

FarmboyBill · #1 03/06/12, 10:09 AM

I just did my little garden 18 X 30 with my Coleman 1 wheel steel wheel plow, with cultivator attachment on it. It kicked my fanny. I bet 25yrs ago I woulda thought it was a pretty good exercise keeping up with it. But its a horse killer now. If I put a bigger pulley on the driveshaft and a smaller one on the wheel will that do it. Or reverse the pulleys. Or would that make it too slow? Boy it does a good job. That koler engines always ready to start. I also got out my troy bilt Tuffy with a 9ho engine on it. and got it started, but it was too low on gas.

ronbre · #2 03/06/12, 10:22 AM

don't know...

I have 3 rototiller and the troybuilt rear tine is a real difficult animal when breaking new ground, the front tiller Sears isn't quite as hard to work with.

generally both settle down once the top layer is broken down by 2 passes

uncle Will in In. · #3 03/06/12, 03:03 PM

A smaller drive pulley, or a larger driven pulley wlll slow down he ground speed.

#4 03/06/12, 04:47 PM

I picked up one of these used off Craigs List. It pulls behind my garden tractor and there is very little wear and tear on me. It could pull behind an ATV also.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-unive...p-07125244000P
I am putting in a much bigger garden this summer

FarmboyBill · #5 03/06/12, 05:37 PM

Well, Id first ave to buy it, and then a garden tractor/mower, or ATV just to put in a garden that usually drys out in the late spring/summer. Think Ill pass.

HermitJohn · #6 03/06/12, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

I just did my little garden 18 X 30 with my Coleman 1 wheel steel wheel plow, with cultivator attachment on it. It kicked my fanny. I bet 25yrs ago I woulda thought it was a pretty good exercise keeping up with it. But its a horse killer now. If I put a bigger pulley on the driveshaft and a smaller one on the wheel will that do it. Or reverse the pulleys. Or would that make it too slow? Boy it does a good job. That koler engines always ready to start. I also got out my troy bilt Tuffy with a 9ho engine on it. and got it started, but it was too low on gas.

What is the circumference of your wheel (distance around outside of the wheel) and what rpm do you want to run your engine and what speed do you want to go? Knowing those three things, one can figure the exact drive ratio you need. By way you want smaller pulley on the engine and larger pulley on wheel to get slower speed. Ratio can be figured by diameter of pulleys. If you have say 2 inch diameter pulley on engine and 4 inch pulley on the wheel, then your "gear ratio" of your "transmission" is 2:1 For every two revolutions of your engine, your wheel makes one revolution. Obviously that is way too fast but shows you how it works.

Now on a car say, first gear is around 3:1 and axle ratio is around 3:1 so it multiplies out to around a 9:1 total ratio. For every 9 revolutions that engine crankshaft makes, the tires make one revolution. Speed then depends how fast engine is turning and the circumference of the outside of the tire.

Just wild speculation at this point, but I would guess you might need an intermediate jackshaft with two pulleys to give an extra step down. Thats if you really want to slow it down. small pulley on engine to large pulley on jackshaft, then small pulley on jackshaft to large pulley on wheel. It gives you more mechanical advantage without having to find some huge pulley for the wheel.

Alternatively you can use bigger engine and run it half throttle, say around 1800rpm instead of 3600rpm.

FarmboyBill · #7 03/07/12, 02:33 AM

Changeing pulleys is a whole lot cheaper than changeing engines.
I just want it to be a speed a 70yr old man can easily keep up with.

**fordson major** · #8 03/07/12, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

Changeing pulleys is a whole lot cheaper than changeing engines.
I just want it to be a speed a 70yr old man can easily keep up with.

a pic is worth a thousand words Bill! as i have one (now minus engine) i know what you have and how it works.have you thought about a variable speed pully? you tighten it up or loosen off to increase/decrease the speed. have seen lots of 70 year old men and older able to garden more than younger counter parts.

Copperhead · #9 03/07/12, 05:59 AM

Drain the gas out of the tank, and buy some piglets. Problem solved

foxtrapper · #10 03/07/12, 06:43 AM

Is there a particular reason you're not simply throttling back a little to slow it down?

FarmboyBill · #11 03/07/12, 12:26 PM

Where can I find one of these V pulleys? Does TSC have them??
CH The garden IS hog tight, but im near ready to plant, and it would take 3 weks for them to do a good job on it. I know. Ive had pigs in there several times

FT. Imagine driveing your car and comeing to Pikes Peak, and trying to idel your way up. It wont happen. If I throttle it down, Ital die easier on a pull.. Also. The speed is governed by a screw on the engione. Not by anything that comes back to the handles. I could throttle it down, but read above,

Goatguy · #12 03/07/12, 12:34 PM

http://www.mcmaster.com/#v-belt-pulleys/=gk8lbl = every kind of pulley you could ever want...

You could try putting two "cone" pulleys on it, and then switch the belt aroudn to different settings unti you find one you like... if you have room in the housing for cone pulleys that is

HermitJohn · #13 03/07/12, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

Changeing pulleys is a whole lot cheaper than changeing engines.
I just want it to be a speed a 70yr old man can easily keep up with.

Its hard to give you a drive ratio without real world measurements, cant divide 'horse killer' by '70 year old man' and come up with an answer. Its just matter of taking the measurements and doing the math, then see if you can find the parts at reasonable cost to make it happen. I can theorize you want it to go between 1mph and 2mph, but be pulling numbers out of air to guess size of your drive wheel.

And it might indeed be whole lot cheaper to buy a used bigger engine at auction than paying top dollar for new pulleys from some industrial supply charging top dollar. I've bought 16hp engine that ran ok for $20. Bought them cheaper than that with compression but needed fuel or ignition work. Bet you will be surprised how much money new pulleys go for. Hint: they arent cheap!

Then again I dont know what size Kohler engine you have on your plow either. Apparently you have a 9hp engine on a Troybilt that you do mention. 8hp Kohlers used to be pretty common and you rarely saw any significantly smaller hp Kohler than that. So assuming you probably have an 8hp? See making me guess means my answer is meaningless, but if you wanted bigger engine and now have an 8hp, I'd think about a 12 or 13hp engine. Run it significantly slower than an 8hp, but still have simular power.

Ok web search and seems K series Kohler engines included a 4hp (K91), a 6.25hp (K141), a 7hp (K161), and an 8hp (K181) and on up to 24hp (K662). I'd be surpised if they used any bigger engine than 8hp on your machine. I dont think I've ever seen a 4hp K engine, not sure if I've seen a 6.25hp. Must have been fairly rare. The 7hp and the 8hp were common. Have an 8hp on my Gravely.

FarmboyBill · #14 03/07/12, 04:14 PM

Th engine on the TB was some off brand engine that HF sold. I looked at pulleys at TSC. Under $20ea. Maybe you would buy a $20 engine and get it to work. I got a B & S engine on my Simplicity V Walking tractor I cant get to run unless I hook a big V belt to my Cub and to it and start it that way. Ive got a Wisc engine on another that supposedly has a bad mag. Cant get it to run at all. I intend to replace the engines with new ones. Id like elect start, But it looks like that aint gonna happen by the prices of hand start ones. I cant even find electric start engines.

HermitJohn · #15 03/08/12, 07:18 AM

If an engine has good compression, I can usually find a way to make it run. Though I have one old Tecumseh 7hp HH that is most cantankerous engine I ever ran across. I ever get notion I am some superior mechanic, I just go work on it for a while and get put in my place.

The Kohler magneto coil on my Gravely went out couple years ago. Couldnt find a Kohler magneto coil, discontinued, and from what I heard they were over $100 last time they had them in stock. Ok. I rigged it temporarily with battery ignition, usable, but that was a PITA. After bunch looking on internet found out the coil off a 3hp point type Tecumseh fits fine and I bought one brand new for $20. Also replaced the crazy expensive points and condenser (expensive for the GOOD quality Kohler points, the cheap points dont last worth a darn) with a $15 electronic chip. Gravely starts better than it ever has. It has rope pull. Well next repair I see coming is that the pot metal cog that starter pawls engages when you pull rope is wearing. Again no replacement made for Kohler K engines, so I already bought a rope pull off a 11hp/13hp Honda including the cup. It will adapt, and its a better design. That K181 is one of best older cast iron small engines out there, but the rope pull design left lot to be desired.

I also have couple old engines where you had to manually wrap a rope around the pulley each and every time, no automatic recoil spring. Those are a PITA if they dont have best compression and arent tuned to start on first pull. I was looking and think the Honda rope pull assembly could adapt to them too.

Oh and if you are into some tinkering there are lot workarounds on small engine ignitions, here is website showing some of them that arent well known. http://gardentractorpullingtips.com/ignition.htm

HermitJohn · #16 03/08/12, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

I looked at pulleys at TSC. Under $20ea.

I assume you mean the stamped steel "weld-a-pulley", where you buy the hub and sheave separate and weld them together? They should work if they have right size. Even they arent under $20 for the larger ones. I know they dont sell the quality cast iron sheaves/pulleys in larger sizes and those arent under $20. Dont even think of using aluminum or pot metal pulley on anything other than a smallish electric motor.

HermitJohn · #17 03/08/12, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

I cant even find electric start engines.

Believe me, electric starts have their own problems. And those little electric starter motors tend to be crazy priced. I kinda figure by time I cant pull the rope anymore, then I probably dont have strength to use the machine.

FarmboyBill · #18 03/08/12, 08:47 AM

Well, I was kinda figuring therer might be a gap of between when I cant get down that far, and stay down long enough to wrap the cord, or pull it on the newer ones, I might have 5 yrs or so of just leaning on/into the handles and letting it drag me around the garden LOL
Remember, Im alot closer to knowin what its like to be getting old than you are lol. Its a drastic learning process, and adaptation process

#19 03/08/12, 09:37 AM

Sorry the tiller I suggested won't work out for you. Mine with low hours cost about a third of new.

Electric starters are insanely expensive. I bought a Simplicity snowblower with electric start. The electric start went out so I pulled the motor and switch assembly and tested them out. The bridge rectifier was bad. I called a Simplicity dealer to get a new bridge rectifier. They said they only could get the entire switch and starter motor assembly and wanted what I paid for the whole snowblower. I found a rectifier through another source and it works fine.

HermitJohn · #20 03/08/12, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

Remember, Im alot closer to knowin what its like to be getting old than you are lol. Its a drastic learning process, and adaptation process

Health plays big part too in second 50 years. Rough time for me last summer/fall. Super low energy, dizzy when I stood up, death warmed over type condition. Going to town for groceries/laundry was MAJOR undertaking and took day or two to recover. I wondered if I would make it home couple of times. 3 different assembly line type GP doctors found nothing and I have no insurance for the high priced docs. Know I am bad off when I voluntarily go to a doctor. Had to buy firewood first time in my life. I literally had at best 10 minutes of usable physical energy per day. Improved enough over winter to think about garden but reality check last week when my Ranger's fuel pump went out while I was two mile down hill at that stupid USPS clusterbox getting my mail. Nearly collapsed alongside the road about third way home trying to hoof it, would have keeled over I think, but some woman I'd never seen before stopped and gave me ride to my driveway.