701 deck speed

[slyacer 3]

ive got a 701 that i traded a really good mowing whites gt 1855 to.

the deck speed on the 701 is super slow compared to a regular riding mower. is it supposed to be that way?

i mean on a regular mower the deck is made for smooth finish mowing

the deck and blades of this 701 reminds me of a bush hawg. it doesnt have near the speed of a riding mower deck and doesnt cut half as smooth.

the only way i can get a smooth cut is in first gear with the deck up top.

a good mower should be able to be lowered down and still not bog out and cut.

if i get into grass over ankle high it completely stops the deck because the blades dont turn super fast like a good regular riding mower.

any tips to correct this problem?

ive put all new belts.....sharpened the blades....greased the gears.....everything works like new....but just is slow.

is the fact that the deck blades are gear driven instead of belt and bearing the reason that its slow?

and if so doesnt that mean if i change and put much bigger pulleys as to make the deck faster ...the gears will fail because they cant take the extra speed?

im beginning to think as far as mowers go i messed up in the trade....i figured that along with the power of a little tractor...i would have a tractor that mowed as fast and as smooth as a regular riding mower

the way it is....my little murry 12.5hp 38 inch cut mower mows circles around this 701.

if thats the best as it gets on the speed of the 701 i may put it up for sale or trade soon because i want a good smooth fast cutting finish mower.

thanks guys

[posifour11 723]

Did you check the orientation of the blades? Being gear driven, they rotate in different directions and the blades must be set with that in mind.

[wallfish 15,937]

The reason it turns slow is because it's from 1961. The 1961 blades of your 701 do turn much slower than the modern mowers do. I use a 702 in 2nd gear to cut my lawn and it does a nice clean finish mow but my lawn is no where near as big as the field in your pic. It will do an OK job in 3rd gear and even better when the blades are sharp.

It sounds like you may need a more modern mower to get the job done quicker rather than looking cool doing it on a 701. Comparing that 50 year old tractor's deck to a modern one is not really apples to apples.

[slyacer 3]

i can relate to that. im thinking ill put an inch larger pulley on the engine to speed the deck up considerably. i love the WH the larger pulley should speed it up around 100 or so more rpm

[wallfish 15,937]

A larger pulley can get the speed out of it that you're look'n for. If you don't have one laying around try this site. Maybe a couple of sizes so you can dial it in.

https://www.surpluscenter.com/powerTrans.asp?catname=powerTrans

[slyacer 3]

thanks wallfish.

ive got a pulley thats just the right size for the deck......im gonna browse that site and see if there a 2 stage pulley.......this way i can keep my tranny pulley the same but have an inch or so larger deck drive pulley.

the pulley i have is the same size on both stages....and on the 701 that i have...the tranny drive belt guard bolts up right against the existing pulley and i cant fit the larger pulley on without cutting about 2 inches off the belt guard and modifying the bolt hole on that end of the guard.,.....so if i find a pulley with the same size tranny pulley and an inch to 2 inch deck drive pulley.....the offset will allow me to use the tranny pulley guard without cutting it down and rewelding the boltup bracketalso ive noticed that i can gain a little more speed by going about half or 3/4 larger on the stationary idler pulley on the bottom front of the frame.....but then again that may be the only pulley i change.......i dont wanna go extreme with the speed because i dont wanna risk burning the teeth off the deck spindles either....so if i can get about a hundred more RPM ill be happy......enough to be able to cut at least ankle tall grass in high gear without it completely stalling the blades......as it is now....if i get into grass thats thicker than my flip flops...in other words if the grass is over 2 inches in my yard....my deck bogs out even in second gear.........even almost bogs the engine down......ive mowed with several slow decks before but the one on this 701 is ridiculous........my dad has a gravely rear mounted engine made in 60.....and his sounds like a jet engine taking off....his deck is superb....it mows better than any mower ive ever seen...its a 50 inch cut at that......but if all else fails i may find a good 42 inch deck with three blades.......weld me a couple wheels to match the wheel on the back of the deck.....make myself a mounting frame to hold my 6.75 briggs engine on the deck....weld me a tongue on it and make a super pull behind mower and eliminate the 701 deck altogether.....ive got the plans to make a great pull behind and all i really need is square engine frame welded or bolted to whatever deck i use......an adjustable wheel on each corner....and my downshaft engine...i dont know why people dont use those more often anyway...i suppose its a space issue

[WH nut 553]

Im not sure what you have going on, but I have a 704 with a 32 in  deck that cuts smooth as glass. If your blades stop or slow down in taller grass then you have belt slipping and need to address that.

[wallfish 15,937]

You don't really need to find a pulley with 2 different  size sheeves. You can just use 2 separate size pulleys. Cutting the belt guard will reduce the value of the tractor because the belt guards are getting tougher to find. I like the idea of pulling a deck. Or mounting it to the front and using casters

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,503]

Have used that deck and never had a problem in deep cutting. If the blades stop you have belts slipping. Tighten them up.

 

Garry

[wallfish 15,937]

Maybe the spring on the engagement pulley is weak or not loaded enough? Maybe the belt is too long? Sheared pulley key? 

My 702 deck would probably kill the engine before it stops spinning the blades.

Having it spin faster would certainly give it a nicer cut while using it in 3rd gear.

[slyacer 3]

ill try another new set of belts...i put all new ones on last week when i got the tractor..put new springs...(even doubled them) the belts play a tune when you pluck them with your finger....and when they bog up with grass the blades stop and the engine bogs down..so i raise the deck to its highest and back up to loosen the grass from the blades...you can see in the pictures thats what my grass looks like all the time......its not even ankle tall....ill figure out the problem or get a new mower just for mowing and leave the WH for a look pretty

[slyacer 3]

also im assuming thats why the person i got it from cut the deck sides out..because the grass was clogging in the deck so much....i even set the blades so they turn in time with each other as to throw the grass out more

[wallfish 15,937]

That Kentucky blue grass must be tough stuff. Is the back of your deck completely open? It should be. The original design of the deck has a completely open front and rear with the sides there to protect your fingers and toes. Not really any reason it should clog up or need the sides cut out. It should be shooting the grass clippings out of the back.

Any chance you can post some better pics of the belt and pulleys at the engine to the deck? It's hard to see in your first pic but the belt looks like it's on the wrong side of the engagement pulley. Maybe some pics of that deck too.

[WH nut 553]

If you re having that much trouble Id say you have the blades on the wrong side or the wrong blades flip the deck and show a picture

[slyacer 3]

these are pics of disengaged and then engaged

ill try to get the horse front end up tomorrow to take pics of the under deck and blades but i did make sure to orient the blades with the rotation of the spindles.....to make sure the sharp edges are in the diraction of turn

[wallfish 15,937]

That's what it should do, just like you have it is right.

[CasualObserver 3,406]

But I'm pretty sure its not supposed to be a cogged belt. Those are used typically in variable speed setups where slippage is required. Try a regular belt. It will work better.

via Tapatalk

[Hodge71 663]

But I'm pretty sure its not supposed to be a cogged belt. Those are used typically in variable speed setups where slippage is required. Try a regular belt. It will work better.

via Tapatalk

 I use cogged belts all the time. We were taught that they transmit 20% more power and run 50% coller than a regular belt, therby having a much longer lifespan. I've never heard of them being used in applications where it is required to slip. I dont see why mower pulleys would be any different than HVAC pulleys

[SousaKerry 500]

My 2 cents...

 

Ditch the belt and get a Wheel Horse original equipment belt.  Also did you use a matched pair of Wheel Horse belts on the deck?  If not that will make a huge difference also.

 

Those belt salesmen will tell you anything and show you all kinds of skewed data to prove their point and sell their belt.  But the simple fact is that WH designed this equipment in the 60's to be used with their own belts.  Modern belts are designed to be used on modern equipment with different belt angles belt widths in the pullies.

 

The toothed belts do not have as much surface area on the sides where they make contact with the pulley.  This is fine when your belt is overrated for the load, not so much when your load is at the upper limit of the power rating. 

 

In a solid belt when the belt goes around a pulley the rubber has to compress and become wider thus biting into the pulley better (one of the theories behind minimum belt wrap)  a toothed belt does not do this as there is no material there to compress.

[littleredrider 408]

Like everyone already mentioned, make sure the blades are on right. I have a lawn ranger with the same type of deck, and I can quite literally mow a hay field. Grass can be over a foot, put it all the way down, and it will cut it. Now I should mention that I have a 13 horse on mine, but it shouldn't matter if the grass is relatively short as what yours looks like. I mowed with a tired tecky 6 horse and still did OK.