I am now going to have to seriously start hunting for pulleys for these motors and something I can use to make up the extra weight I need to add to the pulley. If I can get pulleys with enough depth in them I can fill them with lead, otherwise I have to turn up discs I can weld to the pulleys. Does anybody have any suggestions? Pulley is around 80mm in diameter
For me the 3 easiest choices would be one ,modify a Auto drive pulley from the seventies or eighties Victa mower as I've seen a lot of damaged Auto drive mowers in scrap ,they are 80 mm and take a 3/8 v belt ,2nd would be just machine up a new pulley on a lathe out of scrap steel and machine the centre out so you can weld in a Victa blade plate hub ,third would be buy an old Victa edger that you can remove the pulley from as I've seen a few for sale at garage sales and swap meets for $10, to $15.
Some people have already banned the use of lead wheel weights so I guess it's only a matter of time and scrap lead will be harder to find.
Hi Max, I did use on off a PT edger but it gave me a lot of grief because it was so big in diameter to start with. I had to cut it down with the oxy and then put it in my lathe because my lathe is Myford 7 and it is slow going. I guess I will get some 80mm discs laser cut and then turn them up from the blanks. Getting to be a real problem when I pick these slashers up with no motors on them or somebody has dummied up some sort of pulley.
Yes If it was me I would stay away from a PT motor on a Victa 24 if I was missing the pulley Norm , just convert the PT 24's to full crank 2 stroke and if I didn't want to spend time looking for a mower etc to get a pulley off ,I would buy a new pulley and adapt that.
I didn't realize you had a Myford 7 Norm ,thought you were using a larger lathe.A new pulley that could be adapted is around $15. posted or possibly find some old car alternators and use a pulley from that.
Hi Max, that pulley would do the job just need to bore it to suit the PT blade boss. Same problem with the full crank motors I don't have any spare pulleys for those either Maybe I can use these pulleys and press them down to make them into an "M" section pulley. I guess the only way I will find out is to get a few and try
I have a self drive Victa pulley here if you want it Norm,it would need modifying to fit a 24 also found a Ariens mower in a scrap bin the other day when at the tip and grabbed the drive gear if you need it ,just about every time I throw out electrical items into the recycle bin at the tip there are good working drills in the bin so I grabbed some drills and they both work good.
Thanks Max, I want to try and get a couple of loads down there as well, hopefully before Christmas. Fish pond has had me bogged down for months but hopefully it can chug along from now on with little maintenance
This is my latest idea so I can add weight to these PT cranks, trying to come up with a simple way to do it. Fit the pipe ring to the underside of the fanwheel and then fill it with lead. I made the ring 25mm deep and once I added the lead it had added 1.99kg to it. Next one I might make a thinner ring so I only all about 1kg. I poured this one with the fanwheel in position on the motor before I thought about the potential damage to the lower seal. I will set it up on a 24 base today and see if it will fire up. Hopefully if the seal is damaged I can remove the boss and fanwheel so I can fit it on another motor.
Just to confirm it fired straight up and runs fine, no attempt at kickback, makes PT motors on these an easy do now. Now I have to get some plates laser cut to allow me to fit PT motors on the F/C bases
Looks like you may have found to quickest easiest way to add weight to the crank on a PT to fix this kickback problem.
I'm just thinking if the kick back problem could be solved by slowing down the speed at which the decompressor shuts off.
If you put a large hose in the middle of the decompressor hose would that slow down the time it takes to shut off the decomp giving the engine a better momentum to fire without kickback.
Experimenting will soon tell you if the larger hose works better or a small jet in the decomp hose is better to slow down the time it takes to shut the decompressor.
Another alternative is a larger spring in the decomp may help ,just thinking of all the old chainsaws that the cord rips out of your hand when starting if you forget to turn on the decomp.
I know how bad the PT will kick back without the blade plate but with the PT Pro 460 engine with no blade plate I never got any kickback when starting and that has only a slightly heavier boss on the crank and no restrictor in the decomp hose.
Possibly if you could change the speed at which the decomp activated, this may mean the extra weight on the crank wouldn't be needed.
I think I remember you tried a restrictor in the decomp before but just wondered if a larger pipe would work better, like a couple inches of 3/8 hose or 4 inches of 1/2 inch hose.
What you've done with the weight looks good Norm to fix the problem ,I'm still thinking if a Vacuum pot or chamber on the decomp line would make any difference here and would save time if it does work.
Hi Max, I did spend a lot of time fighting with the decomp valve thinking that may be part of the problem but I am not going back there again. I picked up 10kg of lead yesterday so I can do a few more PT's onto m24 inch bases
Hi Max, I did spend a lot of time fighting with the decomp valve thinking that may be part of the problem but I am not going back there again. I picked up 10kg of lead yesterday so I can do a few more PT's onto m24 inch bases
Yes you have the problem sorted and this way of adding weight seems easier than other ways ,but I understand the time it takes cutting and grinding etc,so nothing it a simple fix when your not setup like a factory.
The extra weight will also make the mower cut better in long grass and the engine should run smoother with extra weight as we know.
The outer metal ring looks about 1/4 inch thick or bigger so can't see any problems with this setup.
I guess if you ever needed to get the boss off you can melt the lead out which shouldn't be a problem.
It's not as though you can sell one for $500. for them to be worth spending a lot of time on repairs, although it does take a few days for each one of these 24 inch mowers with all the repairs that need doing but someone will end up with a great mower
Yes Max, I haven't tried to get the boss off but I think it would break free from the lead as the lead only comes up 5mm on the boss. I might make the next one with an 18mm ring and see how that goes. Less lead and the lead will be below the boss so that should help with removal. Wall thickness on the ring is probably 10mm and it weighed 396 grams to start with. Yes it should help with cutting because it has more spinning mass No way can I make any money out of these because of the hours spent. I have a couple coming that I have stripped and painted so there is probably another day spent on them
Yes Max, I haven't tried to get the boss off but I think it would break free from the lead as the lead only comes up 5mm on the boss. I might make the next one with an 18mm ring and see how that goes. Less lead and the lead will be below the boss so that should help with removal. Wall thickness on the ring is probably 10mm and it weighed 396 grams to start with. Yes it should help with cutting because it has more spinning mass No way can I make any money out of these because of the hours spent. I have a couple coming that I have stripped and painted so there is probably another day spent on them