Senator rototiller information/belt

Hello,

I have a Senator rototiller and am having alot of trouble finding a reverse pulley belt for it. The B&S 5 horsepower vertical engine on it was made in 1967 and looks original. I'm guessing the tiller is the same age. The tiller is model #547 42103 and was manufactured in Plymouth, Wisconsin. I would measure for a reverse pulley belt but am not sure how to route the belt. A figure 8 route is the only way I can see that a belt would make the tines go in reverse.

Anyone know where to find belts, parts, or information on the Senator company? I saw an older post on the forum speculating that the Senator brand was a rebadged Gilson.

Here's a link to a picture of the pulleys on the back of the tiller. There is a single drive lever on the tiller. Pushing the drive lever forward engages the inner pulley on the swinging arm onto the forward belt, tensioning it on the engine pulley. Engaging the drive lever backwards into the reverse position would tension the outer pulley onto the reverse belt if there was a reverse belt.

Thanks,

Eric

First two show the pulleys, 3rd shows the tiller in forward, 4th shows it in reverse, 5th shows the drive lever.

Link
Link
Link
Link
Link

Thanks,

Eric

This tiller was given to me out of a tobacco barn where it had been sitting neglected for years. I've partially restored it and it runs like new, but I'm still learning the ins and outs of it. From what I can tell it's a single speed tiller with forward and reverse. On the flywheel cover of the engine it has a sticker that says "Power Reverse". I should have posted a better picture of the pulleys and will try to do so tonight. Here's how the tiller is set up:

Drive lever on top left of the handlebars, with sticker next to it showing "F" with a red arrow pointing forward and "R" with a black arrow pointing backwards. The drive lever is a spring loaded "trip" lever. When you push the drive lever forward ("F" position) the swing arm is pulled down by a connector rod which swings a flat pulley to the right and into the outside flat part of the V belt. (You cannot see this flat pulley in the picture in my original post, but it's behind the grove pulley on the swing arm) As the flat pulley on the swing arm pushes into the outside of the V belt the lever by the handlebars "trips" over and is held by spring tension, and the tines start turning forward. For reverse: Pulling back on the drive lever ("R" position with black arrow) makes a connector rod push the swing arm up and pull the grove pulley you can see into the inside of a 2nd belt *if* there was a 2nd belt. The flat pulley and grove pulley on the swing arm don't seem to be different in size, just the flat one engages the flat outside part of the V Belt and the grove pulley would engage the inside of a 2nd belt if there was a 2nd belt. Judging from the spring setup on the drive lever, I'd say it would trip into the "R" position and be held by spring tension if there was a 2nd belt on the grove pulleys that don't currently have anything on them. Another reason that I'm virtually positive this tiller takes 2 belts is because of the belt guard on the tine/gearbox pulley. The wire belt guard is tight enough to the pulley that it would have to be taken off in order to scoot the existing belt off of the grove it's on and onto the other grove.

Hope someone can help, I really like this tiller. It's built like a tank and I have restored it to perfect mechanical condition.

Thanks a bunch,

Thanks,

Eric

It's a 37" by 3/8 belt in case anyone else needs it.

Thanks,

Eric