ORC durability

EAGLE-1 · Jul 29, 2008

I have a question about overrun clutches. I know they keep the mower from pushing the tractor when you depress the clutch. My concern is how durable they are if you were to hit a stump or rock. I do a fair amount of mowing on my hunting club so I take down a lot of 1 inch saplings and occasionally find and old stump in the brush. I have a 50HP tractor with a 5 ft bushog.
Will a ORC stand up to this abuse?

old · Jul 29, 2008

Most will stand up for a very long time unless you buy one of the very cheap ones. Now as far as a 50HP tractor and a 5 foot hog the tractor is way to much power for a 5 footer. Of course you also need to have an ORC rated for the HP of your machine. I have ORCs that are decades old and they still work just fine
Hobby farm

Ken Crisman · Jul 29, 2008

Always remember , machinery if used in a rough manner & not serviced often will wear out & break . The ORC was a great invention & is a great safety device especially for the older tractors . Always use safety , pick up debri that'll cause damage to the machinery & people when ejected out of the machine . Use the proper machine that's built for a specific job . That's why it's fun buying various machinery along with more than one tractor . God bless, Ken

thurlow · Jul 29, 2008

Maybe there's a mis-conception about what an over-running clutch is; they are an 'add on' as you describe, but many, many machines came with them; things like hay balers, some silage cutters.........machines with heavy, rotating parts. They allowed the machine to 'coast' down, instead of forcing the tractor PTO to continue to turn after the clutch was disengaged. I've never known them to be a weak link in a power train.

NEsota · Jul 29, 2008

I have shredded two to three inch cherry groves, sometimes only able to use a swathe one or two feet wide, with no apparent damage to the slip clutch. A lot of shear bolts have been blown when going into big weeds and grass but I have not broken them in trees. The cutter has a tremendous fly wheel affect.

rustyfarmall · Jul 29, 2008

What year was your 50 horsepower made? Most of the 50 horsepower tractors that I know of are new enough to be equipped with independent PTO and would not need the ORC.

Oldmax · Jul 30, 2008

Old I will agree with you on the 5' hog but I have seen some with a 60 HP gear box on them but not many. most have a 40 HP gear box to be safe with them don't you think he would need a slip clutch and not a overide clutch . I know a guy bthat used a 5' with a 75 HP tractor and wonderd why he tore gears out of it. Duhhhh. My brother-n-law.

ORC durability

EAGLE-1

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old

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