off road mower

[briggsracer1892]

would an mtd vari drive lawn mower tranny work for an off road application also i was thinking about removing the vari drive off of it and putting in an electric clutch instead. it has an opposed so it has some torque. also i am going to raise my suspension by making some u brakets to mount the transmission and then use the old brake holes on the tranny to make supports on each side. on the side that is not tapped i will tap it and make a support on that side. next i will make skid plates and put disk brakes on the rear axle. then i will weld one more pully onto the bottom of the 2 engine pully stack and then make it 4 wheel drive by using the same axle for the front and same pully sizes then i will modify the axle to steer by cutting it to accept a u joint on each side and making it so i can put steering spindles on each side will this work i am sorry to ask so many questions thanks in advance to anyone who replies

[Chris]

First thing's first... You should make sure that you read & understand the rules before starting anything. Also, your post gave me a headache trying to read & understand it, since I don't have my grammar decoding ring - can you please use proper sentence structure and punctuation so everyone can clearly read & understand your posts?

[MTDrider1160]

Hes the one they turned away on heymow.  And an electric clutch is no good unless you want to do backflips everytime you let the clutch out.

[tntchitwood]

In my opinion you should start out with something simple and safe.According to the rules in order to raise the suspension you also need to widen the track width (I can't remember exactly, 1" higher = 1" wider I think.) Check out the rules there is alot of info just in the rules.
     I have only finished one mower. It was an MTD hydromatic with 20" atv tires and a welded up rearend ( that is all). It was a blast to drive. Not alot of speed but was very easy to control and went like a tank. So...Keep it simple at first, and enjoy the ride.
                                                                   Tom

[toby3]

lol i did an electric clutch on a huffy frame i was gonna use it to race but i had no way of controling speed

Hes the one they turned away on heymow.  And an electric clutch is no good unless you want to do backflips everytime you let the clutch out.

would an mtd vari drive lawn mower tranny work for an off road application also i was thinking about removing the vari drive off of it and putting in an electric clutch instead. it has an opposed so it has some torque. also i am going to raise my suspension by making some u brakets to mount the transmission and then use the old brake holes on the tranny to make supports on each side. on the side that is not tapped i will tap it and make a support on that side. next i will make skid plates and put disk brakes on the rear axle. then i will weld one more pully onto the bottom of the 2 engine pully stack and then make it 4 wheel drive by using the same axle for the front and same pully sizes then i will modify the axle to steer by cutting it to accept a u joint on each side and making it so i can put steering spindles on each side will this work i am sorry to ask so many questions thanks in advance to anyone who replies

my buddy used one of them it worked fine for him

[Chris]

lol i did an electric clutch on a huffy frame i was gonna use it to race but i had no way of controling speed

An electric clutch COULD be VERY useful in this sport!

Ever have a moment where bailing wasn't an option, and you could save it by cutting power to the wheels but can't stand up on the clutch quick enough? I have! Going up a hill no less!! An electric SECONDARY clutch would be an AWESOME safety measure! Have a button, lever or something on the handlebars to quickly cut the power to the rear wheels would be ideal.

[kiwimowerracer]

An electric clutch could be used as the primary clutch, providing the voltage/amperage flow to the clutch was controlled.

Back in the dark ages (20 plus years ago) you could purchase a rheostat (potentiometer) from any auto shop, that would control the voltage flow to things such as vehicle heater fans. They worked by altering the resistance and thus cutting the 12 volt flow.

If you had an adjustable resistance coil (potentiometer) that was sufficiently strong enough to take the 12 volts and the required amperage it would work just fine.   

It would then be a matter of fitting a lever to the control knob, a return spring of some kind, bolting the coil in a suitable place, adding the 12 volts and it would be done.

The movement of the knob/lever would slowly increase/decrease the voltage to the clutch.

Have a look at this link and maybe with some experimentation and time you could build a suitable control (potentiometer)for your own use.

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects/rheostat.html

Cheers

[toby3]

that would not work the clutch has to run off of 12volts exactaly or else it wont work too little means it wont do nothing to much it will burn out. the only real way you could contol speed would be by the tranny/and how high the throttle is set

An electric clutch could be used as the primary clutch, providing the voltage/amperage flow to the clutch was controlled.

Back in the dark ages (20 plus years ago) you could purchase a rheostat (potentiometer) from any auto shop, that would control the voltage flow to things such as vehicle heater fans. They worked by altering the resistance and thus cutting the 12 volt flow.

If you had an adjustable resistance coil (potentiometer) that was sufficiently strong enough to take the 12 volts and the required amperage it would work just fine.  

It would then be a matter of fitting a lever to the control knob, a return spring of some kind, bolting the coil in a suitable place, adding the 12 volts and it would be done.

The movement of the knob/lever would slowly increase/decrease the voltage to the clutch.

Have a look at this link and maybe with some experimentation and time you could build a suitable control (potentiometer)for your own use.

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects/rheostat.html

Cheers

[kiwimowerracer]

that would not work the clutch has to run off of 12volts exactaly or else it wont work too little means it wont do nothing to much it will burn out. the only real way you could contol speed would be by the tranny/and how high the throttle is set

I'm not talking about controlling speed.

I am talking about controlling the activation of an electrical clutch.

The voltage is controlled ONLY during the activation and deactivation process of the electric clutch.

A steadily increased voltage will allow a slip factor when engaging the clutch.

When the clutch is fully activated the voltage is at 12 volts.

The rheostat controls the voltage being applied, It does not supply more than 12volts.

Take a 12 volt light bulb and apply 6 volts to it. Its dim right? apply 9 volts, it brighter right? apply 12 volts, its at it normal brightness, right? same principle with a rheostat, the increase of voltage is controlled from minimum to maximum.

It does work as I have tried it for myself, using an old 12 volt transformer with a variable output (same as used to control a model train) and an electric clutch.

at a measured 7 volts I can turn the pulley easily,

at a measured 9 volts there is a good friction factor

and at the 12 volts the clutch is locked and working.

Therefore applying a steadily increasing voltage from 0 volts to 12 volts, to an electric clutch will give a smooth transition from disengagement to full engagement.

When I can find a small enough and strong enough Rheostat (potentiometer) that will handle the amperage I will be fitting my rider with an electric clutch. 

[MTDrider1160]

I think if you run that electric clutch not at full amps, letting it slip alot its not going to last very long.  There desigined to go from disengaged to engaged, no really inbetween. 

[kiwimowerracer]

I think if you run that electric clutch not at full amps, letting it slip alot its not going to last very long.  There desigined to go from disengaged to engaged, no really inbetween. 

How long would they slip for? How long does the average atlm rider slip their belt clutches or motorcycle clutches? a few seconds at start and even less at gear change.

At the paper mill I worked at some years ago the huge paper collection rollers had electric clutches to operate them. We would have only replaced an electric clutch on average of once every 2 years and these were operating 24/7 (72 cycles per day per machine). These roller clutches were electrically timed to engage slowly. As they were collecting the paper and would have torn it if they were instantly engaged. I was an engineer at the plant for 15 years.

Admittedly, they were industrial clutches, but the principle of how they worked is the same as the electric clutch on cutting decks.

I guess that instead of talking about using an electric clutch as a primary clutch, I should just quieten down and sit on the side lines and leave research & development alone. 

[Chris]

I think the idea of an electric clutch on a potentiometer (which are available at any RadioShack) would work, but why bother when we have simple mechanical clutches? What happens if your stator fails and get a dead battery? You'll be getting towed out of the woods! Kiwi's example would theoretically work, but since those clutches are a friction design (like a go-kart clutch) they wouldn't last long in our application due to water, mud, sad, etc being in them. If they were fully locked and were only used as a backup safety device, the chance of failure would be allot more minimal.

Why reinvent the wheel guys? Yeah an electric clutch could be made to work correctly in an off-road setup, but at what cost?

[STEELMAN]

i agree Chris it sounds like a complicated way to spend money!
as far as the original question vari drives are great for the trail if and only if you have a powerful motor you get rid of the variable pulley and only want to go 20-30mph. in order for a vari drive to work properly the pulley must slide up and down if any dirt or debree gets in it that will lock the pulley in position or give it alot of resistance. get rid of that pulley and use a twin and you have forward reverse and neutral with enough power to get you to a decent speed.

[briggsracer1892]

ok guys i am just going to use my stock vari drive

[toxic_j_2007]

I'm thinking of using that same setup (the electric clutch) my reasoning is simple cash. I picked up the electric clutch used for $25 and a new centrifugal clutch is about $70 (plus 15 for a sprocket, 10 for chain, and 15 for tranny sprocket)

the potentiometers at radio shack aren't rated for enough watts to handle the electric clutch (already amoked two trying this out) the only one I've found rated high enough is a regular house dimmer switch (mfg'd by Cooper wiring) I'm gonna get one on payday and try it out.

before the other two burned up, it worked pretty good tho. the clutch I have has a type of clutch plate material to engage to the "flywheel" I've been told that I can get replacement plates for it. still researching this tho.

...more info to come