Ride-on belt slipping

[nephilim]

I use a Best Green ride-on mower and it make a sqwealing noise from the cutter area which sounds like the belt. Admittedly it is when the grass is quite long but it is doing it very often and making the job slow. My question, does it sound like a new belt would be the answer as there doesn't seem to be any adjustment (or is there?). Also, when engaging the cutter, there is quite a delay (10-20 seconds) before the blade start to spin, even when sitting on the driveway.

[sid]

Hi nephilim

I have a Bestgreen ride-on too. It's a Bricomarche marque I think.

I've had to replace the cutter belt a couple of times in the last 3 years. One broke completely when I tried to cut grass that was much too long. At that point the tensioning spring also snapped!

I've found it difficult to track down spares here, apart from blades, and I got my belt and spring direct from USA. It arrived in about 5 days, which I thought was excellent.

It sounds to me as though your tensioner spring may be 'tired' and the belt worn too.

Somebody, Bugbear I think, posted a link on here for a supplier but I can't find it at the moment.

I got my stuff here: http://www.ordertree.com/index.asp It took a bit of searching, my belt is pn 144200 and spring 131950.

Sid

[sid]

I should have explained that many of these 'budget' mowers (as opposed to the big names like Honda and so on) are made by the same company and just badged for the particular outlet. Have a look at the manufacturer's plate, usually under the seat. Mine is Bestgreen but is made in the USA by Frigidaire Home Products.

I inherited mine with the property when we arrived 3 years ago. It's worked very well except when I tried to make it work too hard on grass that was over a foot high when we arrived!

You may be able to order a belt locally; if you do please let me know!

Regards

Sid

[tracteurtom]

umm, these belt driven ride-ons are for cutting the lawn, not the field - get a tractor for that ! or brush cut it first to a sensible height before hitting it with the ride on.

You need to give your ride on a service.  Take off the deck and check all pulleys, springs etc and that the blade drives can move freely with no play in the bearings.  Make sure you have the correct belt - it should only need replacing if its broken or very old.

Now is a good time to do this as the mower season is coming to an end.  Power wash ALL the dried on grass off the metal work (particularly under the deck) and paint with old engine oil (stuff the greenies !).  Old mouldy grass is very corrosive  and the decks are prone to rusting through and are very expensive to replace.

[sid]

[quote user="pcwhizz"]umm, these belt driven ride-ons are for cutting the lawn, not the field [/quote]

We don't have lawns here... because of the moles [:D]  But you are correct, these mowers can't be worked too hard. I had never owned one previously.

It can be difficult to find out which is the correct belt especially if it breaks; the new one appears to be slightly smaller. You really need the manual and parts list. I tried Bricomarche, who market these machines (Bestgreen) but they weren't very helpful as far as stock parts go. It's quicker to source them yourself unless you can see it on the shelf. Try Googling "American Yard Products", there's some info on various spare parts.

Sid

[Department71]

I had the same problem in the summer, went to the local Bricomarche (where we brought the mower) they ordered a new belt and when it arrived asked for 75 euro's for the replacement belt. I declined their offer and said we would source it elsewhere. Back in the UK looked on the net found one in the US but the cost of shipping to the UK made it the same cost as Brico. Done a bit of searching and found a site called www.Ventico.fr (the site is also in english) on it there is a link to wholsalers in other countries. I contacted the one in UK that deals with garden products, its in Kent.

Was quoted about 30 pounds for the belt, but they have their own make of belts in stock, same size etc and at a cost of £20.43 + vat so I have just received 2 belts with a total cost of £56.24 including post and vat.

Might be an idea to use the Ventico website to get their part number then you can phone or e-mail UK if based here.

Hope this helps,

Steve

[nephilim]

Thanks for all the info, very useful, if I do need a part I think I will try online. The model I am using is a BestGreen BM135H107F (42'' cut), but looking at the cutting gear I cannot seem to see a tensioner on the belt, is there one? The lever that engages the cutters seems to just (via a cable and spring) pull back a pulley so as to take up the slack but on this one it just does not seem enough?

[Anton Redman]

[quote user="nephilim"]

Thanks for all the info, very useful, if I do need a part I think I will try online. The model I am using is a BestGreen BM135H107F (42'' cut), but looking at the cutting gear I cannot seem to see a tensioner on the belt, is there one? The lever that engages the cutters seems to just (via a cable and spring) pull back a pulley so as to take up the slack but on this one it just does not seem enough?

[/quote]

That is what the tensioner is / does. There is probably not any furhter adjustment

[Weedon]

If you have no actual adjustment on the cable that pulls back the pulley you could try doing what I did.

I took off the cutting deck and drilled another hole where the outer cable was fixed making the distance slightly greater between the inner and outer cables.  This served as an adjustment making the belt tighter.  It still sometimes slips but not nearly as much as before.

[Department71]

Nephilim,

We have the Bestgreen BM155H107RB possibily the same type as you but maybe a different colour. Ours is a rear discharge 42" same to yours?. Anyway there IS a tensioner on the deck, if you have the parts manual go to the page that shows the deck broken down, look for item "spring tension belt " (key No.61 in my book), this spring is attached to a carrier that holds a pulley that can move back and forth, it is a rufty tufty spring. It is on the right hand side of the deck IE when you are sitting on the mower it is under your right foot. I found it a lot easier to lift up the front of the mower quite high when the deck is unhitched, then its a lot easier to slide the deck out.

Good luck.

Steve

 

[Anton Redman]

Just paid £ 15.76 including delivery for an SPA 2240 belt from Bearing Shop . Also recently paid Euros 28.50  for a Courouoie Kevlar 'Techibelt'  . We see how these last versus Euros 65.00 from Herriberry. I normaly need you sharpen the blades every 5 hours or so of use.

[retread]

You've got it in one keep the blades sharp and you will save on belt wear and get a better cut, my BOL is in the trade and can tell from the lawn if the blade needs a sharpen. As all the machines seem to be made by Electrolux in Orangeburg USA why not try say Loisirs Vert for belt prices?