Belt flying off

(Photo by BobbaLew.)

“67 years old and had a stroke, but I’m gonna fix that little dear,” I said.
Our fantabulous Country-Clipper zero-turn lawnmower has a long pulley-belt to drive its three cutting-rotor blades.
The belt was being thrown every time I engaged it.
A “zero-turn” lawnmower is a special design with separate drives to each drive-wheel, so it can be spun on a dime. “Zero-turns” are becoming the norm, because they cut mowing time in half compared to a lawn-tractor, which has to be set up for each mowing-pass.
The long rotor-belt goes from the back of the mower, where the motor is, to the cutting-deck up front, 48 inches wide.
It’s a big heavy mower, around 700 pounds. I dare not get it stuck.
But I’m mowing at least two acres, perhaps three; and it makes short work of it.
The engine is a giant “professional” Briggs & Stratton, only one cylinder, but overhead-valve, 540 cubic-centimeters of displacement, and rated at 20 horsepower.
The long rotor-belt had obviously stretched over two mowing seasons.
The belt is driven by a magnetic pulley on the motor, much like automobile air-conditioning.
Energize the magnetic pulley, and the cutting-blades start rotating.
Except that belt had stretched enough to make it loose enough to throw off every time I energized the drive-pulley.
Yesterday (Sunday, August 28, 2011) I had a segment of lawn to mow.
I paddled the Country-Clipper out to that segment, and energized the drive-pulley.
ZIP! Off the rotor-belt went.
Not the first time......
I shut off, then got down to make sure everything was routed right, rerouted the belt, started it, and re-energized the pulley.
ZIP! Off it flipped again.
“Oh for crying out loud,” I said.
Shut off again, check the belt routing, restart, and re-energize the pulley again.
ZIP!
“Oh I give up! I guess I’m not mowing this part today.”
I returned the mower to our shed, actually to the driveway to back it in.
But then I noticed a lever that tightened the pulley had multiple mounting holes. One looked like it might pull the pulley tighter.
30 minutes and counting; but if I can get the little dear to work, mowing is about a half-hour.
So I took it all apart, and reassembled to the other mounting-hole.
Check the belt routing, restart, and re-energize the pulley again.
ZIP!
It looked like the alternative mounting-hole wasn’t pulling the pulley any tighter, but I did notice a second hole on the lever for a pin that engaged the pulley-spring.
It would pull the pulley tighter.
45 minutes and counting.
I took all that apart and remounted the spring-pin in the hole that would pull the pulley tighter.
Doing so required two attempts; the lever conflicted with the spring.
But it all stayed together; the belt stayed on the pulley.
VIOLA! I could mow the lawn.
It took almost an hour, but I got the little dear running.

• I had a stroke October 26, 1993, from which I pretty much recovered. I’m age 67.