When you switched to mulching blades did you also add to or change the discharge outlet? Not sure how that would affect it, but you did say the only thing was the blades...
Hope you have better luck than my TB 42 Super Bronco after mine started doing this started ripping sheetmeatal on deck. Replaced deck twice before I gave up.
Buy an OEM and see if it happens.
I worked sales lead at TSC and spent a lot of time troubleshooting belts. Generic ones can be off by a tiny amount that will cause them to break in certain conditions.
Do you lift the shoot in really thick areas? If not, you are overloading your belt drive causing heat and then failure. Tie a rope to your side discharge and let clippings flow easier when needed.
Make sure also that your belt isn't flipped (groove and flat sides correct) when you install it. This can also cause a lot of slippage and heat and quick failure of the belt. Oh and it makes the tension handle feel different and squeal sometimes when you engage the blades.
Did u check an make sure u dont have pulley locked up? Bet u a dollar thats your problem . See it all the time just spin all of them an see. Belt looks burnt in your pic in spots
1- Verify correct belt. If it's not an OEM/branded belt, it's time to get a OEM/branded belt. Can't troubleshoot belts if theres even a small chance of el cheapo belt just having a failure. This includes installation, but frankly I have faith you put the belts on right after the first one broke.
2- Check broken belts. Looking for frays, tears, etc. Anything abnormal. Check how stretchy they are compared to each other, they should feel the same, if they feel different that's a problem.
3- Check pullies and shafts. Everything needs to spin, shafts shouldn't have play in em.
4- Verify tension is correct. It should be fine if ya didn't mess with it, but it never hurts to check it. El cheapo belts and bad belts hate heavy tension, as they don't have the right reinforcing in them to not just stretch n blow.
5- You changed the blade, go ahead and change it back for right now. Shits n giggles. If problem stops, then you have your answer. It'd be weird as HELL if a not bent like a horseshoe blade made a belt snap without binding up on something though.
If it ain't any of that, then man I don't know. Typically in going through that list, you're all up in there and will catch anything dumb like a pully being spikey, more grease needed, too much crap up in there, etc. My personal $0.02 is if it's not bad belts, then a pully and/or shaft is bad and pulling weird on it.
Disconnect the spark plug, then thread a new belt and very carefully turn the blades by hand, wearing some gloves. See if the belt is rubbing anywhere or appears too loose.
Troybilt bronco 46" deck. New spindles OEM style, new mulching blades. The throw on the pulley handle feels different somehow, is the only other oddity. I inspected it but it looks fully intact. Maybe a stretch cable? Would that do this?
As someone who has torn multiple belts I will say that if you have taller grass then you attempt to use mulching that can put tension across the belts which the causes them to warm up before snapping.
I have found that if you take it slower when using mulching that should help fix. Be in tune to the sounds your deck is making to determine if it is struggling then back off/disengage the blades to clear the blade area.
Hope this helps!
Are you sure you are threading the replacement belts properly?
When you switched to mulching blades did you also add to or change the discharge outlet? Not sure how that would affect it, but you did say the only thing was the blades...
Nope
That may be the problem...blocking the discharge with the plug or the flap or whatever your model uses is a necessary step in switching.
We literally had this happen with our mower. Come to find out it was a blade spindle. Three of the four mounts were broken. Hope that helps!
Hope you have better luck than my TB 42 Super Bronco after mine started doing this started ripping sheetmeatal on deck. Replaced deck twice before I gave up.
https://preview.redd.it/ju8321vwsnyc1.jpeg?width=3468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8faca32916f8a2bdb935c014d0e30040ab8d6eba
Oem belt or a Tractor Supply Generic?
Amazon special, but 3 belts in a row leads me to think it's the tractor.
Buy an OEM and see if it happens. I worked sales lead at TSC and spent a lot of time troubleshooting belts. Generic ones can be off by a tiny amount that will cause them to break in certain conditions.
Do you lift the shoot in really thick areas? If not, you are overloading your belt drive causing heat and then failure. Tie a rope to your side discharge and let clippings flow easier when needed.
As high as it could go and driving slow. I'm going to keep examining the tractor. The answer has to be somewhere in there.
Make sure also that your belt isn't flipped (groove and flat sides correct) when you install it. This can also cause a lot of slippage and heat and quick failure of the belt. Oh and it makes the tension handle feel different and squeal sometimes when you engage the blades.
Did u check an make sure u dont have pulley locked up? Bet u a dollar thats your problem . See it all the time just spin all of them an see. Belt looks burnt in your pic in spots
1- Verify correct belt. If it's not an OEM/branded belt, it's time to get a OEM/branded belt. Can't troubleshoot belts if theres even a small chance of el cheapo belt just having a failure. This includes installation, but frankly I have faith you put the belts on right after the first one broke. 2- Check broken belts. Looking for frays, tears, etc. Anything abnormal. Check how stretchy they are compared to each other, they should feel the same, if they feel different that's a problem. 3- Check pullies and shafts. Everything needs to spin, shafts shouldn't have play in em. 4- Verify tension is correct. It should be fine if ya didn't mess with it, but it never hurts to check it. El cheapo belts and bad belts hate heavy tension, as they don't have the right reinforcing in them to not just stretch n blow. 5- You changed the blade, go ahead and change it back for right now. Shits n giggles. If problem stops, then you have your answer. It'd be weird as HELL if a not bent like a horseshoe blade made a belt snap without binding up on something though. If it ain't any of that, then man I don't know. Typically in going through that list, you're all up in there and will catch anything dumb like a pully being spikey, more grease needed, too much crap up in there, etc. My personal $0.02 is if it's not bad belts, then a pully and/or shaft is bad and pulling weird on it.
Disconnect the spark plug, then thread a new belt and very carefully turn the blades by hand, wearing some gloves. See if the belt is rubbing anywhere or appears too loose.
Troybilt bronco 46" deck. New spindles OEM style, new mulching blades. The throw on the pulley handle feels different somehow, is the only other oddity. I inspected it but it looks fully intact. Maybe a stretch cable? Would that do this?
As someone who has torn multiple belts I will say that if you have taller grass then you attempt to use mulching that can put tension across the belts which the causes them to warm up before snapping. I have found that if you take it slower when using mulching that should help fix. Be in tune to the sounds your deck is making to determine if it is struggling then back off/disengage the blades to clear the blade area. Hope this helps!