full throttle or hydro fails?!

[justinpittman]

Do folks run their hydros at full throttle all the time?

I bumped into the recommendation to run full throttle all the time or else - BOOM. It was on another lawn mower forum: New mower engine speed

I do run full throttle when mowing. Otherwise, I do not. I have 2 hydros in my garage.

My 127 is now 60 years old. The hydro has not failed. It does make a whining sound under load. But I can run less than half throttle and chug along nicely.

I have had to do maintenance my Simplicity's hydro. The Simplicity is only 15 years old but would grind to a stop going up a ditch while turning sharp. I did a full maintenance kit on the Tuff Torq K66 hydro that's in my Simplicity. After full maintenance, the Simplicity's hydro can power through that. Even so, I don't call that a "hydro fail".

What has changed with hydros that folks now recommend this?

 

[Greg Riutzel]

What has changed

Some folks have too much time. You're fine. I do the same. The operator manual for my 1650 sez to adjust engine speed for the load. I believe it implies no lugging. So for moving around, towing a wagon, or towing the neighbor's tractor, I'm above idle or below 2,200 rpm. For mowing it's full rpm. Besides better cooling for the engine, I believe faster oil circulation through the hydro also helps keep things cooler when you're not lugging the tractor.

 

[justinpittman]

Hah, yea folks with lots of time on their hands.

I believe faster oil circulation through the hydro also helps keep things cooler when you're not lugging the tractor.

You reminded me that my Cub's hydro does have a fan attached to the trans shaft (and my Simplicity has a fan for its hydro attached via pulley); so if anything might fail it could be from overheating if those fans spin too slowly on hot days with heavy loads. Thanks for that point.

 

[dkirk]

Full governed speed on these industrial engines is 3600 rpm. When mowing or snow throwing, engine should be run at this speed for good cooling under high load conditions. For lighter duty, engine can be safely run at lower rpm's.