2015 Toro Timemaster 30" cut

kreuzer

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I bought this mower last May (2015) and in June of this year, the belt that drives the blades shredded. I thought it was a freaky coincidence that it did this being so new, so I just bought a replacement and went on my way. Just yesterday, I was cutting my lawn (1/3 acre) and it shredded again. Is there any good reason this keeps doing this? I thought I had it adjusted right as far as the tension for the belt and can't think of anything else causing this. Has anyone else had this problem with this same mower?
 

Rivets

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First of all, why are you working on it? It is still under warranty. Take it to your dealer and have them check it out. That cogged belt should not shred unless the tension is not correct or the timing is off. Could also be a bad idler pulley or dirt buildup, but I have not seen this on this model.
 

kreuzer

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That's a great question! I decided to do this myself the first time because I don't much care for the clientele that runs the small mower shop where I purchased the mower. I bought it here thinking it would provide a more customer oriented service.
I could have bought it at one of the big box stores but felt that the small "neighborhood" store would also provide more knowledgeable mechanics.
Anyway, this time I went ahead and took it in to them because it's under warranty and shouldn't have broke again in 2 months. I have to wait 3 weeks before I'll get it back.
By the way, the belt isn't cogged just a v-shaped belt.
 

Rivets

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When you said belt which drives the blades, I assumed the blade belt, which is the timing belt, not the BBC belt, which going from the engine to the pulley. If that belt shredded the most common cause is debris (sticks, mulch, pine cones, etc) getting caught between the belt and one of the pulleys. This normally would not be warranty problem, unless the dealer helps you out and codes it differently.
 

kreuzer

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Rivets,

What does BBC stand for? I wouldn't think it's from sticks, trigs, pine cones (no pines in my yard), because I always scan my yard before cutting and pick up these things. So, I'm not sure what else it could be... I'm very easy on any equipment I own and clean it after cutting my yard. I would like to think that a belt is going to last longer than 1 year (for the first belt) and 2 months (for the second belt). I had a Dixon rider mower for 7 season before replacing a belt.
I haven't heard back from the mower shop yet, but hope they will find the problem.
 

Rivets

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The TimeMaster has three belts, wheel drive belt, timing belt and BBC (blade brake clutch) belt which transfers the engine to the timing belt. It does not take a large piece of debris to cause a problem. In our area the major cause is mulch or bark chips.
 

kreuzer

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Thanks rivets, I'll keep that in mind. This might be a weak point with this particular mower if it's this easy to accumulate debris in this area. You'd think Toro would encase this area better to ensure that this doesn't happen.
 

BlazNT

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Thanks rivets, I'll keep that in mind. This might be a weak point with this particular mower if it's this easy to accumulate debris in this area. You'd think Toro would encase this area better to ensure that this doesn't happen.

It you incase something it always become a debris catcher. You really don't want to do that.
 

kreuzer

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I understand this, but if this particular mower is this prone to small debris causing the belt to shred, then this is surely a problem for others as well. Had I known that this mower was as sensitive for this issue, I wouldn't have laid out $1000 for it.
The positives for this mower in my experience is the 30" cutting path and the self pace mechanism. I wish other brands would adopt the self pace configuration.
I wonder if other self propelled mowers are this sensitive to the problem I'm having with this belt? If so, I may return to a regular push mower, but hate to as it adds a lot more work.
 
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