Qualcast Cultimatic De luxe cultivator / rotavator - pulley sizes Please help!

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Gardener1

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Hi
I have posted here before and in adtrader and freecycle but only one reply.  I hope someone will help.
My cultivator was in the workshop when it burned down.  The engine melted as did the idler pulley and the reverse pulley; also the handle bar melted out of shape.  I have bought a suitable engine. I still  need to source replacements for the small idler pulley and the reverse gear with friction disk but have no originals so cannot quote the dimensions!  Catch22
There must be someone out there who still uses this model so I hope they will be willing to put a pair of calipers on the pulleys and email the dimensions.  PLEASE!
I have attached a pic showing the idler pulley (mid bottom) and the reverse pulley (next to the large vee drive pulley on the right). 
These haven't been supported for over 20 years so there is no company to approach.  If anyone has an unused or faulty Qualcast Cultimatic De Luxe they would like to donate I will be pleased to collect it.
Cultimatic8.jpg

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daveylamp

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welcome to the site gardener 1
  for what its worth looking at the photo the reverse pulley appears the same size and unless it slows down the cultivator it will be the same size. the idler pulley doesnt have to be a set size as its not driving anything its just tensioning the belt.
I'll beat this heavy clay yet. now almost there works well now

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Gardener1

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Hi Daveyllamp
Thanks.  I don't think it is critical anyway as you mostly use reverse to manouvre and it wouldn't matter if it was slower.  The main problem is the friction disk which engages with the big vee pulley.  The diameter of this isn't critical either but the composition and shaping is as it has to engage with the vee pulley.  It is a pretty crude but quite effective design.  Do you or another member know what it is made of as I have a hole cutter I could use.  Not sure how it is fixed to the pulley which is why I was hoping a reader might have one they could look at:)

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Mr C.

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Hi,
I noticed your postings regarding your deluxe cultimatic. I've got one and have been on a quest similar to the lord of the rings in an attempt to get the reverse pulley friction disk replaced.  Basically, it can't be done. There may be some genuine parts languishing around somewhere, but not not on the internet. I narrowed it down to 3 likely places in the UK which keep old stuff like ours, but they didn't have any.

My friction disk was worn out and the V pulley was starting to eat through the pulley shaft.
I got some replacement discs from Chester Hudson in Sussex. They are not made for this operation, but should be do the job if you can machine a larger central hole and then file some flats on to it. You'll find Chester on his web site "Tillerparts.com" His phone number is also posted. He will supply 2 disks and post them for £11.
I've not finished getting my discs ready for fitting yet so I can't say if they work or not. However, they are made from brake lining substances so should do the job, and as far as I can tell by eye, they seem to be about the right diameter to fit straight in.
A word of caution: Neither Mr Hudson nor myself can tell if his discs contain asbestos or not, so if you go down this route, take all necessary precautions when machining them.

The disk is retained on the shaft with a circlip. As they are steel, your shaft and circlip should have survived a fire, at least enough to give you the dimensions to replace them if they need it. The shaft should have a grease nipple on the end to allow lubrication of the shaft which runs directly on a steel rod

The pulleys are all alloy as you have found out the hard way. I don't have the dimensions to hand as I've never measured them, and I'm not doing it just now as it's belting down with rain. But if you like, I can give you some measurements later if you want them. Let me know.

You can still buy both drive belts as a set on e-bay, believe it or not. If I remember correctly, the outside length of the main belt is 40". I can't remember the reverse belt length.

By the way, my machine is from 1977. Yours won't be too far either way from it. I do still have the owners manual which came with it somewhere, but I don't think it gives all the specifications of the parts - just a list of them, which is not much good now nobody has any.

Let me know if you want any more information. You can e-mail me direct on: mc31@york.ac.uk

All the best,
Mike Chadwick
North Yorkshire



 

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Gardener1

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Thanks Mike
You are a star - if you can measure the pulleys it will be great.  I am one step ahead of you in that a kind person is going to send me some brake lining material from a World War 2 which I thought I could cut to size using a hole saw and araldite to a vee pulley if I could but find one! Your contact would be good too.  How were the originals fixed to the pulley?  Both having melted has been a pain with nothing to measure!  Are the idler and reverse pulleys running on the shaft with a greased bush or were there bearings?
Regards

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Gardener1

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Hi Mike
When I do to the www.Tillerparts.com all I get is "This domain is for sale' . www.Tillerparts.co.uk  doesn't give anything.  Did you do a typo!
Regards

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smud6ie

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Brake linings from that era are definitely going to contain asbestos.
smud6ie

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Gardener1

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Hi
Got it!
http://www.mdr.co.uk/tillerparts/tillerparts.html
I expected it to be asbestos type.  Have in mind to contact Ferodo or go to a truck brake repair company

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Mr C.

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I'll have a look at the pulleys tomorrow if I can get into the shed without drowning.
My reverse assembly is with an engineering friend of mine at work, so off the top of my head I can't say about the presence of bearings, so leave that with me for later as well.

If you are using WW2 brake linings, you will have a high percentage of asbestos present, so be very, very careful. To be honest, I wouldn't have thought that araldite would hold against the forces needed to reverse this machine through the earth, but you may prove me wrong.

The original friction disc has a central hole of course, but it has flats coming out from the hole and it fits snugly over the shaft which has the same shape - this stops it being a round hole shape and enables the disc to be gripped strongly by the shaft.
And then the circlip goes alongside the disc to retain it sideways. Do you have the shaft? If so, you should be able to see the shape that the inside of the disc has to be.

Here's a thought for you - when I spoke to Chester Hudson, I was only trying to source the disc. So I never asked about the actual pulleys - he may have some. After all, these things never wear out.

On the same tack, see if the following have pulleys:

Bartram mowers (2 branches - Norwich & Ipswich). 01603 458916 &  01473 716335

I know they have some old spares. If they haven't got what you need, ask if they know of anyone else you can try because there is a really good old place up in Gateshead who keep all sorts of stuff. Unfortunately their name escapes me for now. They'll tell you what it is.

I'll be in touch about the pulley fixings when I can.

Mike

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Mr C.

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This may be the place to try in Gateshead..

Gateshead Lawnmower Centre
01914 692020

To be honest, I can't really remember. Well, I am nearly 50.

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Gardener1

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Hi Mike
Thanks
I will email Mr Hudson after you get back to me.  I have the shaft for both pulleys but nothing else, not even the grease nipple.  I am guessing that the vee pulley for the reverse will be same dimns as the belts on ebay but I don't know the diameter of the pulley.  I can't follow your description of the friction pulley, but if you can spare the time when it comes back could you put up some pics?
I had already tried Bartrams as they are local to me - no spares.
Were any other cultivators fitted with this type of reverse?
Thanks
Vic

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Mr C.

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From what I can gather, reverse on a machine of this type is very rare. There have been one or two, but generally the answer is no until you get to the big heavyweight stuff.

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Mr C.

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I'm not going to get the reverse pulley back for a little while. When I do, I'll try to post a couple of photos for you.
In the meantime, here are the other pulley dimensions for you:

Firstly, the main drive pulley.
This is a double V pulley and runs both the forward & main drives permanently. It is one lump of alloy. It is 2.5" diameter. The inboard V for the forward drive is 0.5" deep. The outboard V for reverse is 3/4" deep. Frankly, I don't think these depths matter too much.

On the inboard shank of the pulley is a small threaded hole. I imagine this has a small grub screw in just for locating the pulley in the correct place for belt allignment on the drive shaft - it is no way butch enough to transmit the driving forces.

On the outboard end of the pulley there is a square notch in the internal bore - so I'm assuming there is a woodruff key or similar which goes down into this slot and into a similar slot on the drive shaft. This will transmit the power from the drive shaft to the pulley.
If I'm right, you would probably need a bearing puller to drag the pulley off the shaft once the grub screw (if it exists) has been removed.
If your drive shaft survived your fire you may see both an indent or hole for a grub screw, and a notch on the shaft for a woodruff key.
There is no bearing required with this pulley as it permanently turns with the drive shaft.

Now the idle pulley:
This is 2 & 5/8" diameter with a 3/8" deep V. I see no evidence of bearings at all and it simply runs on a protruding metal rod. It is retained on the rod with a circlip and washer. The circlip sits in a groove machined around the end of the rod.

I'm sure the reverse pulley is the same - no bearings - and it is retained on a tube (not a rod) in exactly the same way.
The difference with the reverse pulley is the grease nipple which sits at the end of the tube (not on the pulley shaft as I stated yesterday). This allow grease to go down the tube which has a small slot in it about half way down. This slot allows the grease to come out and sit between the tube and the pulley shaft. That is it for lubrication, and pretty basic it is too, but obviously it works as these machines are now 35 years old.

I hope this trip to pedants' corner has been of some use to you.

All the best,
Mike

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smud6ie

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Given that these idlers are spinning under some load when drive is engaged, I  am surprised they are not running on  some form of bearing.
smud6ie

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Gardener1

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Hi
Thanks for the info.  Fortunately the double drive pulley survived the fire as it is cast iron.  I am sure I can fit this on my replacement engine.  Thanks for the dimensions.  I too am surprised that there were no bearings as there are on most pulleys on ebay.  That was why I wondered about the possibility of the pulleys having oilite bushes.  The grease nipple on the reverse shaft is a simple solution but it seems to have worked for many years. I bought mine new in 1978 but it has only had intermittent seasonal use except at the start when I had to cultivate a virgin 3/4 acre plot with elephant nettles and brambles and lots of cow's (or is it sheep's) parsley:)
Look forward to the picks etc when you get your reverse back.  I see some of the BS engines have a reverse gear built in.



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