In my north field, I have been mowing off the poplar stubs left behind from the big King Cutter so that the sharp stakes do not puncture the tires on my side by side. I have been using my JD 317 for the task, but kept breaking belts on the mower deck, and I used up every belt that I had on the property. I think I made a mistakes by using a JD 318 belt, which is the same circumference but I believe is 5/8" wide and not engaging the pulleys correctly, overheating the belt and causing them to fail. The V-Belt guys sent me out a belt for the JD 317 and it was 1/2" wide, which must be the correct specification, and it handily mowed off the tough poplar stubs. The belt did not overheat and worked great. I have about two hours on it so far, so I will be able to tell you next fall how long-lived the belt is. The belts arrived quickly.
