Chase maximum course size is about 100 feet. Many factors affect the actual maximum size course you might successfully run. The maximum size that your specific course will be may be a little, or quite a bit smaller. The limit to the course size is due to the power of the motor & the specific conditions of the playing ground and the course you set up.
So a maximum course with three pulleys is about 100 feet under ideal conditions. Adding corners and turns to a course also adds "drag" which simply means the motor has to work harder - so to compensate for the additional drag, you would make the course smaller. Other factors that come into play are:
- Grass that the line is dragging through; so if the grass is tall and the line is moving through the grass, it will be adding drag.
- If the ground is uneven where there are high points that the line is dragging over - this will add drag.
- If the terrain is on an incline - gravity adds drags.
All these factors and more contribute to the actual course size you are able to successfully set up and run.
There are signs that the course you have set up is too large beyond the obvious poor performance; frequent stalls; line not moving, or struggling to move.
- If you see a groove being worn into the pink band. You should not see significate wear of the pink and for a year or more if at all.
- If you experience stalls for no obvious reason. Obvious reasons would be if the dog steps on the line, or catches the flag.
- If performance drops significantly in one direction over the other.
- If you get warnings during play and taking the recommended action for the specific warning isn't helping.
Taking the necessary corrective actions will protect your equipment from damage and failure.