JD 3300 Combine Fuel Consumption

[NeussMeister]

Just picked up a nice, 2100 hour JD 3300 for my 45 acre place. It has a 10-foot header and the whole shebang is in good condition. Yes, it's a gasser and I bought it because the price was attractive vs a diesel (which appear to be very rare here in NW Ohio anyway). I keep a diesel tank here for my tractors but don't really want to maintain a separate gas tank if I can help it, nor fill the thing via jerrycans. The max amount of acreage I would be combining per season is 30, more often just 20, so I'm trying to plan ahead for this fall's soybean crop by calculating how many gallons per acre this 3300 might use. Thinking I'd like to buy a 55 gallon drum of gas once per season if that would be enough. Been looking on line and scouring the manuals but can't get an estimate of how much fuel this combine (219 four) might use. None of the old timers around here remember. I've been getting estimates from a half-gallon an acre to about a gallon an acre. I generally prefer diesels in everything and forgot how sweet and smooth these slow-turning ag gassers run... this one just purrs and you can hardly hear or feel it idle. Thanks guys! Jim

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have a 3300 gasser like yours and I dispise it. It isn't terrible on fuel but it isn't great either. Like you I have diesel tanks on the farm but not gas so when I need to fill it I have to make a special trip to the gas station and fill up all my 5 and 6 gallon cans and fill it up. I've never paid attention to how much it uses per acre but I think mine is at least 1 gallon an acre. I'm looking to eventually upgrade to a 4 row machine with rwa and diesel. I have the 10' head and 2 row corn head.

How much did you pay for yours if you don't mind sharing?

 

[NeussMeister]

Hi Robert. I saw some of your earlier comments on the 3300. How many acres do you combine a season? The main reason I got this combine ($1500 BTW) was that it fit in my barn and it was in good shape. Some of the small Gleaners might have fit. A 4400 might have fit depending on what tires were installed but anything bigger, fuggetaboutit. I wasn't brand conscious about my selection but most of the small Gleaners I found were really old and really worn out, so this low hours machine should last me the rest of my small faming days. I truly think, and most seem to agree, that a 3300 is a better machine than an equivalent sized Gleaner. Would've preferred a 3300 diesel but around here, I have a better chance finding teeth in my hen's beaks. The possibility exists for a diesel engine swap too. Anyway, I'll put your response down as "~1 gallon/acre." If it's that, my 55 gallon drum idea should work well.

 

[kevin37b]

I don't know how you're fields are laid out , but 1 gal . acre may be a little optimistic . If your field is 10 'wide 18 miles long you might get by at 2 gal .Now if it is a patch , you've gotta get it opened up , turn around , back up , watch the auger , shift gears , unload tank . Just 2 $ .