fuel consumption 5000 series tractors

[michellesc7]

hi
i know the fuel consumption varies under load conditions.
i am considering a used 5325, a used 5205, or a new or rental return 5055E. i know the engine is the same or similar on two of the tractors.
in any case i would be putting water and antifreeze in the tires rear and front, possibly front weights. pulling harrows, chisel plows, ag type dirt equipment.
no loader to start with.

is the 5 cylinder in the 5325 that much worse than the 3 cylinder in the 5205 and the 5055E?
i'd like to know. i know the tractor is a ton heavier.

thanks
michelle

 

[charleyfarmall]

michelle,

This is really comparing apples to oranges. The 5325 is much more tractor and a more high end tractor than the other 2. Personally, I would take the 5325 any day over the other two as it is a more heavy duty machine. Realize that it is a 67hp tractor and therefore more than the other two by quite a bit. It might consume a bit more fuel but not likely more than you will notice. You will have a lot more capacity when it comes time to plow, especially with a chisel plow which really takes a fairly heavy tractor with some power behind it ( i love them but it's easy to run out of traction).

If you have found a clean 5325 and could afford it that's what I would choose.

 

[RPW]

Fuel mileage will vary from model to model. Now saying that I can run my 5103 (3cyl) all day hard and will only use about a half a tank (18 gal total). When I say hard I do mean hard. But for mowing pasture etc. I will burn about 1/2 gal per hour. Larger engines will generally burn more fuel per hour but you can get more work done per hour also. Here's another example recently I rented a Deere 550 dozer. About an 85HP engine. Ran it for 16 hours and burned about 20 gallons. but during that 16 hours I cleared 38 acres of cedars (thick) and leveled my driveway and dug a burn pit.

Good luck.

 

[vtsnowedin]

If you get into tractordata.com and Nebraska tractor test data you can see that the fuel consumption varies with the load the tractor is pulling. When you get down to it the larger tractors do more work with each gallon of fuel and hour of operator time then a smaller tractor. This ( the bottom line) is the only reason they build big tractors.
It comes down to how much land or work you have in front of you. The bigger that is the larger the tractor you need to get the job done at a profit.

 

[ddivinia]

I vote for the 5325.

 

[MattLynch]

I don't think John Deere is known for fuel efficiancy. I don't know if a 5093E compares to the ones you are looking at but I can burn through $150 of fuel in a day easily. A neighbour with a similar sized massey can do the same work for 5-10% less fuel. I do find the Deere a nicer tractor to drive but it is very thirsty.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Looking at the Nebraska test are a very good way to determine fuel consumption...
For comparison sake, our old D-17 Allis Chalmers would pull two tanks in a hard day of plowing...
That is 38 gallons in 8 hours...
The Nebraska tests rate their usage @ 4.5 gal per hour max...
That equates to 36 gal in an 8 hour day...
Pretty close comparison...
A 60 HP gas tractor will burn 30% more than a 60 HP diesel tractor if conditions are similar...
Diesel has 30% more BTU power per gal of fuel than gas...
I would guesstimate around 3.2 gal per hour or 25 gal per 8 hour day...

 

[Turbys_1700]

Looking at the Nebraska test are a very good way to determine fuel consumption...
For comparison sake, our old D-17 Allis Chalmers would pull two tanks in a hard day of plowing...
That is 38 gallons in 8 hours...
The Nebraska tests rate their usage @ 4.5 gal per hour max...
That equates to 36 gal in an 8 hour day...
Pretty close comparison...
A 60 HP gas tractor will burn 30% more than a 60 HP diesel tractor if conditions are similar...
Diesel has 30% more BTU power per gal of fuel than gas...
I would guesstimate around 3.2 gal per hour or 25 gal per 8 hour day...

 

[deere5105]

I went from a 5105 to a 5303 and no turbo to turbo. I reviewed the tractor data information and expected an increase in fuel consumption. I am using the same MX6 cutter and can tell you the difference in fuel consumption is noticeable, but not enough to create regrets. Have run a neighbors 5205 since making the swap and it seems to consume similar to what I remember the 5105 doing. I realize you can do more work with the larger tractors, but that means you will have to increase implement sizes to take advantage of the larger more powerful tractor.

No problems on my end with the 5303 and recommend the tractor data site for specific fuel consumption comparisons. I actually put numbers together on spreadsheet for comparison when making my decision. I don't dispute the 5325 is "more" tractor, but after checking them all the addition of MFWD and the physical dimensions of the 5303 best suited my needs.

 

[stravis]

I don't think John Deere is known for fuel efficiancy. I don't know if a 5093E compares to the ones you are looking at but I can burn through $150 of fuel in a day easily. A neighbour with a similar sized massey can do the same work for 5-10% less fuel. I do find the Deere a nicer tractor to drive but it is very thirsty.

Wow. I don't think I could burn through $150 of diesel in a day if I tried and we have the same engine just tuned differently.

I average 1.4 gallons per hour under an average load. At $4 per gallon, thats $60 in a ten hour day. Obviously more when pulling my 12' harrow in mfwd, but normal rotary mowing it's 1.4 gph. I'm not sure how that compares to other machines, but I always thought it was pretty impressive.