Oil & Fuel CUT/SCUT fuel consumption?

[smstonypoint]

The Nebraska Tractor Test Lab (NE Tractor Test Publications) reports fuel consumption for many utility and larger tractors. I'm guessing that the Nebraska data were used as a basis for the following: (Estimating Farm Machinery Costs A3-29 November 2009):

"Average fuel consumption (in gallons per hour) for farm tractors on a year-round basis without reference to any specific implement can also be estimated with these equations:
0.060 x maximum PTO horsepower for gasoline engines
0.044 x maximum PTO horsepower for diesel engines"

I am not aware of any fuel consumption data for CUTs/SCUTs. I am curious as to whether the "0.44 X maximum PTO HP" estimate provides a reasonable approximation of fuel consumption for those of you with smaller tractors.

Steve

[SSdoxie]

That figures out to .858 Gl/hr on mine. I think that is close when I am running at 2500 PTO RPM. @ 2000 RPM and just light loader work it will burn about .5 gl/hr but under heavy load at full throttle it will burn over 1.5 gl/hr.

[Groo]

When I was looking to buy a semi, was thinking a small engine with high boost might be the way to go. A friend inside the industry told me "while that makes sense, the customers who buy the small engined trucks generally care less about MPG, so its the big engines are the most fuel efficient". I think there might be a similar thing going on here. That said, the little Kubota just sips the fuel so slowly, getting an accurate reading has never crossed my mind. If there are a few gallons left over after we fill the dozer, the tractor get them. If we didn't do that, the tractor would probably go months between fill-ups. It gets filled so infrequently, gelling has been an issue several years.

[jenkinsph]

I think the fuel consumption rates would be close with the larger machines having the edge on efficientcy. That said fuel consumption in general is such a minor cost of operation I seldom think about it or measure it.

Now if you get to larger tractors under leavy loads fuel becomes more of an issue.

[RaydaKub]

I think the fuel consumption rates would be close with the larger machines having the edge on efficientcy. That said fuel consumption in general is such a minor cost of operation I seldom think about it or measure it.

Now if you get to larger tractors under leavy loads fuel becomes more of an issue.

Yeah, I think my cousin said his 400hp Ford takes 450 gallons to fill up and he does it every other day in spring or fall work. At $4 a gallon, that'll get your attention in a hurry. As compared to my BX that I've had for almost 9 months and have burned through about 15 gallons total.

It's a question to be answered for curiosity sake, but hardly relevant.

[smstonypoint]

It's a question to be answered for curiosity sake, but hardly relevant.

"How much should I charge to mow, plow, etc." is a recurring question fromTBN members with CUTs.

In order to answer that question, you have to know your variable (operating) and fixed (ownership) costs. There is a wealth of info for larger tractors/implements that folks can use/modify in estimating their own costs. There is a dearth of info for smaller tractors/implements.

I have been thinking about posting a primer dealing with estimating costs for smaller tractors/implements. If I do so, I will be using a numerical example and I want to make it as realistic as possible. Hence, my interest in the question.


Steve

[JDgreen227]

The Nebraska Tractor Test Lab (NE Tractor Test Publications) reports fuel consumption for many utility and larger tractors. I'm guessing that the Nebraska data were used as a basis for the following: (Estimating Farm Machinery Costs A3-29 November 2009):

"Average fuel consumption (in gallons per hour) for farm tractors on a year-round basis without reference to any specific implement can also be estimated with these equations:
0.060 x maximum PTO horsepower for gasoline engines
0.044 x maximum PTO horsepower for diesel engines"

I am not aware of any fuel consumption data for CUTs/SCUTs. I am curious as to whether the "0.44 X maximum PTO HP" estimate provides a reasonable approximation of fuel consumption for those of you with smaller tractors.

Steve

My deere 4210 develops 22 PTO hp @2600 rpm (HST) and using that calculation gives me 0.968 gph. The majority of my 100 operating hours a year are mowing and I use the 2600 rpm pto speed for most of those. But I have calculated my fuel usage at about 0.625 gph which is quite different.

Interesting thread....I would like to see more posts here.

[RaydaKub]

"How much should I charge to mow, plow, etc." is a recurring question fromTBN members with CUTs.

In order to answer that question, you have to know your variable (operating) and fixed (ownership) costs. There is a wealth of info for larger tractors/implements that folks can use/modify in estimating their own costs. There is a dearth of info for smaller tractors/implements.
Steve

I meant "hardly" as in quite small, not "hardly" as in "not at all".
As JDgreen227 just posted, he uses about .625 gph. At $4 a gallon, you're looking at under $2.75 for the fuel. While that's not free, it is pretty small figure to add in. I would guess it would also be a fairly small portion of what you'd charge.

[US American]

deere lists gph consumption rates for full load at pto speed. The problem is that almost nobody ever runs full load all of the time. The only way to project your true usage is experience. But one can use the rated consumption to get a worst case scenario idea. Anything less than that would just be gravy.

If you are doing a job for hire start with a full tank and then top off. Measure the amount burned and if you are really honest you can pass along any fuel savings to the customer (assuming you bid the job by running the math at full load usage rates).

[woodlandfarms]

My machine is fully hydraulic. Engine is rated at 65 hp but calculating it all it seems like we are closer to a 35 or 40 pto hp.

So at 65 it is 2.5 gph, 40 puts me around 1.5. 1.5 is much closer to my actual burn.