hst shift or manuel?

[rjkobbeman]

The nice thing about HST is you can rev the engine up to PTO speed and still have excellent control over tractor speed and direction. Basically the "gas" pedal controls speed and direction. With HST you always have the exact gear needed. With gear you have to idle down to change directions.

A second thing is your brakes get used a lot less with HST. When you let off the pedal it slows you down and comes to a stop, even if going down a hill. I think you'll find that HST will fit your needs nicely and like you've said, if it had issues people would be talking about them here.

I love my Hydraulic Shuttle Gear Trans and absolutely hate Kubota's treadle (I hate that term... it makes me think of a sewing machine -- where I first heard the term) pedal setup. (I have a psuedo John Deere riding mower and like the two-pedal hydro setup.) However, I think the "let your foot off of the HST pedal and the tractor stops dead in its tracks" functionality is kick ***. I think the "wear your clutch foot out" concern is a bit overblown except for the "more mature" guys (or gals), but HST does have some cool points.

 

[dex3361]

ha...No guys...Manuel would be me.....

I kinda miss worded that original question. I was kinda trying to get at the point of does the clutch wear you out in close tight work. Is it easy to use? Does the Clutch have more power? Is the clutch model geared lower than the Hst?

Does slow work with the HST burn something out? I know on my sportsman quad if I go slow with the clutch it burns the belt...Thats what I am getting at. Yes I am totally green so throw some of the good and bad points of each system at me...That way I can have this wonderful knowledge all the rest of you guys have.

No going slow will not hurt the HST. Going from dead stop and full speed in the range and going to stop will not hurt it.
If you tried to repeat the exact same thing on a geared tractor you can damage the clutch. If you slip the clutch to control the speed more than a few seconds you will destroy the clutch. By the way I have owned both gear and HST. Both are good machines its just a decision that you need to make based on your usage.

 

[rogerL1961]

I ended up getting an HST

In the first 5 minutes of usage I could tell I made the right choice. all the backing up and going forward is no problem. Crawling is wonderful in this machine. I have perfect control with it. My B7610 4x4 has more power than I thought possible. I kept thinking or should I say worrying that this was going to be a dinky tractor. it turns out to be an amazing tractor.

4x4 all the way. I was so glad I got a 4x4. I really don't think this would be half the tractor without the 4 x 4. When using the Gannon it is great to have the 4x4. When climbing the side of hills it is also really nice to have the 4x4.

Digging into the side of a mountain the 4x4 rates a plus again. All in all i wouldn't have one that isn't 4x4 now. No offense 2x4 people.

I loaded my bucket 3/4 full of rocks and it lifted this with no problems. I could tell that full of rocks would also be no problem.

I ran my tractor a bunch tonight. I just couldn't stop playing with it. My first project turned out to be raking the leaves into the bucket. Lifting the bucket up to the trash can height and then raking them into the can. Made this job so much easier. My garbage can filled up so I took a few loads around back and put them into the mulch pile.

 

[k0ua]

We are glad you got set up with a good tractor, I am sure you will get a lot of work/fun out of it, just dont let the better half know you are "playing with your tractor" it needs to be "work" all the way:laughing: Hydrostat is fun to operate isnt it?

James K0UA