Tier 4 info

[PoorPlowboy]

And I like that chopping hay with the same model and year chopper, I chop 30% more hay per day with my 118 PTO HP Tier IV interim with DPF, DOC, HPCR and CEGR than my brother-in-law with his non-emissions controlled 145 PTO HP tractor, and use less fuel per chopper box. Unfortunately his grandkids want to ride with me because grandpa's tractor stinks.

For my education, could you please articulate how 118 Tier4 horsepower is able to do more work than 145 Tier3 horsepower?

 

[MHarryE]

24 speed power shift helps keep the tractor running at full power while the non-power shift transmission has to stay in a gear that matches the largest part of an uneven windrow. Also ability swap chopper boxes more quickly due to shuttle shifting. Another reason is the auto shift feature so I can run it hard and let the computer decide if it is time to shift down. Finally MFWD vs 2WD. Unless a field is rock hard it is surprising how much easier the combination tractor/chopper/chopper box goes through the field if the tractor is in 4wd. The numbers are the Nebraska Tractor Test results for each tractor - to my knowledge neither has been on a dyno. Not sure if the radials on the lesser horsepower tractor make any difference in this condition like they do in heavy pulling vs heavy PTO load.

 

[mo1]

I don't have the patience to research and understand all of that. I'm just glad I've got a Tier 3 tractor and don't have to worry about it. I'm old enough that I hope to never have to buy a new tractor with all the Tier 4 stuff on it.

I have a tractor where the manual states I am not supposed to use diesel with more than 0.5% by weight (5000 ppm) sulfur and the only thing between the exhaust manifold and the end of the exhaust stack is a muffler. I guess that's Tier 0?

And I like that chopping hay with the same model and year chopper, I chop 30% more hay per day with my 118 PTO HP Tier IV interim with DPF, DOC, HPCR and CEGR than my brother-in-law with his non-emissions controlled 145 PTO HP tractor, and use less fuel per chopper box. Unfortunately his grandkids want to ride with me because grandpa's tractor stinks.

I am strongly guessing your tractor is significantly different than his, as you admit later on in the thread (yours is MFWD and has more gears than his 2wd unit.) Yes, older tractors do have exhaust that smells like diesel exhaust but I'll be really interested to see how well your tractor runs when it has 3500 hours on it like mine does. I have a big hunch that everything in my exhaust system is 27 years old, I have a hunch yours will be nowhere near the same situation.

They have been around for a while just ask anyone with a Ford 6.0 or 6.4

2007 was the start of the strict EPA regs on on-road diesels and when ULSD was mandated. The 6.0s had a problem with their cooled EGR clogging and subsequently blowing off the cylinder head. The 6.4 had the pee-water injection system and soot filter which could be problematic, but Navistar fixed the EGR issues from the 6.0 in the 6.4. The 6.4 actually has a very good reputation in the diesel power community as the engine is able to tolerate 500+ hp worth of boost with few to no modifications beyond a chip. The 6.0 is largely viewed as garbage and (illegal) T444E/7.3 PSD swaps are often discussed.

I run mine at whatever rpm I feel is right for the task, loader work around 1800-2200, running my finish mower about 2200, brush hog 2200-2600 depending on how thick the brush, bailer gets run right at pto speed which is 2600. You're not going to hurt the engine by running it at the rated rpm, these tractor engine are designed to run at that speed continuously. Noise is the only reason I run mine at a lower speed, but if I'm in a hurry or just feel like hearing the engine I'll run it at pto speed even if I'm just driving it between jobs.

My little 26 engine HP tractor makes pretty little power under 1500 rpm and sounds like it's bogging if I do anything with it with fewer revs on the engine. Even raising the bucket at the engine's 1000 rpm idle makes the engine sound like it's bogging and the loader acts sluggish as well. Throttling up to around 2000 rpm makes everything work and sound much better. I do pretty well all work where the PTO isn't turning at 1800-2200 rpm and it works well. Anything connected to the PTO gets the engine revved to the full 2415 rpm PTO speed so the implement gets run at the proper speed and gets enough engine power. Finish mowers in particular are harder to power than you think (especially compared to rough-cut mowers) and also pretty sensitive to PTO drive speed. 3.5-4 PTO HP per foot is a pretty good idea of what you need to drive one. Rototillers are somewhat more demanding of PTO horsepower than finish mowers and you want to be going at as fast of an engine RPM as you can to make as much power as you can unless you have a lot more than 5 PTO hp per foot. Using my little unit is certainly different than using the 80-120 hp utility tractors we had when I was growing up. Anything above idle made plenty of power for loader work and dinking around and doing "light" tasks like running the same 7 foot rototiller my tractor really works at to run at full engine speed in the lowest creeper gear. We only ever ran those tractors over the 1700 rpm required to spin the PTO at full 540 rpm with the "economy" gear multiplier if we were doing baling or tillage with discs, chisel plows, and field cultivators that my little tractor likely couldn't even budge if it could actually hook up to or lift them. However the improvement in maneuverability and reduction in weight while still being able to perform the tasks I need to greatly outweighs the ability to lug along at no RPM which is why I got a little tractor instead of a larger one.