How safe is Manual Trans vs HSD

[Baucom]

The question asked being "How safe is manual trans vs. HST?"--one is neither more nor less safe than the other. Safety is in the operator. ROPS and seat belts are safety features, the transmission is not. However, an HST (or maybe CVT now) can't be beat for convenience and ease of use/learning.

 

[radman1]

I have had HST, GST and gear CUTs. Greatly prefer the HST over the others in nearly every application. Maybe I should have said all applications but I hesitate in making everything absolute. The only true safety issue I can think of with a HST, is the possible accidental movement of the hydro pedal causing the tractor to move. I have had the rocker type and pedal type HST's. Accidental movement is easier with the rocker type. A gear tractor in neutral is not going to accidently move. However, a gear tractor could move if the clutch is inadvertently released with the tractor in gear.

Bottom line, buy the HST.

 

[pitt_md]

Actually, lifting that limb was thought through and I felt I had the right angle of attack--but other unforeseen factors changed things quickly. It was then having HST, and making use of it, to avoid a problem that counted. No one can cover all the potential "what if" scenarios while attempting something, and anyone who thinks they have it all figured out is only fooling themselves. Just when you have x, y, and z possibilities factored in--along comes w that creates a new set of problems.

If you like HST great, buy one have fun. Same goes for gear transmissions. The above situation is a pretty lame justification for HST. They are no safer than tractors with gears. Chit happens no matter what your driving. With a little experience you learn to avoid areas that can cause problems or at the very least approach with caution.

 

[texasjohn]

pitt_md .... I'm glad that you are experienced and hope that you will always and forever stay out of any sort of trouble in your tractoring and working life.

You're being overly harsh on Mike... I read all his posts in this thread..I agree with them all..he is experienced and approaches tractoring with caution, as we all should. The posts are reasoned, measured and realistic expressions of his personal experience and opinions..... rather than justifying HST, he was explaining how it improved his safety factor in a particular situation he encountered. Others, myself included, who have owned both gear and HST tractors, indicate their preference for HST .... for a variety of reasons.

There is nothing wrong with a gear tractor, but there are differences in actual operation that are important to understand, consider one's own skill, needs and tasks, then select the right tranny for the person and jobs.

 

[Baucom]

texasjohn--"Others, myself included, who have owned both gear and HST tractors, indicate their preference for HST .... for a variety of reasons."

I'm not disagreeing with you when I say this, but PREFERENCE for HST doesn't equate to HST is SAFER than a manual trans. It's much more convenient generally, especially on a CUT, but the transmission type does not make the tractor more or less safe. How the operator approaches and deals with a situation is the single greatest safety factor.

I grew up running manual trans tractors and mowers. My first experience with HST was on a lawn mower with a hand controlled HST. Early on I found myself reaching for the clutch when I needed to stop, and only when I realized it wasn't there did I remember that mower was different and I'd pull the HST lever back. Fortunately I was in the yard and not in an emergency situation where I needed to stop immediately or I would've run all over something. Same thing when we transitioned from a JD 318 to a 345 with foot control HST. At first I found myself reaching for the lever, even though my foot was on the pedal.

Whichever transmission you get used to, you'll find with practice the operation of either becomes reflexive and it requires no more thought to step on the clutch and brake to stop than it does to take your foot off the HST pedal.

 

[Mike Costello]

Just to clarify, I didn't purchase HST for its safety value, but more for its convenience and fit into my uses. I don't rely on it for safety reasons or to get me out of a jam--that's just what it did for me when I encountered a problem with the limb. Thats a good thing because tractors can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
The lesson to learn here is: All the thinking, analyzing, and planning can disappear in the twinkling of an eye when things change unexpectedly. No one is ever 100% correct in everything they do, so act accordingly.
For those of you who picked up on my thoughts correctly, my experience was meant to be informative and hopefully will prevent someone else from getting into trouble. I thank you for that. For those who would rather criticize--it's time to get realistic.

 

[AndyMA]

One thing you may want to keep in mind is that shifting gears on a tractor is not like shifting gears on a car. Essentially, the tractos=r has to be stopped in order to change gears. Going down hill on a geared tractor I lost control of it, couldn't stop, couldn't gear back and ended up with the tractor rolling down the hill sideways - no ROPS. I have never used it again and decided to buy an HST. Much safer, much more controllable. I can't think of a reason to go back to a geared tractor

While that may be true on some tractors it is certainly not true on all. On my New Holland TN, the ranges require you to stop but the 4 sped tranny shifts just like a car (actually more like a truck).

andy

 

[AndyMA]

I would say the safety of a machine has very little to do with the type of transmission. It's all up to the operator. Back when there were no hydros you didn't hear of all kinds of accidents. It's just that today you have a lot of former lawnmower jocks who have tractors. :-D

It's like when they say Volvo's are safe. They are no safer than other cars, it's just the demographics of the owners which are biased to Mom's with kids they are trying to protect.

Andy

 

[mswlogo]

Well I bought the manual transmission model today.

I Drove both B2320 DT and b2620 HST (and owned a BX24) and I think the B2320 DT drove the best. You can pop the clutch and idle and it just goes.

As far as some of the comments go.

Some one mentioned crawling better with HST. I think you can crawl with DT better with an HST. With HST if you needed power you often had to take speed with it. I can much more power at crawl speed.

Someone mentioned cruise control on HST. On gear drive just set the gear you want and the trottle and you can lock in any speed you want. And I think you have more options on how power you want at particular speed with gear than with HST. With HST they tend to be more tied together.

I have nothing against HST. I think for front end loader work or possibly snow blowing (backup and forward a lot) HST would be better. But for mowing, box blade, tilling etc. there is not much difference. For pulling a heavy load, I think gear would be better. Primary box blade, which I think the gear will be great at, getting my boat in and out, and light duty FEL work.

That said the HST in the BX24 was pretty bad for FEL work. The herky jerky was was pretty bad. The B2320 HST was smooth as silk for stop and reverse compared to the BX24.

As far safety (some of you get where I was coming from) I think I still give the edge to HST. If it were such a perfect world as some tried to describe there would be no such thing as an accident. And plenty of smart careful people have accidents too.

 

[aczlan]

Most of the time "surprises" come fast and furious. Like the time I was helping a neighbor remove a large tree limb that had fallen over his fence line. As the bucket lifted the limb off the wire, the tractor came up suddenly on one rear wheel! I immediately backed off power and the HST went to neutral causing the wheel to fall back on to the ground. My mistake was lifting at a bad angle--but the nature of HST quickly got me out of trouble.

You have a conditioned response to just let go of the pedal on the HST tranny, I also have a conditioned response, that is to hit the clutch and brakes. I started driving a older Massey with a gear tranny and that is where I got that response.

Thats what I like about HST, instantaneous stop.

Hitting the clutch and brakes makes for a faster stop than you would get out of pretty much any non-BX**50 hydro tranny, and you wont roll afterward unless you want to.

Aaron Z