Hydro or gear

[tooln]

Within the next year I'm looking to get a tractor. Leaning heavy towards a 3038E with hydrostatic drive. The hydro will be great for loader work but I do plan to use it to skid some logs from my property. My BIL say's a hydro will not stand up to this. Is he correct? Would I be better off with a gear driven unit? Thanks

 

[RoyJackson]

I don't think the 3038E is available with a gear transmission.

 

[tooln]

I don't think the 3038E is available with a gear transmission.

Then I may have to move up a size if I go gear driven.

 

[arlen4720]

A hydro will skid logs just fine, and you should move up a size anyway. How big are the logs?

 

[jeff9366]

Many contributors believe an HST transmission to be MORE reliable than a gear transmission.

Most problems with a gear transmission are with the clutch, which has been eliminated on every new tractor HST transmission that I know of.



Hydrostatic Transmission (HST):

Hydrostatic transmissions transmit power with hydraulics i.e. with the power of oil. One half of the transmission is a variable displacement pump and the other half is a hydraulic motor. A movable swash plate controls the piston stroke to change the pump's displacement. A hydrostatic transmission works as being a variable-displacement hydraulic pump, driving a fixed-displacement hydraulic motor.

The greatest advantages of a hydrostatic transmission are max torque at zero speed (i.e. overcoming load inertia) and ability to easily reverse directions.

Another advantage is reliability. This transmission is self-protecting from operator abuse. Also, on foot pedal controlled transmissions, there is a built in safety factor in that you need only lift your foot from the pedal, to bring the tractor to a controlled stop.

Their disadvantages are slightly higher cost and a slight loss of power at the PTO shaft. You must apply the parking brake should you park the tractor on a slope.

Hydrostatic is, by far, the best choice for loader work, mowing applications and for tasks that require speed and direction reversals within a small area.


Photos are of my former Kubota B3300SU / HST, just about equivalent to JD3038E. Buy more tractor weight if you can afford to. My heavier Kubota L3560 / HST is more capable in every respect than the B3300SU / HST.

 

[RalphVa]

Huge industrial equipment and ships use hydro power. Your BIL is nuts.

Only if your use involves pulling logs or plowing more than about 90% of the time would I advise anyone getting a gear unit. There's a tiny bit of power loss due to pumping losses in pumping the hydro fluid. That's the only problem (uses more fuel). Hydrostatic is a lot safer in most cases.

Ralph

 

[jeff9366]

Here are some HST vs Gear threads from the T-B-N archive:

https://www.google.com/search?clien...tractorbynet.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gws_rd=ssl


(There are almost 4,000,000 threads available to you in the T-B-N archive.)

 

[Egon]

What does that BIL base his knowledge on??

 

[k0ua]

Your brother in law is either mistaken or doesn't like you very much. Most bulldozer transmissions are now hydro.

 

[motownbrowne]

Have you operated tractors much? I would agree that a gear unit would be better if plowing (soil, not snow) or log skidding will make up 90% of you use and you have already logged lots of hours on gear tractors.

Hydro's are way safer for beginner tractor users. You really ought to drive both. You know which you like better.

 

[boggen]

gear has there places, but for most home owners a HST will most likely be more beneficial and useful.
now if you were in a business from landscaping to agricultural work (in the fields) or like. then a gear might be more beneficial, you just put it into a gear and go,

but as others have said, home owners usage and multi tasking tractors (see a little bit of everything) an HST more likely be more useful and get a lot more tasks done quicker and easier.

there is a good amount of threads on this subject, an each thread is a little different pending on which folks reply, and they go back and forth.

 

[HEC]

I was told by the kubota factory rep to go gear in 2005 if I was going to be doing heavy hauling , maybe thoughts have changed since then . I have the hyd. clutch in my M5700 and do like it very much .I sure see the advantages of hst on my B2650 though .

 

[tooln]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I was born and raised on a farm so gear tractors are not new to me, but we never had a hydro unit. It's been a while since operating a gear tractor as all of my rentals have been hydro. I do realize that I will not be able to skid all the logs I'm looking at as some of the maple are 36" - 40" on the stump. I also know some power will be lost with a hydro vs gear driven. Myself I se a lot more problems with a gear vs a hydro. I have no idea why the BIL thinks what he does I just wanted to post here top get un bias opinions. Sure each has it's advantages and disadvantages but for my needs I'm leaning heavily towards the hydro. MY use's will be food plot and trail maintenance, moving rocks and other various loader work & some log skidding. For the skidding part I'm not looking to do a lot of cutting but just to pick trees that are weak, dead or getting bad. Something where a logger would not come in to do as there would be so few.

 

[jeff9366]

Many contributors believe an HST transmission to be MORE reliable than a gear transmission.

Most problems with a gear transmission are with the clutch, which has been eliminated on every new tractor HST transmission that I know of.

I edited for you, Roy. Better?

 

[RoyJackson]

I edited for you, Roy. Better?

Yep...much more accurate...

The best (IMHO) transmission for most work is a reverser...no power loss (like an HST) and (in my case) twelve forward and twelve reverse gears to chose from...including a creeper reverse for snow blowing...but that's just my humble opinion.

 

[jeff9366]

No one with 18,445 T-B-N posts and the exalted title "Super Star Member" is allowed to remain in the humble category.

When "Murph-------" earns the title "Super Star Member" an exception may have to be made, because he is TRULY humble. Of coarse, the exalted title could change good ol' Murph--------

 

[oldpilgrim]

IMHO, an HST will do everything a gear will do and in 95% of the time, do it better, easier and more reliably but at the cost of a little more fuel, maybe.

 

[murphy1244]

Get both, the best of both worlds.:thumbsup:

 

[RoyJackson]

No one with 18,445 T-B-N posts and the exalted title "Super Star Member" is allowed to remain in the humble category.

Longevity doesn't mean smarter....

 

[mikehaugen]

I have no idea why the BIL thinks what he does I just wanted to post here top get un bias opinions.

Not sure you'll find too much of that here.

The best (IMHO) transmission for most work is a reverser...no power loss (like an HST) and (in my case) twelve forward and twelve reverse gears to chose from...including a creeper reverse for snow blowing...but that's just my humble opinion.

I think I agree with this statement. I have only used what I think is a reverser trans in a front end loader. Basically had a stick on the column similar to a turn signal lever. It had a dial on the end to choose gear (4) and you would push it forward or reverse to go that direction. You could change direction and gears while moving, without using clutch (though changing direction I'm sure wasn't good). It had a clutch but you really never used it. I imagine in a tractor it would also have ranges, where you would need to clutch and possibly need to be stopped. I guess what I'm describing could also be shuttle shift, I'm really not sure, but it is what I want in my next tractor.