Low vs high gear?

[woodchuck123]

I have a CK35 and use all but the upper two gears. Low 1 and 2 for driving into dirt and using the ratchet rake, low 3 for bush hogging high grass and driving with a bucket load, low 4 for mowing shorter thick grass and high 1 for moving around and mowing the thin dry stuff.

Cheers

Ian

 

[CobyRupert]

Yep, just test it out to achieve your goal. If 4 LO is too slow to get done what you need done, then try 1 HI and if is still not fast enough 2 HI and on UP.

I won't doubt you that this is true in this case. But, like Kenny G says, each tractor is different, check your manual. There is a possibility that there's overlap (i.e. 1st-HI may be a lower gear than 4th-LO.) This was often done so one doesn't have to split ranges as often and/or is just a outcome of the gaps between gears.

 

[Qapla]

We have a NH with HST - they have a hi and lo range with a "rabbit/turtle" switch for each of the two ranges. So, switching from one to the other is quite simple.

 

[jabelding]

I won't doubt you that this is true in this case. But, like Kenny G says, each tractor is different, check your manual. There is a possibility that there's overlap (i.e. 1st-HI may be a lower gear than 4th-LO.) This was often done so one doesn't have to split ranges as often and/or is just a outcome of the gaps between gears.

No Overlap on the CK series the ratios are fairly equal all the way up through. Mostly use 6-8 for just transport 5th sometimes for mowing 1-4 for everything else.

 

[4570Man]

I used 1-4 98 percent of the time. 5th was occasionally used for mowing or driving around while hardly idling. Anything higher was used for road travel only. On my current HST I have high and low range over, low, medium, and high. I use high and low of low and medium quite frequently. High and low is only useful for road travel.

 

[LD1]

This is one thing I wish tractor MFG's would publish specs for.

I have no idea how fast your 1-4 gears are, nor 5-8.

My old kubota, which was similar in HP and weight, I was probably 50/50 between high and low. Most of my mowing was done in 1-H and 2-H, which were something like 4.1 and 5.3 MPH. Rarely did I need 4-L or 3-L for mowing. If I did, it was real thick and nasty.

For loader/dirt work, I usually stuck to 4-L. And the only reason for not choosing 1-H is there is only 1 reverse range. So while I had the power to scoop/dig dirt in 1-H, shifting to reverse at 1-R was extreemly slow unless I shifted the second lever to 4 (4-R). So instead of shifting both levers all the time, I just stuck to 4-L.

I honestly dont think I ever used 2-L. I used 1-L for tilling the garden. Everything else was done at 3+.

3-H was too fast for mowing or much else, and too slow for a road gear. But was nice traversing long distances across a smooth field that was still just a bit too rought for 4-H. Cutting firewood, I used 4-H down the roads, and 3-H across the fields

 

[4570Man]

The old L2550 had 1-8 gears. I liked it a lot better than 1-4 H/L gears.

 

[CobyRupert]

This is one thing I wish tractor MFG's would publish specs for.

I'm surprised they don't.

(Almost) every (post-1960 era) tractor I've driven had some sort of indication of what the ground speed of each gear at 540 (pto) rpm will be. From there it's just proportional math
If I recall correctly, some of the 1950's Farmalls (e.g. 560's) had this info (graph/chart) built into the tachometer. I know 1970's (& 2012) Deere's have a chart (sticker) that shows speed for each gear when at 540 rpm (pto).

I often reject all my engineer training and say: Who cares? Why do you (I) need to know a number? Either you want to go faster or slower. Why the obsession with quantifying?

 

[k0ua]

I'm surprised they don't.

(Almost) every (post-1960 era) tractor I've driven had some sort of indication of what the ground speed of each gear at 540 (pto) rpm will be. From there it's just proportional math
If I recall correctly, some of the 1950's Farmalls (e.g. 560's) had this info (graph/chart) built into the tachometer. I know 1970's (& 2012) Deere's have a chart (sticker) that shows speed for each gear when at 540 rpm (pto).

I often reject all my engineer training and say: Who cares? Why do you (I) need to know a number? Either you want to go faster or slower. Why the obsession with quantifying?

Because enquiring minds want to know. :laughing:

Most of the time the tractordata.com site will show you the gear ranges and speeds. Unfortunately for the model in question the chart is not complete.

 

[LD1]

Why the obsession with quantifying?

Gotta know how fast you are going so you can figure out how much you can do in a given time.

Ya gotta know two things.....width of implement, and ground speed. Without knowing ground speed.....you have no idea how many acres/hour you can mow, till, plow, disc, etc. And without knowing that, its hard to plan for and estimate jobs.