Gear or Hydrostatic Transmissions for Compact Utility Tractors?

[jk96]

Also the cvt that the caseIH has would be close to that. You have a lever for forward reverse and then one peddle for speed.

I have a Case 55C with CVT. I have over 3,000 hours total on three different HST tractors. After moving from HST to CVT I would not go back to HST given the choice unless there was a big $ difference.

 

[noller9]

You touched on something that I wouldn't mind some feedback on.

After purchasing my first hydrostatic I was under the impression that it would work like you say, "let off the pedal to get more power.

After putting over 180 hours on my little tractor that could lol, I find this to be true but only in high gear. When I'm in high I can let off the pedal some and feel the hydro "catching up" to get up a slight grade or pulling a small trailer.

I spend the majority of my time in low and am convinced that in many situations more pedal=more power.

When I'm up against the limits of my tractor like trying to push a large stump that gets caught on something, more pedal in low just bogs the engine down but at the same time, less pedal doesn't get things moving either. While doing ground engagement work or pulling steep hills if I begin to slow to much or catch a root with the plow I just give it more pedal to power through.

In simple terms, with my particular tractor I have found the letting off the pedal to gain power or "let the hydro catch up" to be true in high range but the opposite to be true while in low range.

I'm not talking about just slamming the pedal to the floor but just giving it a little more pedal as needed to get things moving again.

All this talk leads me to believe i am a GearMan Yesterday, Today and I will be one Tomorrow

 

[SteveM70]

All this talk leads me to believe i am a GearMan Yesterday, Today and I will be one Tomorrow

To me, hydro vs gear is not a "which is better" debate. It's all about needs. If you have one and find that your not in a situation where the other would work better more than 49% of the time then you probably made the right choice.

A friend of mine asked if I thought my little tractor was the right size. I told him it was to big for some jobs and to small for others so I guess it's about perfect

 

[SteveM70]

All this talk leads me to believe i am a GearMan Yesterday, Today and I will be one Tomorrow

To me, hydro vs gear is not a "which is better" debate. It's all about needs. If you have one and find that your not in a situation where the other would work better more than 49% of the time then you probably made the right choice.

A friend of mine asked if I thought my little tractor was the right size. I told him it was to big for some jobs and to small for others so I guess it's about perfect

 

[oldpilgrim]

All this talk leads me to believe i am a GearMan Yesterday, Today and I will be one Tomorrow

When making a gear machine move, you have to make the same decisions to make an HST move. What is the proper engine speed for your needs, What gear is the best for your needs and how much feathering the clutch do you need to do. To little or too much engine speed will not do what you need. Too high of a gear or too low and you don't get what you want. Ride the clutch to get it up to speed (or creep it) or let the clutch up too fast and you don't get what you want.

The better part of the HST equation is that you don't need a stick shift ever or a clutch pedal to do it ! You don't have to guess what transmission gear is appropriate for the job you're doing either.

 

[ovrszd]

When making a gear machine move, you have to make the same decisions to make an HST move. What is the proper engine speed for your needs, What gear is the best for your needs and how much feathering the clutch do you need to do. To little or too much engine speed will not do what you need. Too high of a gear or too low and you don't get what you want. Ride the clutch to get it up to speed (or creep it) or let the clutch up too fast and you don't get what you want.

The better part of the HST equation is that you don't need a stick shift ever or a clutch pedal to do it ! You don't have to guess what transmission gear is appropriate for the job you're doing either.

And the better part of the gear equation is you can do it with the engine at idle. You don't have to guess what range is appropriate for the job either.

 

[SteveM70]

When making a gear machine move, you have to make the same decisions to make an HST move. What is the proper engine speed for your needs, What gear is the best for your needs and how much feathering the clutch do you need to do. To little or too much engine speed will not do what you need. Too high of a gear or too low and you don't get what you want. Ride the clutch to get it up to speed (or creep it) or let the clutch up too fast and you don't get what you want.

Here we go again. This is exactly the type of post I was referring to earlier in this thread. We're running tractors, your description sounds more like we're landing airplanes! There's no guesswork to a gear tractor after the initial break in but I agree that if after a few hours on a gear tractor your still "guessing" at what gear you need then a hydrostatic would be all around better for your needs.

The better part of the HST equation is that you don't need a stick shift ever or a clutch pedal to do it ! You don't have to guess what transmission gear is appropriate for the job you're doing either.

HST's have there strong points but so do solid gear drives.

 

[noller9]

I hear you on the size issue and you can bet if they offered me a HST for 21% off MSRP I would be telling how much I loved my Hydro model!!

 

[rd_macgregor]

A friend of mine asked if I thought my little tractor was the right size. I told him it was to big for some jobs and to small for others so I guess it's about perfect

It sounds to me like you need two tractors.

 

[ovrszd]

It sounds to me like you need two tractors.

Which leads to three.