HST vs shuttle

[ovrszd]

In a sense, the available HP maybe meaningless. In a hydro, if you encounter tough conditions, you can crawl through the work keeping RPMs up. Maybe not an option on a gear transmission, despite possibly having more HP. Well, maybe at the expense of a clutch.

I use a rototiller on my 3910. I sometimes wish it had a creeper low gear.

 

[ovrszd]

Oh, forgot to mention the significance of power loss. To my friend and his 450hp AG tractor, 5hp loss is insignificant. To the average compact tractor owner, 5hp loss is definitely significant.

 

[DK35vince]

10-20% more HP to do what???

If you purchase a 35PTOHP tractor, it's gonna deliver 35PTOHP.

If you purchase a 35drawbarHP tractor, it's gonna deliver 35 drawbar HP.

Spec the tractor from the PTO forward, or the pulling power forward, or whatever your needs are in hydraulic GPM and pressure, etc.... but don't start specing it with engine HP. Get the machine that delivers what you need at the power points.

Why is this so hard to understand?

Yes, if you put a 30HP engine in front of a geared transmission it will generally deliver more power to the rear wheels than the same engine in front of an HST transmission. And it'll probably deliver more power to the PTO, too. So purchase a machine that'll deliver the power to the rear wheels and PTO that you need.

If that means you have to purchase a tractor with 33 engine HP vs 30 engine HP, so be it. Just get the machine you need and stop worrying about all this talk about losses. It's insignificant to the average compact tractor owner. Insignificant.

Let me see if I have this straight.
A HST doesn't use more power because if you upsize the machine you buy if you get HST you can get the same power.

 

[ovrszd]

Let me see if I have this straight.
A HST doesn't use more power because if you upsize the machine you buy if you get HST you can get the same power.

YES!!!!!

 

[MossRoad]

Moss I think you are the only one struggling with the HP loss issue.

...

I'm not struggling with anything. I understand the difference between gear power transmission and fluid power transmission and the efficiencies of gears over fluid.

What cheeses my crackers is people trying to dissuade the average compact tractor purchaser from selecting an HST tractor with the old "power loss" argument. Who cares? As I mentioned before, the average compact tractor owner only puts about 50 hours per year on their machine. It's a non-issue to the average person doing yardwork, property maintenance, any typical chore other than plowing dirt or pulling huge mowers all day long.

- Gardeners prefer a tiller over a plow - HST wins over gears.
- Lawn mowers have to vary in ground speed often - HST wins over gears.
- Snow plowing driveways - HST wins over gears.
- FEL work in tight quarters - HST wins over gears.
- Dragging logs out of the woods - HST wins over gears.
- Very few homeowner tasks will benefit from gears over HST.

Just spec out the HST machine for the tasks you want to do and forget this HST power loss nonsense. It's a different type of machine than a geared machine, it's probably going to be a lot easier to operate in your homeowner and small farm tasks, and if you drive both, you'll probably prefer the HST over time.

 

[MossRoad]

Let me see if I have this straight.
A HST doesn't use more power because if you upsize the machine you buy if you get HST you can get the same power.

No, you don't have that straight. I suggest RIF.org for some assistance.

 

[goeduck]

My brother had an HST+ L3240 that was absolutely aggravating and powerless in completing work tasks. Great tractor for putting around. Horribly underpowered for it's size and drive system.

One of my properties is over 100 acres and has an elevation gain of 12 tops. Very flat. As a barnyard tractor for FEL work, moving trailers, etc. that could be a very nice machine. My other larger place has hills where you climb up on hands and knees. No way I would want it on even the modest hills there. So a tractor like that has its place.

 

[rScotty]

So what I'm hearing is that a HST is a lot more user friendly - - but only if it is one of the fancy expensive multi-range HST trannys that doesn't whine (much), and if the tractor has enough HP so that a small efficiency loss is less important than convenience.

 

[ovrszd]

So what I'm hearing is that a HST is a lot more user friendly - - but only if it is one of the fancy expensive multi-range HST trannys that doesn't whine (much), and if the tractor has enough HP so that a small efficiency loss is less important than convenience.

YES!!!!

 

[KB7210]

I've never had a problem with the whining noise. Some are noisier than others but I also don't spend all day, every day in my tractor. I could see it being annoying if that were the case. For my needs I wouldn't buy anything but an HST. As far as compact tractors go, like I said in another thread, HST is much easier to sell and has higher resale value.
I looked for almost a year to upgrade my tractor. I looked a gear tractors, power shuttles, and HST's, and the gear tractors that I looked at stayed on the market a long time with the owners having to drop the price quite a bit to sell them. With the HST's, if they were in good shape, they sold fast.
I sold my older B1550 in a week for more money than I paid for it and everyone that called on it was looking for an HST.