Mahindra 5145 or Branson 4820R

[rScotty]

Thank you for the response! Didn't realize they added the butterfly valve or that it shared the same frame as the 25 series.
It being mechanically injected still is a huge selling point for me.
How has yours served you and how many hours?

You probably already know this, but worth mentioning since you say that being mechanically injected is a huge part of your buying decision. It was for me, too.

It's easy to tell a mechanically injected engine from a common rail type if you want to check to be sure. The mechanically injected engine will have a separate metal tube injector fuel line going from the fuel pump to each injector. If it is a 4 cylinder engine, there will be 4 separate fuel lines, one for each injector.

A mechanically injected engine has to have separate lines because each injector is triggered by a timed pressure pulse from the injector pump.
The other type - more common today - is the "common rail". In the common rail engine, a single fuel line from the fuel pump keeps a common rail constantly pressurized. Injectors are triggered electrically - usually by an engine computer.

On direct vs indirect injection....that's entirely different from type of injection. Some diesels are direct injection and some are indirect injection - but those are features of how the combustion chamber is shaped inside the head. You cannot tell from outside which one it is - and there have been equally good engines built with either head configuration for a long time now.

good luck with your tractor choice.
rScotty

 

[murraya8922]

You probably already know this, but worth mentioning since you say that being mechanically injected is a huge part of your buying decision. It was for me, too.

It's easy to tell a mechanically injected engine from a common rail type if you want to check to be sure. The mechanically injected engine will have a separate metal tube injector fuel line going from the fuel pump to each injector. If it is a 4 cylinder engine, there will be 4 separate fuel lines, one for each injector.

A mechanically injected engine has to have separate lines because each injector is triggered by a timed pressure pulse from the injector pump.
The other type - more common today - is the "common rail". In the common rail engine, a single fuel line from the fuel pump keeps a common rail constantly pressurized. Injectors are triggered electrically - usually by an engine computer.

On direct vs indirect injection....that's entirely different from type of injection. Some diesels are direct injection and some are indirect injection - but those are features of how the combustion chamber is shaped inside the head. You cannot tell from outside which one it is - and there have been equally good engines built with either head configuration for a long time now.

good luck with your tractor choice.
rScotty

Great information, thank you! I'll definitely look at the lines coming from the fuel pump. Avoiding the common rail if at all possible.
From what I've seen and read, even the larger Branson tractors with over 25HP are still mechanical as the use the A series KukJe? engines. Which I've also heard nothing but good things about.

 

[ericm979]

The Bransons up through 20 series are all Kukje licensed Cummins A series engines. The 25 series was very similar to the 20 series and also used the A series engine, but a 2.1L A2000 with smaller bore than the A2300 in the 4X20 and 5X20s.

To be fair, common rail and EFI are well established technologies now, as are DPFs. Branson is unusual with their low temp constant regen DPF system. It seems to work well if you get the engine hot enough often enough. That's been no problem for me but it does not get that cold here and snow is rare. Some folks in places that get cold and who can't do much with the tractor in the winter have had problems. I think that's why Branson added the ability to command a regen.

Above 75hp the emissions requirements tighten and that's where you see DEF and EGRs being common. Those are the two technologies that seem to cause the most problems. Below 75hp DEF is not used and EGR is not common.

There are a few manufacturers or models that have had problems with their emissions system. The Kubota B3350 comes to mind. That was also a mechanical FI system but different from Branson's. Kubota stopped making them. From reading some of the manufacturer specific sections here I sometimes see people complain about frequent regens with some makes/models. Some of that may be the operator not running the tractor hard enough, some may be manufacturer specific.

If you wanted a different make I would suggest reading the forum for them. But its likely that those tractors perform well with no emissions problems. And I certainly would not discourage someone from getting a Branson, as long as you're ok with having fewer dealers and parts sources than say Kubota.

I'm a big fan of OBD2 ports on cars along with a good reader or software that can handle manufacturer specific codes. I think the extra information is worth the learning curve, and I started working on vehicles back when they had points and condensers. But emissions laws do not require them so few compact tractors have useable OBD2 ports.

 

[GeneSimm7]

May I ask why you aren't consider Kubota or John Deere?

 

[Torvy]

May I ask why you aren't consider Kubota or John Deere?

I think that was answered in post 8.

 

[JM7500]

I bought my 4820R in March 2021 and put 285 hours on it. It's been a great machine. The closest Branson dealer to me when I purchased was 100 miles away. I had a fuel leak right after I got and the dealer repaired it without any hassle other than taking it back to him. It has done one regeneration at 160 hours. The shuttle shift is my preference and I've moved a lot of dirt with a box blade and loader bucket. When I bought it, I added the 3rd function and 2 sets of rear remotes. Too use all the loader capacity, you will need to fill the rear tires or put a heavy implement on the rear as a counter balance. Without any extra weight on the back end, the tractor has no problem lifting the rear tires off the ground.

My tractor with loader and backhoe was 25% less than an equivalent orange tractor with just a loader. The green tractor dealer didn't care. The Branson dealer spent a long time on the phone talking to me and answering questions as well as a long time the first time I went to look at the Bransons. I almost went with a MF, but the dealer could only much smaller or much larger tractors at that time. I also considered LS and Mahindra. The 4820R had features and capacities that fit my needs at a good price.

 

[nova3930]

The newer Bransons (2020 and up, I think?) have a different emissions system. It's still a DOC/DPF, but they've added a butterfly valve on the exhaust outlet to close and heat up the DPF filter when the filter gets partially plugged. You do this by pressing the "regen" (or whatever they call it) on the dash. The older Bransons don't have this butterfly valve. If the one you're looking at is new, it should have the valve. Branson has redone their system so you can't just take the filter off. Well, actually you can, but the DPF warning light would be on. Disconnecting the Data Logger (we could do so on the older system) will also stop your gauges from working (temp, and tachometer that I remember-possibly more?).

That just means it takes slightly more work should the DPF system have issues to be "mitigated". My preliminary "just in case" investigation for my TYM indicates it will involve fooling a couple of pressure sensors which isn't all that hard all things considered. It may as well be a federated system compared to single ECU controlled systems.....

 

[DaBear3428]

You said it perfectly! I am fairly certain I'll go with the Branson strictly based on the no ECU and mechanical injection alone. Especially with the low market share type of tractors. I've heard the majority of problems being electrical with these. A tractor should be simple. Diesel engine and hydraulics. I want it to work and be able to be fixed without a computer. Don't feel like I'm asking too much, ha.
I'm going to "test drive" Bransons as soon as I get off of this job, and I'll make up my mind then.
Thank you for response and knowledge.

the right tractor is the one that is right for you, you are doing your homework and that is great, be sure to sit on and operate the tractor you think you want before putting the money down on it.
good luck!

 

[DaBear3428]

I bought my 4820R in March 2021 and put 285 hours on it. It's been a great machine. The closest Branson dealer to me when I purchased was 100 miles away. I had a fuel leak right after I got and the dealer repaired it without any hassle other than taking it back to him. It has done one regeneration at 160 hours. The shuttle shift is my preference and I've moved a lot of dirt with a box blade and loader bucket. When I bought it, I added the 3rd function and 2 sets of rear remotes. Too use all the loader capacity, you will need to fill the rear tires or put a heavy implement on the rear as a counter balance. Without any extra weight on the back end, the tractor has no problem lifting the rear tires off the ground.

My tractor with loader and backhoe was 25% less than an equivalent orange tractor with just a loader. The green tractor dealer didn't care. The Branson dealer spent a long time on the phone talking to me and answering questions as well as a long time the first time I went to look at the Bransons. I almost went with a MF, but the dealer could only much smaller or much larger tractors at that time. I also considered LS and Mahindra. The 4820R had features and capacities that fit my needs at a good price.

good points, also keep in mind that filling the rears is good in that it does not add load to the rear axel but it does not unload the front axel like counter weight does (wile adding load to the rear axel)