Oil & Fuel 3320 Fuel Usage

[Killer_B]

I was pleasantly surprised to see that I used 16.5 gallons in 28.8 hours of use. Mostly finish mowing with some tilling and loader work. That is .57 gallons per hour. At first I thought the hour meter must be off. So I checked it against my watch. Nope. It's right on the money.

Is 1/2 gallon of fuel per hour common? That seems rather stingy to me.

KB

 

[deerchop]

It takes me a while to run through a tank on my 3520 so I would say that is probably about right. I've never actually checked it but it is according to what kind of load you are putting it in.

 

[sunnyside360]

Yours is very close to what I experienced on my 3720. Doing mostly finish mowing (72" mmm) and a little bush hogging, I just recently checked fuel usage and was quite happy to get 0.6 gal/hr during the summer with A/C going most of the time.

 

[Ramairfreak98ss]

Thats probably normal, most of these small diesels are very efficient.

With my 27hp Diesel Simplicity garden tractor

I can get in the area of 3-4hrs of use PER gallon doing loader work, but a lot of that is moving around plants, lots of idling or low speeds

Now running higher throttle and doing some real work it will get down more in the .4 to .7 gph.

The most straining thing i did that i took down fueling measurements was a lot of heavier mowing in the mid summer, full throttle at 3500rpms mainly and bogging it down a lot in heavier stuff and it used 2.5 gallons in a hair over 2hrs, so i know it will eat up 1.2~ gallons per hour for the smaller 3 cylinder motor.

If only my Ford 6.0L truck sipped fuel like that.

 

[ihookem]

I pulled for 3 hrs Sunday for hay rides for our church, 2 hrs on the tac. It is still above full. I am sure I didn't use much more than a gallon with my Kubota 7510. Other good diesels should be the same. Hey killer B is the John Deere more or less fuel efficient?

 

[Killer_B]

Hey killer B is the John Deere more or less fuel efficient?

The 33HP Deere gets 1/2 gallons per hour. My 24HP B7610 averaged 3/4 gallons per hour. Both are based on the tractor's hour meter. But I'm not sure the comparison is valid.

The Deere digital hour meter tracks precisely with my wristwatch, regardless of the RPM's. I never checked the Kub, but I suspect the mechanical hour meter spins slower or faster depending on the engine RPM's. I kind of wish I would have checked this. Have you ever compared your watch with your hour meter?

 

[garth466]

I just checked my 3120 after moving stumps for fires and some loader work. RPM's were always 2000-2500 and my maths said .61 gallons per hours. The fuel light had been blinking at me for a while, but I could only fit 9.4 gallons. I think my tank is supposed to be 13.7 gallons so I should have had over 4 gallons left. I guess they really don't want you to run out of fuel. Of course there was a lot of bouncing around on uneven ground, so I think once the light comes on, it won't go off again until the machine is turned off.

Anyway, I was pleased with the efficiency and glad to see here that others are getting the same. I admit, I couldn't help but second guess my math (4 or 5 times). I was thinking I would be thrilled with anything around a gallon an hour. My X320 mower can't even touch that. Maybe I'll have to trade that in for a few more toys for the 3120 and just use it for every chore?

 

[Killer_B]

garth,

I can't help but suspect that the exceptional fuel economy we are seeing on these tractors is partly due to the way in which the digital hour meter works as compared to the mechanical units on some other tractors. Our meters are essentially chronometers with an on/off switch. I believe that many or most of the Kubotas have mechanical meters that spin slower or faster based on engine RPM. That factor alone could skew the comparison considerably.

Having said that, I have not complaints with the fuel efficiency of this tractor. I just can’t believe it is actually using less fuel than my last tractor that had 30% less HP and 40% less weight.

 

[ihookem]

Killer B, I ran it straight for 3 hours but only put 2 hrs. on the tac at an average of about 1500 rpm. So it all depends on rpm.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Killer B, I ran it straight for 3 hours but only put 2 hrs. on the tac at an average of about 1500 rpm. So it all depends on rpm.

Unfortunately for meaningful comparisons, the rpm does not equate to HP being used -- only to HP available.

larry​