Any guesses on Gal/Hr for 3520-3720 and the 4000 20's?

[AKfish]

I read a post on the JD Buying forum and a current 990 owner finished mowing 20 acres and figured he'd only burned about 4 gallons of fuel (1/3 of a tank).

Got me to wonder how much fuel the owner's of 3520-3720 and the larger 4000 series of JD CUT's figure they burn for every hour on the meter.

Any "seat of the tractor" ideas on how well your tractor is on fuel consumption?

Thanks for any and all info--

AKfish

 

[TheBigKahuna]

Funny you should ask. I just made a note of my hours/gallon. I have a 3520 with cab. While mowing I get just over 1 hour/gallon. I have 50 hours on my tractor.

Glenn.

 

[nmu98]

I have a 3720 without a cab, and doing some heavy loader work, I went through just over a gallon per hour. I was stripping a section of black dirt, and I went through just over 10 gallons on 8.25 hours. The dirt was loose so there was a lot of pushing and lifting.....

I dont have the hours on the 4720 yet to let you know the difference.... But it seems to like fuel a bit more..... Im still on the first tank, and thats judging by the fuel guage..... Not very accurate..

 

[Greyfields]

JD 3520
Fuel System
Type Direct injection
Injection Pump Type In-line with electric shutoff
U.S. gal./hr (L/hr) @ 100% load* 2.4 (9.1)
*Fuel consumption rate should be used for comparison purposes only. ---

JD 3720
Fuel System
Type Direct injection
Injection Pump Type In-line with electric shutoff
U.S. gal./hr (L/hr) @ 100% load* 2.8 (10.6)
*Fuel consumption rate should be used for comparison purposes only. ---

JD 4120
Fuel System
Type Direct injection
Injection Pump Type In-line with electric shutoff
U.S. gal./hr (L/hr) @ 100% load* 2.46 (9.3)
*Fuel consumption rate should be used for comparison purposes only. ---

JD 4720
Fuel System
Type Direct Injection
Injection Pump Type In-line with electric shutoff
U.S. gal./hr (L/hr) @ 100% load* 3.28 (12.4)
*Fuel consumption rate should be used for comparison purposes only. ---

 

[AKfish]

Sounds like the 35-3720 sips fuel. Even the turbo "Yammy's"!

The JD power-tech might be a bit hungrier...

I can appreciate the "posted specs" from the manufacturer but that's like only considering the EPA estimates on new cars and trucks. And the 3720 is real close to the 4120.
But, it's only a "ballpark" estimate and there's alot of variability depending upon how, where you use your vehicle or tractor.

If I'm tedding hay with my JD 970 @ 2,200 rpm (6th gear), I think I'm only burning about .75gal/hr.

But, if I'm pulling the tiller thru broken sod @ 2,600 rpm (1st-2nd gear), I'd guess that I'm burning over a gallon/hr --- likely, 1.25gal/hr.

Interested to hear from owner's of the turbo-3000 series and the 4000 series how they do on fuel and how much it might change depending upon what kind of work they're doin'.

Can hardly wait to hear how Greyfield's 4120 does with that new baler...

AKfish

 

[nmu98]

I would like to see the numbers at 50 and 75% load. That seems to be more where they are run. There might be more of a gap there.

 

[Greyfields]

Can hardly wait to hear how Greyfield's 4120 does with that new baler...
AKfish

Disc mower, raker/tedder and seed drill will be here tomorrow. Baler on Monday morning..... I'm dying here with excitement.

The 4120 certainly uses more fuel mowing, since it's cranked up to 2400 RPM. I can mow for around 6 hours until having to stop and refuel. So the ~2.5 gal/hour seems darn close. Of course pottering around with the front loader in the yard, I doubt I'm coming anywhere close to that.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Nebraska Tractor Test Lab has numbers on the 4320 and all larger models at:

TTL test reports/JD Deere

In my experience with my 5105, I use far less than the tests indicate, even when doing heavy work like plowing or discing. I am averaging something like 0.8 gal/hour and I feel like I'm using the tractor pretty hard. Time idling will dramatically reduce the consumption indicated based on your hourmeter, but I still was impressed at how little fuel I used for several hours of hard plowing in 4wd. Unless you are working on more than 10 acres at a time, or doing some painfully slow task like rototilling, I think you will find consumption is 1 gal/hr or less (based on meter hours) for any of the models you're looking at.

 

[RalphVa]

I'd think fuel consumption ought to directly prorate with hp on a tractor. Mine has been 0.46 gallons/hr over 250 hours of operation on my 18.5 hp 4010. There was a posting on these elsewhere a while back.

Fuel consumption on cars usually prorates by weight. On carburetor cars, it was 30 mpg-ton, with diesels at 45 mpg-ton. This was back in the 80s. With fuel injection, the gas cars figure is up to about 40 mpg-ton. Newer diesels now are up to around 60 mpg-ton.

Ralph

 

[jcmseven]

Both my 3720's burned about 1.25--1.50 gallons per hour when mowing at PTO speed. They both have been MORE fuel efficient than my NON turbo 4310 before them. The 4520 I had burned about 2 gallons per hour in similar circumstances, but it could pull a six OR seven foot mower no problem, where my 3720 could pull a seven foot, but for tractor size felt more comfy with the six footer. So the big thing to keep in mind, especially with heavy duty PTO work, is that the Powertech engines are definitely more thirsty, but the machines they are powering are larger and can get bigger jobs done somewhat quicker,so the actual fuel used per work done is probably about the same.

John M