Buying First Tractor
- Thread starter JeepmanNC
- Start date
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dmccarty
Super Star Member
JeepmanNC,
*** I *** don't think a hydrostatic tranny is mandatory. But the people who have them seem to think so. I would NOT want a collar shift tranny on the other hand. I think the PowerReverser tranny is a good compromise. My problem with the HST's is the loss of HP at the PTO as well as the added expense. I did not look at the smaller 4000 series tractor's but I seem to remember that they did not have much choice in the tranny area.
PTO HP is directory related to what you want jobs you want to do with the tractor. For instance I want the ability to run a chipper off the PTO. The rule of thumb I have seen is that for every inch of wood you want to chip the PTO needs 8-10 HP. So if you have 5 inch wood to chip you should have at least 40HP at the PTO. Another job I might want done in the future is a PTO generator. The rule of thumb was 2 PTO HP per 1 KW of power. So a 25 KW generator needs 50 PTO HP. I have seen some disaggreement on the 2 HP per 1KW rule though.
The answer to your question just depends..... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Where are you in NC? My dealer in the Burlington area
Later....
Dan McCarty
*** I *** don't think a hydrostatic tranny is mandatory. But the people who have them seem to think so. I would NOT want a collar shift tranny on the other hand. I think the PowerReverser tranny is a good compromise. My problem with the HST's is the loss of HP at the PTO as well as the added expense. I did not look at the smaller 4000 series tractor's but I seem to remember that they did not have much choice in the tranny area.
PTO HP is directory related to what you want jobs you want to do with the tractor. For instance I want the ability to run a chipper off the PTO. The rule of thumb I have seen is that for every inch of wood you want to chip the PTO needs 8-10 HP. So if you have 5 inch wood to chip you should have at least 40HP at the PTO. Another job I might want done in the future is a PTO generator. The rule of thumb was 2 PTO HP per 1 KW of power. So a 25 KW generator needs 50 PTO HP. I have seen some disaggreement on the 2 HP per 1KW rule though.
The answer to your question just depends..... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Where are you in NC? My dealer in the Burlington area
Later....
Dan McCarty
mlmartin
Silver Member
HST have their advantages. They decouple the PTO speed from the ground speed of the tractor. You can run the engine at rated PTO speed and vary the tractor speed as conditions change without declutching. Are HST a requirement? No, not at all.
I have a Cub Cadet 147 (30+ year old lawn and garden tractor) with HST. I wouldn't have bought it with a gear transmission. With the small amount of power and torque available, any gear would be the wrong gear real soon. I'm constantly changing speeds while mowing, tilling and especially snowblowing with it. I've also used the HST instead of brakes for 20 years
I've never put a cent into that transmission except a single fluid and filter change in the 20 years I've owned it.
My JD 870 has a gear transmission. while I haven't had it long enough to be fully experienced, I would say that an HST would be gilding a lily. The nine forward and three reverse speeds and synchronized gears have matched up to everything I've asked the tractor to do. Tractors with 12F/12R speeds should do even better. I think that having proportionally more power and torque dedicated to the implement allows the same gear to be useful over a wider range of conditions.
As for your PTO horsepower requirement, take a look at the implements you are going to be using. Many are not horsepower limited, instead they are traction limited. Once you start spinning your wheels you're done.
Horsepower limited implements (tillers, snowblowers, rotary cutters, generators, chippers etc) really define how much PTO horsepower your tractor should have. You can go quite a long way down that list with 25-35 PTO horsepower. If your PTO HP rating is enough to power all of the required implements at a width that covers your wheel tracks, then you probably have enough.
Can't help you with a dealer recommendation, but I guess you can forget about snowblower advice
Matthew
I have a Cub Cadet 147 (30+ year old lawn and garden tractor) with HST. I wouldn't have bought it with a gear transmission. With the small amount of power and torque available, any gear would be the wrong gear real soon. I'm constantly changing speeds while mowing, tilling and especially snowblowing with it. I've also used the HST instead of brakes for 20 years
I've never put a cent into that transmission except a single fluid and filter change in the 20 years I've owned it.My JD 870 has a gear transmission. while I haven't had it long enough to be fully experienced, I would say that an HST would be gilding a lily. The nine forward and three reverse speeds and synchronized gears have matched up to everything I've asked the tractor to do. Tractors with 12F/12R speeds should do even better. I think that having proportionally more power and torque dedicated to the implement allows the same gear to be useful over a wider range of conditions.
As for your PTO horsepower requirement, take a look at the implements you are going to be using. Many are not horsepower limited, instead they are traction limited. Once you start spinning your wheels you're done.
Horsepower limited implements (tillers, snowblowers, rotary cutters, generators, chippers etc) really define how much PTO horsepower your tractor should have. You can go quite a long way down that list with 25-35 PTO horsepower. If your PTO HP rating is enough to power all of the required implements at a width that covers your wheel tracks, then you probably have enough.
Can't help you with a dealer recommendation, but I guess you can forget about snowblower advice
Matthew
