first year and 160 hours of operation

JerryG · Dec 25, 2003

The last tractor that I had, I put just over 500 hrs. the first year. The new one that I have had for about 2-3 months, I just have 90 hours on. I have been to busy with other things. When spring get here, I will put a lot of hours on it though.

OkeeDon · Dec 25, 2003

Well, I no longer have a full-time job in the sense that you are asking, but I do enough other things that take up just as much time that I might qualify. I bought the tractor 9 months ago and have about 320 hours. I've really been busy on other things for the last couple of months, so I slowed down a little on the tractor - only about 20 hours so far in December. I predict 400 - 450 at the end of the first year.

Possibly one of the differences between us old phartes and the young whippersnappers is that our families are grown and gone, so the tractor substitutes for the time we used to spend with the kids. Almost as much fun, and we control the behavior! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

PineRidge · Dec 25, 2003

Don I don't mean to get off track but looking at your post made me fondly remember that some of my best bass fishing was done years ago at Lake Okeechobee. I stayed at Roland Martin's condominiums at that time and fished for a week straight. We went out with guides for the first two days to learn your secrets and hot spots. We then went out on our own. A remarkable place to fish I must admit. Are the locks functioning at this point or is the water still down in the lake?

snowbound · Dec 25, 2003

Well I've had the tractor for seven months and it has about six hours on it. Of course, since it's mainly for snow removal I think we'll start racking up hours in another two weeks or so. Even so, I'm really happy that it's about 50 times faster than the old way (7.5 hp dual stage snowblower). So for me, the fewer hours the better. Keeping my fingers crossed the tractor will last a really long time at this rate. Probably seem really cheap in twenty years.

OkeeDon · Dec 26, 2003

A recent poll by the County showed that about 75% of the visitors to the area are there for the fishing. I forget how many tournaments there are each year, but it's a bunch. Not only the bass and the catfish; they have a Speckled Perch festival every year at the same time as one of the rodeos.

The irony is, I'm not much of a fisherman, and what little I have done has been saltwater. I'm not keen about the taste of freshwater fish, and just never had the time to do it for sport.

But then, I just seem to go from one irony to another -- the city where I now live (Port St. Lucie) is on the way to becoming a world center for golf, and I don't play golf...so I guess it's appropriate that I move to one of Florida's best fishing areas and not fish /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif.

The locks are all operating, the lake is at historically high levels after all the rain this past summer. They are planning to lower the level of a large lake up North in the Kissimmee chain in order to clean it, and that will dump even more water in Lake Okeechobee. The big controversy is that the lake water has to go somewhere, so they release it into canals that go across Florida, reducing the salinity of the brackish water estuaries along the coast and ruining the fishing there.

Many years ago, the Corps of Engineers turned the Kissimmee River (the primary feeder for the lake) into a straight canal. Thqat led to nutrient-rich runoff entering the lake and ruining the habitat. Today, the most important project is returning the Kissimmee to a meandering wetland.

GRUB · Dec 27, 2003

Well I guess that puts me about in the middle just like the thread about how much you spend on tractor per acre. I guess I should feel good about that, I wonder if I should let the wife know that I am not that out of line? Of course she thinks the money and time are high figures.

LAGEORGE · Dec 28, 2003

My real job is EVP of a small corporation but that has not stopped me from racking up 302 hours in 10 mouths on my first NH TC 24D. I have 6 hours on the new one but we still have a few days to go in 2003! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

George

mikemac · Dec 28, 2003

There is a lot of posts on this subject. So I'll add mine and a photo if I can figure it out. New Kubota L 3530 on Oct. 25th, 67 hours, its dark when I get home now or there would be more. I'm very happy with my investment

fishman · Dec 29, 2003

26 months and 82 hours on my 2910. 8 months and 30 hours on my Kubota T1670 (lawn tractor). I use them as much as I can, but everyone has their limits. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

For the past 2 months and 20 hours on my 2910, I've been excavating topsoil to expand my lawn out into the rock and to improve my garden soil. I'm over 300 FEL loads at about 8 cubic feet a pop, so I've got quite a pile. Did I ever mention how much I love my toothbar? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Where I live, topsoil is a scarce a precious commodity. When I cleared some more brush to increase the size of my lawn, the wind blew away all of the leaves etc., revealing nothing but rock! No wonder my trees are all 15 feet high! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

jinman · Dec 29, 2003

Don, what's your average temperature there in Okeechobee? I think mild temperatures have a way of leading to a lot more seat time. Even the guys who plow snow probably don't stay out as long as someone like you in a mild climate.

I expect to have about 550 hours on my tractor by February of 2004 when I've had it for three years. My climate is mild too, and I'll probably continue to average about 200 hr/yr.