Gear or Hydrostatic Transmissions for Compact Utility Tractors?

[noller9]

The whine gets me too but my gear model gives me the feeling of control. I spendalot of time infirst and it not only seemssafer but it does not jolt me around asmuch

 

[4570Man]

You don't think a HST can go slow? My HST will maintain a slower speed than my old geared tractor could.

 

[noller9]

I borrowed my buddies NH 45 HST and it was like pushing a marshmallow as it rolled away

And yes it did go slow

 

[oldpilgrim]

I borrowed my buddies NH 45 HST and it was like pushing a marshmallow as it rolled away

And yes it did go slow

I've never heard that description. Is that good or bad?

 

[noller9]

It was like if you went slow your foot had to roll over a marshmallow to get going. Not bad just an odd sensation. If I gave it throttle to move quick the rush of the machine kept me focused on driving.

With the gear model it is instantly going slow...to me ....better

 

[noller9]

And how do you like the Mahindra? Is it working to your needs?

 

[oldpilgrim]

And how do you like the Mahindra? Is it working to your needs?

absolutely. The Mitsubishi made machine has been flawless, after 150 hours it works just fine. Strong, rugged and capable for it's size. Always starts instantly, even at below zero temps. It's done stuff I wouldn't expect it to have been able to do. The 3 speed axle gives a perfect mix of speed/power.

As to your marshmallow effect..... it sounds like you mashed the pedal down with too little throttle. Remember the further the pedal goes down, the higher the 'gear'. You let off the pedal to get more power to the wheels. The hst is counter intuitive that way.

Based on my experience, I would not spend another few thousand $ to get an equivalent sized Kubota. Especially when the Mahindra will be heavier and have more lift capacity than an equal engine sized Kubota.

 

[SteveM70]

absolutely. The Mitsubishi made machine has been flawless, after 150 hours it works just fine. Strong, rugged and capable for it's size. Always starts instantly, even at below zero temps. It's done stuff I wouldn't expect it to have been able to do. The 3 speed axle gives a perfect mix of speed/power.

As to your marshmallow effect..... it sounds like you mashed the pedal down with too little throttle. Remember the further the pedal goes down, the higher the 'gear'. You let off the pedal to get more power to the wheels. The hst is counter intuitive that way.

Based on my experience, I would not spend another few thousand $ to get an equivalent sized Kubota. Especially when the Mahindra will be heavier and have more lift capacity than an equal engine sized Kubota.

You touched on something that I wouldn't mind some feedback on.

After purchasing my first hydrostatic I was under the impression that it would work like you say, "let off the pedal to get more power.

After putting over 180 hours on my little tractor that could lol, I find this to be true but only in high gear. When I'm in high I can let off the pedal some and feel the hydro "catching up" to get up a slight grade or pulling a small trailer.

I spend the majority of my time in low and am convinced that in many situations more pedal=more power.

When I'm up against the limits of my tractor like trying to push a large stump that gets caught on something, more pedal in low just bogs the engine down but at the same time, less pedal doesn't get things moving either. While doing ground engagement work or pulling steep hills if I begin to slow to much or catch a root with the plow I just give it more pedal to power through.

In simple terms, with my particular tractor I have found the letting off the pedal to gain power or "let the hydro catch up" to be true in high range but the opposite to be true while in low range.

I'm not talking about just slamming the pedal to the floor but just giving it a little more pedal as needed to get things moving again.

 

[ishiboo]

Wonder why nobody's made a shuttle with HST-like controls? It seems it would not be to terrible to use forward/reverse pedals to actually actuate the shuttle and throttle if linked. You would need some logic involved, but it could make for a potentially interesting option for people who wanted the benefits but the simplicity of a HST.

 

[oldpilgrim]

When I'm up against the limits of my tractor like trying to push a large stump that gets caught on something, more pedal in low just bogs the engine down but at the same time, less pedal doesn't get things moving either.

The bolded is the key here. There are such things as immovable objects. Sometimes you just don't have enough gears or horsepower.

While doing ground engagement work or pulling steep hills if I begin to slow to much or catch a root with the plow I just give it more pedal to power through.

I think there are 3 things involved in getting power to the wheels in an efficient manner.

1) engine speed
2) axle gearing
3) volume of hydro fluid getting to the hydro motor

The engine has a natural power curve, the axle gearing is a known entity, but the flow of fluid is infinitely variable. I suspect when engine speeds are low, and gears are high, there is a point where there's just too little fluid flow to effectively drive the hydro motor. A little more pedal, and the fluid flow increases enough to be more effective, but a little too much pedal and too little throttle, leaves the hydro motor wanting for more fluid.

I find that if I'm starting off on a slight hill in high and it seems like it won't pick up properly, I just back off the pedal a bit and throttle up, then I can press the pedal when the speed gets up a bit and cut back the throttle if I want to.

The different pieces can take some getting used to much like any complex machine doing different things under different conditions.