hay making

Bird · Jun 10, 2002

GM once tried a turbine auto

Not surprising. I would have expected them to experiment, but I don't recall hearing anything about that one. However, I DO remember when Chrysler was showing a turbine "concept?" car at dealerships in the early 60s. I went to see it at a Plymouth dealership when it was in Dallas. The things I recall about it was that it looked more like a Ford Thunderbird than any of the Chrysler products and the guy showing it said the major problem they hadn't found a solution for was the exhaust heat. According to him (and of course I have no idea how much he actually knew), if the exhaust were aimed straight back, it would burn the paint off any car that got within normal distance behind it while stopped at a traffic light and if the exhaust were aimed down, it would melt the asphalt when it stopped at a traffic light.

And for another bit of trivia, I believe that car was used in an Elvis Presley movie in which he played a race car driver, driving that car, but I can't remember the name of the movie.

skent · Jun 10, 2002

And the precision required when operating RPM's exceed 10's of K's per second preclude the ability of being able to repair in the field.

My Case DC had a main drive chain break in the field. You don't move the machine with a busted chain. Having to pull the transaxle apart in 6" of mud in the middle of a field and put it all back together. Drop a bolt - wipe it off on your bib overalls and put it back into service.

Topped with a 255 cubic inch engine with a 5.5:1 compression ratio and a red line of 1350 RPM. Cranks out 33 HP. Yes, I think your typical duct-tape and bailing twine repairs won't work on a turbine.

Me, I like keeping the best of both worlds. The Case for the sloppy work and the Bota for the clean side. Though I would like to hear the sound of a turbine winding up. (Didn't chrysler have a prototype Turbine car back in the 60's?)

Soundguy · Jun 10, 2002

I wish hay were that price around me. We pay 6-7 bucks for timothy or timothy alfalfa mix.. sometimes in the high 5's.. but usually 6.25.

Soundguy

"going to pay for hardware vs what can you by hay for? At $2/bale around me, its going to take a lot fo years to justify hardware. "

Soundguy · Jun 10, 2002

Straw is also expensive here.. upwards of 5.25 a bale.

Just under alfalfa here, and just a bit more or even with costal.

Soundguy

"Around here in Hartwood Virginia, Straw is selling for around 4.00 a bale and up! A lot of farmers seem to be "

Soundguy · Jun 10, 2002

Here are a few observations I have. I have a 1997 NH 1920. It is approx 33 hp, 29ptoand has a 4 cyl / 122ci engine.
The NH TC33 should be the exact match.... 33 engine hp, 29 pto hp. 3 cyl / 91 ci engine.

Both tractors are rated for 33/29 hp... yet the tc33 has a 25% smaller engine.

That means that smallerengine is working harder per cylinder to do the same work. Baring differences in technical advances, etc... I would wager that the 'overworked' tractor will have a shorter usable lifespan.

Another observation with the yanmar tractors. Some models use the same block, and different piston sleeves, and a larger fuel injection ( more fuel ) setup to obtain more hp from essentially the same engine.

My opinion on that is as stated above for the NH...

Soundguy

"Those old tractors aren't rated conservative, it's just that these "new" compact tractors are "over rated"!!!! I've been saying it for years!!
Compacts just don't have the torque it takes to make a "real HP"!!! Now you know what i've been saying on this board for a long time!
Robert "

Phred · Jun 10, 2002

Soundguy,

Displacement is just part of the story. What are the realtive compression ratios?
A smaller engine with a high compression ratio can out perform a larger low compression engine. That why a modern high end sports car can out perform a 60's mucle car although the displacement in the muscle car may be 2x of the sports car.

Fred

TresCrows · Jun 11, 2002

Well, leaving behind Bunny's plight and moving on to horsepower for making hay, well, I think the horsepower race is another "guy" thing. Engine displacement is a better indicator of the likelyhood of a tractor or whatever having more useable torque. An old saying is that there is no replacement for displacement. The TC 33 may have the same horsepower rating as the other NH but it is nonetheless a smaller tractor by what--30 cubic inches or so. Horsepower is such an easy number to sell and the decals looks so nice stuck on the engine cowl.
Indicated horsepower (IHP)= PLANK/33,000 where P equals Indicated mean effective pressure in psi, L equals Length of the stroke in feet (or fractions thereof), A equals piston area in sq inches, N equals number of power strokes per minute (RPM/2) and K equals the number of cylinders.
From this formula you can see the basic variables that affect horsepower and torque. The 33,000 is like a constant that is defined by 1hp equals ft.lbs per min/33,000. Work is an interesting little ditty ---- Work = Force X Distance thus lifting a 33,000 lb weight one foot in one minute is a power unit defined as 1 horsepower. Oh well, I am getting tired. J

Soundguy · Jun 11, 2002

My comparison data doesn't include compression ratio, or any of the other various suport technologies that are incorporated into the engine.

However, realative compression ratio don't effect my opinion much.... An engine with a higher comp. ratio is 'working harder' than a larger engine with a lower comp. ratio.

I think generated torque is more of an issue.

Soundguy

"Displacement is just part of the story. What are the realtive compression ratios?
A smaller engine with a high compression ratio can out perform a larger low compression engine. That why a modern high end sports car can out perform a 60's mucle car although the displacement in the muscle car may be 2x of the sports car."

DVerbarg · Jun 11, 2002

the major problem they hadn't found a solution for was the exhaust heat. According to him (and of course I have no idea how much he actually knew), if the exhaust were aimed straight back, it would burn the paint off any car that got within normal distance behind it while stopped at a traffic light and if the exhaust were aimed down, it would melt the asphalt when it stopped at a traffic light.

Now that might help in the Ag world! Dry your corn/beans/grain as you harvest, dry the hay as you mo-co and bale the same day! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

DVerbarg · Jun 11, 2002

I was wondering, you seem to be very convinced that a MoCo is the way to go for haying, why? Here in TX, I have never even seen anyone using one, and most of the tractor dealerships do not even stock any. I understand that for certain legumes like alfalfa, it can really cut the drydown time, but around here everyone bales grass (generally hybrid bermuda), and almost everyone just uses disc cutters. 

Here in northern Illinois the MoCo is the accepted way of cutting hay. Dry time seems to be the primary factor. The first cutting of the year is usually the largest of the year and one of the most important yet it falls into a part of the season where rain is a considerable factor. Its tough to "find" a window of 3 to 4 days to cut, dry and bale a field of hay. Without a MoCo it would take an additional 1 to 2 days of dry time and would take a considerable risk of losing the crop to rain.

Just my $.02