Horsepower hours per gallon- help me understand

[Doc_Bob]

I have a 3-cyl, Turbocharged TN 70 (70 HP) ag tractor. Fuel consumption depends too much on work load. I can get 2 hours on a gallon of diesel if all I am doing is light work with the FEL and 1 gal hr if I am working it hard with bush hog. I have never measured fuel consumption with a 3-14 plow. Too many variables.

Good luck.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have a 3-cyl, Turbocharged TN 70 (70 HP) ag tractor. Fuel consumption depends too much on work load. I can get 2 hours on a gallon of diesel if all I am doing is light work with the FEL and 1 gal hr if I am working it hard with bush hog. I have never measured fuel consumption with a 3-14 plow. Too many variables.

Good luck.

I can burn a tank of fuel on my TN65 if I work it hard in less then 8 hours. I was a little disappointed NH didn't put an 8 hour tank on then but they addressed that with the tank mounted behind the seat a few years back.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Thanks for the info folks.



The main reason I want to know, is, I'm trying to fig. out 'theoretically' how much diesel my JD tractors burn during grape harvest. Granted, all they are doing is moving 'slow' w/ a grape tub while being loaded. The only 'work' is when it gets muddy or when they're 'rev-ed' up to dump. Most of the night, they are about 1100-1200rpm in what ever gear that keeps up w/ the harvester (usually 3rd-5th gear).

(I've guessed at it.... both tractors and harvester run about 1.5 gal per hour. The JD's have a 19.5gal tank, and we fill every two days- 3/4 empty. They run 7-8 hours a night while the harvester runs 2 hours longer- pre and post cleaning. It has a 15gal tank- it gets filled every day.)

I understand that fuel use varies w/ all kinds of variables. But where do I find that information on the web. I know these tractors have been tested up the ying and yang. Does some organization publish this stuff online (w/out a membership).

Look here for some info on the subject NE Tractor Test Laboratory U of NE is an independent testing lab, with no ties to any manufacturer. They use the same standardized testing on ALL brands, without any "skewing" of info to turn "data" into "propaganda".

The John Deere 2030 was rebadged as the 2440 in late 1977. They were essentially the same tractor (until production of the 2440 moved from Dubuque Iowa to Mannheim Germany in late 1981) I have a 1979 2440. In short, it's a fuel hog. It'll use 2-1/2+ gallons per hour under load (a lot for 60 HP in my book) Back it down to 1200/1400 RPM and a light load and the fuel consumption doesn't improve much. If it wasn't such a good tractor otherwise, it would have gone away a long time ago.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

What you need to find is engine performance data from engine mfgr.

Look here 4TNV88-DSA - Yanmar America Corporation and click on performance data to DL a pdf file that shows typ torque/ HP/fuel consumption curves. (selected the Yanmar charts as I knew they were available on the net.)

Info like this should be available for engines from all mfgrs. I had charts like this in a factory service manual on a car I owned yrs ago. Info in that chart looked just like the one I've given a link for.

 

[Kaliburz]

Farmwithjunk,

Well, the 2030 got a brand new crate motor in 1992/3. Was a 80HP engine, 4.5L if I recall and put out 73-74 PTO HP. Bascially made it a 2640 (

According to another site, the 2030 got a rating of 15.28 HP HR/GAL (60.65 PTO HP). Wouldn't that mean you should be burning nearly 4 gallons of fuel per our at full load?????

I found the Nebraska test, but they want me to pay for reports.....

I'm new to the tractor fuel economy stuff. I mean, before, off road diesel was cheap when I was a kid. I recall it being less then a buck delivered! OH how times have changed......

Micky_Fx,

Thanks for the idea, but I don't think Deere will have info online for tractors made back in the 70's and 80's. I knew I use to grab product brochures back then....but I usually tossed them or got tossed by mom when I was a kid!

 

[skidoo]

Let me take a stab at this.

Horsepower is a measure of work being done. A 50hp tractor can do twice the work as a 25 hp tractor in the same amount of time. This is where the horsepower-hour comes in.

Actually, Horsepower is a measure of Work per unit time. By multiplying by hours, it takes out the time element and leaves the work being done. So, the result is work done per gallon. I agree that 50HP can do twice the work as 25HP in the same amount of time.

Over time the JD 15.28 hp-hr/gal will use less fuel than the Ford 13.9 hp-hr/gal.

Perhaps most of the time. But, not always because the tractors may not be operating at full load for the same work to be done.

 

[Racer71]

Thanks for the info folks.


I've guessed at it.... both tractors and harvester run about 1.5 gal per hour.

Kaliburz,

You guess that both tractors will burn the same amount of fuel. Lets say that you are within +/- 20%. That is 0.3 gallons per hour or about +/- $1 per hour.

Your 8 hour day will be 12 gallons of fuel or $36 at $3 per. I bet the other items that will have a bigger impact to the success of your harvest.

Good luck.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I bet the other items that will have a bigger impact to the success of your harvest.

Good luck.

He has a custom harvesting business so I can see where he would like to know this information as it helps him to try and accurately figure fuel usage so he can figure out all of his cost.

 

[KICK]

since you already have an idea how much fuel you use, why don't you leave the analysis to something more important.

fuel is one of those things that takes care of itself, when your out, you add more.

 

[Kaliburz]

Thanks for the help everyone. I figure I'd like to see how the tractors were actually doing vs what they were "tested" at by the 'experts'.

And I can see where 'information overload' could be an issue too. Too much data and it is not doing a darn good thing......

Have a Happy New Year everyone..... stay safe if you venture out this evening.