Hour meter accuracy

ccsial · Dec 14, 2005

Bird, Did your B7100 have a tach?

I thought that all tachs had hour meters and the electric meters were used if no tach was present. I'm sure there are exceptions to this. The decision to use a tach instead of an electric hour meter is both financial and the amount of panel space available. Electric hour meters are very cheap and don't require a cable drive. Diesels don't have electric pulses available for an electric tach.

On the computer controlled diesels the tach may be electrical so the hour meter might be real hours instead of tach hours.

Soundguy · Dec 14, 2005

( I find that shocking - could that actually be right? How accurate is your meter?
)

Not sure why you find that shocking.. Most of the 'oldies' used a mechanical 'proof' meter to count rpm and hours run. it was , and is still, common to count hours "AT" pto rpm.

A straight on/off electric hour meter doesn't do you much good. If you had 2 tractors.. and ran one at full pto rpm all day on a generator under load. and another at mid rpm just pulling a trailer.. both 'straight' meters would show same hours.. even thought the 'genny' tractor worked harder.. and that's what you are trying to gauge.. work hours.

Now.. if you 'rent' equipment.. I fully expect them to be electric on/off meters.. that way you are paying for ALL on-time of the equipment.

Soundguy

Bird · Dec 14, 2005

( Did your B7100 have a tach )

Nope, just the one "meter" that ran when the key was on and didn't run when the key was off. You know, it also had no fuel solenoid, so turning the key off only turned off the electrical system. You pulled the throttle all the way back, past a little detent, to shut off the fuel and kill the engine whether the key was on or off. So if you had left the key turned on (which I understand some have done, but I was lucky enough to not do) you'd be racking up hours on the meter while the tractor was not being used. On the other hand, with the engine running, you could turn the key off and continue using the tractor without the hour meter registering anything.

Iplayfarmer · Dec 14, 2005

"...you could turn the key off and continue using the tractor without the hour meter registering anything." 

Now there's another reason for me to prefer a tach hour meter vs. an on/off meter.

The only real info I've gotten so far in favor of an on/off electrical hour meter is from Soundguy when he was talking about the rental companies. Even then, I still think the tach meter would be better. All the rental companies I know of rent equipment by the hour based on when you pick it up and when you bring it back, not by what's on the meter. Even so, I would still think that a tach meter would be a better guage of the use and wear, etc. on the equipment.

Of course, I hardly ever rent equipment, and when I do, it's only for short periods of time.

ccsial · Dec 14, 2005

My 1910 has no fuel solenoid either. There is no seat switch either since there is no way to stop it. Throttle back to stop. My red oil light comes on after it stops so I always look for that to make sure the key is off before I close the garage.

Bird · Dec 14, 2005

( All the rental companies I know of rent equipment by the hour based on when you pick it up and when you bring it back, not by what's on the meter. )

That may be the case, in many instances, but not all. I know a couple of times my brother rented a dozer, they delivered it on a Friday evening and picked it up Monday evening. If he had put no more than 8 hours on the meter, he would only have had to pay for one day even though he had it for 3 days. But since he did put more hours on it, they charged for more than one day. Of course he knew in advance how that worked. And even though he actually used it on 4 different days (Friday evening, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday), he did put a little less than 16 hours on it and only had to pay for 2 days.

slowrev · Dec 14, 2005

some of the older tractors referred to the hour meter in the middle of the tach as a "Proof Meter". Not sure what that means, but that is what my ols IH manual calls the hour meter on my tractor. which also has what I call a hobbs type of digital hour meter as well. the digital meter appears to have quit many years ago, but the proof meter is still going. I am going to replace the digital meter with a voltmeter this winter as I refurbish the beast.

Ben

Soundguy · Dec 14, 2005

( If he had put no more than 8 hours on the meter, he would only have had to pay for one day even )

Hey Bird.. some of the rental co.'s here in Fl are the same. the GC i work for frequently rents equipment over a weekend.. and we generally only get charged 'hourly' use, depending on what it is.

Soundguy

chrisjbell · Dec 15, 2005

My '95 B7100 had the electric clock; i.e., ran the same speed with no relation to engine rpm anytime the key was turned on, while my '99 B2710 had the engine rpm tach. 

Boy that is interesting... I have a B7300 ('97 model) and it has a mechanical hour meter (at least I'm pretty sure it does - it acts like one). When I'm mowing and running at 540 all the time I can use the hour meter as a clock but when I'm digging or something where I run at lower RPMs it is "slow" and I get in trouble for being late if I use it to tell time. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

jimmysisson · Dec 15, 2005

My 2120 (1993 model) has a proof meter that the manual says racks up one hour at engine speed of 1867 rpm. The rpms at PTO 540 are about 2300. It says "Use the Proof-Meter as a guide to determine hourly service and maintenance intervals." Makes sense to me.
Jim