HST Operation

[k0ua]

The HST is way more maneuverable than the gear even though the latter is the smaller of the two tractors.

Exactly, with the hydro you don't need to use split braking so much because you can see-saw so quickly without any effort.

James K0UA

 

[ddb123]

James, that is a seriously generous offer! I live in the Joplin/Neosho area and have grandparents in Branson. I just might wind up taking you up on that.

Here's a question that I forgot earlier, OkieDave kind of touched on it: most of my property is not level, so I often wind up using brakes and clutch in conjunction after I stop in order to smoothly get started again. Is this trouble on a hydro with same-side brake and hydro pedals?

My mowing is in big, mostly open areas but I'm starting to think maybe hydro would be better in the woods.

I can say for sure that when I'm actually ON my tractor, I'm having a blast and not thinking about what kind of transmission it has.

 

[k0ua]

James, that is a seriously generous offer! I live in the Joplin/Neosho area and have grandparents in Branson. I just might wind up taking you up on that.

Here's a question that I forgot earlier, OkieDave kind of touched on it: most of my property is not level, so I often wind up using brakes and clutch in conjunction after I stop in order to smoothly get started again. Is this trouble on a hydro with same-side brake and hydro pedals?

My mowing is in big, mostly open areas but I'm starting to think maybe hydro would be better in the woods.

I can say for sure that when I'm actually ON my tractor, I'm having a blast and not thinking about what kind of transmission it has.

Seriously come on down and I will let you play. No, brakes are seldom needed on a hydro, even on these extreme hills on my place. when you take your foot off of the forward, the hydro will just barely drift even if pointed downhill.. Now over time it will roll off, so you always want to park with your parking brake set, and I usually drop my ballast barrel and the bucket too. but starting and stopping is no problem at all. you rarely need the brakes at all as the pedal self centers (neutrals) and holds you . The hydro is wonderful in the woods. ( I have a lot of woods) because you can go so slow and change directions so quickly to work around trees. Don;t get e wrong I used my B7500DT (gear) for 8 years in these same woods, and it worked fine. But the hydro is just so much better. (at least for me). If you are serious about coming down, just PM me and maybe you can work in a visit with your grandparents and stop by here for a while, I am on the northeast side of Branson, just about 2 or 3 miles out of the city limits. Another thing about the hydro is when pulling over or pushing over small (live)trees., The Hydro allows you to apply slow steady even pressure without wheel spin. The tree will either give up or it won't, but you have done it in a manner that I believe is safer, no jerking, no clutch slipping, less shock to everything. Come on over to the "dark side" I bet if I can get you to use the tractor for even 20 minutes moving gravel around, you will love it. Your welcome any time just let me know.

James K0UA

 

[OkieDave]

^^^ What he said.

I bought my tractor (Mahindra 3316HST) in May. In the eight months I've owned it, I may have touched the brake pedal twice (parking brake notwithstanding--I use it regularly). As a rule, by the time I take my foot off the hydro pedal to put it on the brake, I'm stopped before I can apply the brake. I say this after comparing the Mahindra to the NH and Kubota: the Mahindra is smooth to let off; the NH and Kubota will knock your fillings loose if you release the pedal quickly.

My Mahindra has split pedals, with a hinged connecting bar binding them. I've never separated them. As to power, this evening, I was dragging dead trees out of a line of brush. I was dead-stop and lugging the engine several times, but none were due to a failure of the HST. I either spun the tires in sand (and on asphalt) or just plain didn't have the power to deliver, but the HST was perfectly happy to stop a turbocharged Diesel in its tracks.

I'll see James's offer and raise it: any time you want to play, I have many, many hours of work to be done. Come visit and I'll let you play until your backside is sore and my trees are all gone. Heck, I'll even bring the beer.

--Dave

 

[k0ua]

Well ddb123, there you have it, now you have 2 offers. We are enthusiastic about our Hydro equipped tractors because we really believe they offer a level of useability and control that is just not available in other designs. Now like everything in life there are downsides. One is the fact in general they usually cost more, They make a "whiney" sound especially when under load, they reduce the amount of power delivered to the wheels and PTO by about 5 to 10 percent. And they produce more heat due to those parasitic power losses. There is also another filter to change in the maint. interval. But with all the downsides figured in, the upsides so far outweigh the downsides that they seem trivial in comparison.

James K0UA

 

[TripleR]

Thanks for the great answers guys.

TripleR, search on the iPhone app is my weakness. It doesn't let you narrow results in any way, so searching for HST operation will return any thread that has those words anywhere in it. Thank you for helping clear that up my questions. The various differences between manufacturers really confused me.

I know what you mean, even on a regular computer it takes me quite a while to find what I want, here are just a few:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/222016-transmission-type-selection.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-brakes-hydrostatic-transmission-tractor.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-poll-your-satisfaction-your-hydrostatic.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/180910-quick-question-about-turning-brakes.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/160338-hydros-brake-pedals.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-does-anybody-really-dislike-hydrostatic.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-does-anybody-really-dislike-hydrostatic.html

 

[ddb123]

You guys are way too kind. Don't be surprised if you get a PM from me when it gets a little warmer. Then again, maybe I need to stay away from HST so I don't end up dissatisfied with my current tractor and forced to spend a lot of money on a new one!

3R, you are just helping me spend even more time on TBN! If I were married I think my wife would be your enemy

 

[IndyIan]

One other benefit to the HST is the ability to creep slowly and then take off at full speed (in that range) either forwards or backwards. I think this is the biggest advantage over a shuttle shift which can do the forward to reverse part quite well.