Hydro or Shuttle for the long haul?

[Blue Mule]

After excessive thought, research, phone calls, and more thought, I've decided to keep the tractor I have. For $6,000 I guess I'll just learn to work more slowly and use the money for other needs around the property. For the time being I won't be mowing with it. That'll come in the future. If one day in the future I buy an attachment or implement and the tractor won't handle it, I'll load the tractor up and go trade it in at that point in time.

In other words, rather than assuming/anticipating problems, I'm going to wait until I reach a problem with this tractor and then rectify it. Perhaps this will be the first time in my life I do something smart.

2,600+ RPM all day er' day!

And then 4 days later I was on the tractor again and couldn't keep it in high range to travel down a gravel road. First incline once again bogged the tractor down. Easing up off the pedal doesn't help, it just makes the tractor lose momentum and stop sooner. And then a few minutes later on a grassy hillside in medium range the tractor pulled up the hill at probably 2-3 MPH with the throttle wide open and pedal on the floor. It is becoming blatantly obvious that mowing with this tractor will be miserable unless I run a 4' mower which is pointless.

So... as much as I tried to convince myself to suck it up and live with it, I just can't do it. I just can't make payments on a brand new tractor that won't even do what I want.

Called my dealer back today and went ahead and pulled the trigger on a replacement. Exact same tractor, just add a turbo and 60% more horsepower. This one should be perfect. I hope to pick it up next week.

 

[LouNY]

Reading this last description tells me that you have the linked throttle engaged and are trying to run it like driving your car.
Remove the throttle link use the hand throttle, after it warms up good run the hand throttle right up to the stop then start easing into
your hydro pedal. On a flat location it should just start moving right out in mid or even high range.
When the engine pulls down just a few hundred below pto speed start backing off the hydro pedal.

 

[Blue Mule]

Reading this last description tells me that you have the linked throttle engaged and are trying to run it like driving your car.
Remove the throttle link use the hand throttle, after it warms up good run the hand throttle right up to the stop then start easing into
your hydro pedal. On a flat location it should just start moving right out in mid or even high range.
When the engine pulls down just a few hundred below pto speed start backing off the hydro pedal.

This tractor doesn't have a linked throttle.

I've been warming it up for a few minutes like the manual says, then head down the road.

 

[TMGT]

I'm not real familiar with the Workmaster series so decided to look up the specs for your current tractor compared to Kioti and Kubota which I'm more familiar with.

Was surprised that the NH went with a smaller engine, the Kioti and Kubota in this size have a 1.6L engine where the NH only has a 1.3L, also noticed that the PTO hp is a bit lower at 17 where the Kioti is 21.5 and the Kubota is 19 (although I question the Kioti specs).

It seems NH may have underspec'd the engine in Workmaster 25. For comparison the smaller Kubota LX2610 uses a 1.3 and has about 600lbs less base weight in what appears to be in a smaller frame size.

Is there any way you could demo another manufacturers comparable 26hp model such as the L2501 or CK2610?

 

[crazyal]

In the end I think you'll be happy that you did. I've made more than one purchase that I wasn't as happy as I should have been. If you're not happy now chances are you will never be happy. Hopefully the new tractor will be a better fit.

 

[npalen]

Do most hydrostat CUT's have a swashplate on both the hydro pump and hydro motor or just the pump?

 

[aczlan]

Do most hydrostat CUT's have a swashplate on both the hydro pump and hydro motor or just the pump?

Most have a swash plate on only one side (generally the pump).
Some (like Kubota's models with HST+) have a motor that you can change between 2 displacements on by activating a solenoid, but most have a fixed displacement motor.

Aaron Z

 

[npalen]

Most have a swash plate on only one side (generally the pump).
Some (like Kubota's models with HST+) have a motor that you can change between 2 displacements on by activating a solenoid, but most have a fixed displacement motor.

Aaron Z

It would seem, then, when the tractor is not moving that the parasitic loss would be a small percentage of that when the tractor is moving under hydrostatic load. That makes it difficult for me to understand the PTO loss ratings as the PTO, whether mechanically or hydraulically engaged, isn't powered by the hydrostat. I'm assuming that at zero MPH the hydrostat pump is not moving any fluid but rather just maintaining standby pressure.
To put it in other terms, why would a hydrostat tractor not have the same power to drive a wood chipper, for instance, as would a gear/clutch drive tractor with the same engine? I don't mean to argue here, just trying to understand.

Edit: Perhaps the difference in PTO HP rating is a number is based on an average drawbar pull by the hydrostat where in actuality it can be much more or much less.

 

[TxMN]

I am on my 3rd tractor in 10 years, all Kubota, B2320 to start, added an M5660, now only have MX5400HST. Only 5660 had hydraulic shuttle, both B and MX have HST. I never got confortable with the 5660, only used it to shred and disc, did those well. But my general tractor use is mowing, dishing, loader work, use pallet forks and grapple most. I try to take care of 30 acres now, all in wildlife conservation plan, so I don’t mow everything all the time.
For my needs and at my age I am will in to accept any performance issues of HST for convenience. Promised my wife on our new place I would make do with only one tractor, MX5400 was a good choice, however, I never promised I wouldn’t buy any more implements and attachments, been married 36 years, she knows I have an equipment addiction, and she wants her property to look good, a good combination of needs.

 

[the old grind]

Some HST pump (frictional) losses exist whether the tractor is moving or hot.

With OC hydraulics the hydro pump is also constantly moving fluid and taxing power.

Hp ratings don't include operating either pump. That's why PTO & drawbar hp is always less.