Kubota vs Kioti, hydro vs gear trans.

[LastSTRAW]

I own both.
My HST saves me time. My gear tractor saves me fuel. When moving equipment in tight situations you can't beat the HST. There is no on and off the clutch to make minor adjustments. With the HST I can park a piece of equipment in a very tight space quickly without hitting the other pieces of eqpt. I can do it with the gear tractor but not as quickly and not as precisely.

The only complaint I have about HST is that my manual recommends running at 2000 RPM even when you are not working the tractor hard. On my gear tractor I am able to throtle it back to reduce noise and save fuel.

 

[jenkinsph]

The only complaint I have about HST is that my manual recommends running at 2000 RPM even when you are not working the tractor hard. On my gear tractor I am able to throtle it back to reduce noise and save fuel.

While optimum performance is at higher rpms you can lower the speed for most things you do. If you find that 1500 rpms will work for you I wouldn't hesitate to lower the throttle. As an example, a tractor with auto throttle will vary the rpms with demand by the forward and reverse pedals so it isn't necessary to run the engine at a high speed all the time.

 

[LastSTRAW]

thanks. That's good to know. I will give it a try.

 

[k0ua]

While optimum performance is at higher rpms you can lower the speed for most things you do. If you find that 1500 rpms will work for you I wouldn't hesitate to lower the throttle. As an example, a tractor with auto throttle will vary the rpms with demand by the forward and reverse pedals so it isn't necessary to run the engine at a high speed all the time.

I do this all the time, for instance I am doing something with a light load like finish grading or something like that I often run at 1400-1500 rpm. It saves fuel, saves noise, and makes the precise movement even easier.