The 5609 has about 70 hours on it now. I'm averaging 1.04 gallons of fuel per hour over the lifetime of the tractor. The economy PTO is a great fuel saver.
Tractor remains a joy to operate. Again, the seat is fantastic. I'm getting the hang of all the different programming options.
One of my favorites is the ability to program rpm ranges (low and high). The program has the option to be on all the time, on when the PTO is on, or one when the 3 pt. hitch is lowered. For the PTO, you basically bracket 540 rpms on the PTO with the rpm range. Push a button to engage the 'program,' and another to turn on the PTO and the tractor will automatically spin up to whatever rpm is needed to maintain 540 pto rpm.
I do almost all my shifting via the joystick buttons now. You can up-shift and down-shift gears and ranges (road mode, in field mode it is gear changes only. Have to use the t-handle for ranges shifts), forward and reverse, and neutral all using buttons on the joystick. Very slick.
Used a root grapple on it and blew out the hydraulic seals on one side of the grapple. Seal was damaged by sand and grit.. Anyway, with the combined hydraulic flow, the grapple opens and closes pretty darned fast. Operation of the FEL is quick - at times, maybe too quick? Naw... Its pretty nice.
It is a great tractor. I did the 50 hours service myself and was happy how easily accessible all the filters were. Still in the honeymoon stage...
