Oil & Fuel Rabbit vs turtle fuel consumption

ccap74 · Apr 21, 2008

If all things are equal, would my TC45DA get better or worse fuel economy in Rabbit or Turtle? I mow with a 6' brush cutter over my kept field. I leave the gear selector in "II".

LoneCowboy · Apr 21, 2008

fuel economy is measured in distance traveled vs amount of fuel used. so, the higher the gear, the more distance you travel. But i don't think that's what you are really asking.

hydrostatic tractors run at their "setting" all the time, same RPM (typically PTO speed), so unlike gear tractors, RPM doesn't really matter

You want to run at the highest gear (for the conditions) that you can without it bogging down (i.e. blowing black smoke, losing RPMs, etc because the pump can't keep up)

Most tractors (not all) use so much per hour at a particular setting, and unless you are really working it (plowing, ground engaging equipment, etc) it really doesn't change that much.

TC45, 1 gallon per hour, approximately (from my experience with my TC45)
We mow in turtle II. (which is about 5.9mph, which is plenty fast if ti's smooth)

jinman · Apr 22, 2008

Turtle-II is my normal cutting range, but I switch to rabbit-I when I bog down on some hills (not very often). Rabbit-II is my road gear only and I just use it in transit. I think if you measured your transmission heat, you would see that turtle-II runs cooler than rabbit-II even if you could feather the pedal and get the job done in rabbit-II. I suspect over the long term, the fuel consumption would be slightly more also, but I have no actual numerical data taken to support that.

RickB · Apr 22, 2008

ccap74 said:
If all things are equal, would my TC45DA get better or worse fuel economy in Rabbit or Turtle? I mow with a 6' brush cutter over my kept field. I leave the gear selector in "II".

All things will not be equal. Of the following three variables; engine RPM, ground speed, and hydro pedal position, you will only match two. Which two are matched will determine the fuel usage rate over time or distance. The question can't be answered as posed.

Soundguy · Apr 22, 2008

I agree with Rick.. fuel used will be a measure of how much work the engine is doing.

I can mow my 10-ac pasture with a 15' mower in 2 hours.. or I can mow it in 3 hrs with a 10' mower.. use 5g of diesel either way....

soundguy

ccap74 · Apr 22, 2008

Thanks for the good info... About the "if all things were equal" I was really meaning the job that I'm performing (mowing), weight of the tractor(implements), and the terrain that I'm using it on (the same stretch of field)
I love mowing but I love saving money more. Thanks again

slowzuki · Apr 23, 2008

Its roughly a fixed amount of fuel per acre to mow, regardless of travel speed. Sharpen your blades, and cut the grass higher are the only two fuel savers I know of. Or get some sheep.