Throttle Up, Throttle Down?

[jimainiac]

I'm just curious as to which is the most common hand trottle arrangement. On our old tractor you push the lever up to increase RPMs, but on our new tractor you pull the lever down to increase. I thought the push up style made more sense, as in up = faster.

 

[BGL990]

Hmmm... seems my experience has been opposite of yours. Most of the "old iron" I've driven has a throttle that you pull toward yourself to increase rpm. On my new JD 990, you push the handle forward to increase rpm.

 

[BobReeves]

Ford 3000 and MF 135 both pull to increase RPM. Always thought it should be the other way around but what do I know... Must be a reason they are backwards but can't think of one.

 

[MMM]

Maybe a safety design. Most hyd actuation is same- up on handle to lower, down to raise. If something were to accidently put weight on handle, load would raise instead of lower on someones head. I guess the fwd motion on throttle would more likely happen if one was to hit something, pass out, etc.. Likewise, if a throttle was orientated vertically, it would be up more throttle down for less .
I'm sure some TBNer will disprove this theory n short time.

 

[flwiii]

Don't know if there is a real engineering reason for the direction of travel for throttling up or down. My JD 2305 is down for more throttle and up for less. This is mechanically the easy way to set up the throttle control linkage or cable on my particular tractor. I do know though, that most all Japanese Grey Market tractors are up for more throttle and down for less. Maybe the U. S. just wants to be different.

 

[Highbeam]

My old 1972 IH dozer was to the nose for more rpms. On a few occasions junk has jabbed into the operators compartment on pushed that throttle back to idle which stopped it "in its tracks" (ooooh). My kioti is up/forward for more rpm.

An excavator has the levers mounted to the floor to cause each track to move. When the excavator is moving forwards the levers are pushed to the glass to cause the tracks to move the machine forward, if a limb spears into the cab it will push the levers back and you will stop or reverse. Now if you spin the machine around on the tracks so that you pull the levers back to move forward and that same tree butt spears the cab, it will push the levers farther back and cause the machine to move faster until the tree spears you. This has killed people.

 

[deerefan]

My 52 8N, you pulled the throttle down, to you, to increase. It took me a while to get used to my new 5103 where you had to push it up. I bogged myself a few times doing it wrong!

 

[SailorBob]

On my grey market Yamar you pull to increase throttle. I have heard that on the US Yanmars it was just opposite. Actually, I think pushing up would be safer. I had had a low tree limb snag the throttle a couple of times and rev up the engine...Kind of scary

 

[Soundguy]

My ford 2n 8n, naa, 660, 5000 and 7610s all have the hand throttle that you pull down. My NH 1920 it had an up down T handle.. and you pushed it up for throttle. My JD-B has a push pull lever.. pull for throttle..

Allis chalmers G has a throttle under the left of the seat.. forward for throttle.

IH cub.. forward on lever for throttle.

Hmm... murray riding lawnmower.. forward on lever for throttle.

Soundguy

 

[California]

Yep. From Yanmar USA:

"Pulling on the throttle of a gray market tractor will cause it to accelerate whereas pulling on the throttle of a tractor designed for the U.S. market will cause it to decelerate."

 

[flwiii]

SailorBob:
You are correct. Somehow I was thinking in reverse on my 2305. I know the Grey Markets are exactly backwards of the U.S. models.
I stand corrected after taking a look again at my throttle lever. It pulls down for less RPM and forward for more RPM. The Grey Markets are down for more RPM and forward for less. Must have killed too many brain cells this week.

 

[flusher]

My Kubota B7510HST has down on the hand throttle (clockwise rotation) to increase engine RPM, up to reduce. Seemed odd to me at first, but now it seems normal.

Don't know if it has to do with design of the throttle linkage, or whether ergonomics is involved. Is it easier for a right handed person to control using a clockwise rotation of the wrist? Don't know (I'm a southpaw who had to get used to the right handed controls).

 

[slowrev]

My 1968 IH is pull to throttle up.

Ben

 

[jimainiac]

Well, I'm starting to see a pattern here, and that is there's no rhyme or reason to hand throttle position. The funny part is, my only experiance is with the two tractors that we have, and if they both had the throttle going the same way I never would have thought to ask this. My gut feeling was that up for increase made more sense, and some of the replies echo this, especially when you think of a tree branch catching it. I really appreciate it when a lever or a switch operates in a manner that is intuitive, guess that's called ergonomics. Seems like some companies do a better job of it. For example, we had an '86 Chevy pickup with a gas tank on either side, with a rocker switch to control them, but instead of rocking side to side it was mounted up and down. You always had to think about which side was up and which was down. I happened to look at the dash of a Suburban of the same vintage, and it had the same switch to control the back window up and down, but the switch was mounted sideways!

 

[jimmysisson]

The old Farmall A had everything in plain sight. You pushed the throttle lever forward, it pivoted on a bolt so the lower part of the lever went rearward, the long bent-up piece of 1/4" rod went back too and pulled open the throttle. It made lots of sense, except the little sawteeth on the detents were worn out so the throttle tended to slack off while you were working. Yep, MF 135 down, Ford 2120 up. I kind of like the up for more 'cause you can bunt it forward easier than back, and that's what I usually need to do in a pinch.
Jim

 

[73jeep]

From my experience if the throttle was mounted sideways like a turn-signal is usually positioned, then PULL back to accelerate. If the throttle was mounted where the handle points vertical and you push/pull it straight fowards or backwards, then you PUSH lever foward to accelerate.

 

[Theowegian]

The old 1959 Allis Chalmers D14 I owned, throttle was on the right side, pull back to increase RPMs.

My kubota L3130 is exactly the same as that old allis.

dwight

edit: obtw. the old Ford Model T cars were the same- right quadrant, lever down to increase speed. My Model T is a 1926 year. My guess is that the convention of the throttle action (lower to inc speed) has been around a long time and came from the auto industry.

 

[Bob_Young]

I've been on a few of those tree limb rides too, SailorBob. They're not fun. Bushhogging along at a good clip in 4th on the Ford 4000 at 1400 RPM and then, while pulling a tree limb out of your hair, the old girl snorts and bolts at 2000RPM. Throttle forward for more RPM would reduce the thrill factor.

I think the concern about hitting something while the operator's hand is on the throttle is what gave us the 'back for more' convention.
Bob

 

[Marlowe]

I've never given it much thought, but mine is advanced when pulled towards me. It all seemed just fine and proper until this conversation. Now I'm wondering.

When I get in my boat, and want to go faster, I push the throttle. I don't know why I never made the connection before. On land, pull it, on water, push it. I'm way too tired to get into the controls for the FEL compared to trim tabs on a boat.

 

[jimainiac]

Marlowe, you're getting into new territory here, with the comparison of the FEL controls to the boat. Which reminds me, last year we had a big snow year, so after plowing our parking lot with the truck I would dig out the snowbanks with the tractor. A couple times I found myself pushing down on the plow control in the truck to raise the blade, after running the FEL.