Tractor Comparisons - Hours on the Meter

[EdupstateNY]

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I have ben looking at CUTs w/FEL in the 30 hp range. Would appreciate any insights on what should be considered "normal hours of use"? I know the hours of use are not the whole story, the type of use is a major factor, but warranty's and service are all based upon hours - so that becomes one the major factors for comparing machines. That being the case how does one determine what the average annual use should be and when it is high or low?

 

[Henro]

I don't really know the answer to your question, but to confuse the issue a little more you need to consider the type of hour meter that is on each tractor you are looking at, if you are going to meaningfully (is that a real word?) compare the numbers.

Some hour meters register true hours. Others are driven by the engine in some fashion, and only register an hour if the engine spends that hour turning at some defined speed. I think on my larger tractor (Kubota B2910) I have to be running about 2,600 RPM (550 PTO) for an hour to get an hour on the meter. If I run at 1,500 RPM, it takes almost two real-time hours to register 1 hour on the meter.

Thought I would mention this in case you were not aware of it... a tractor with more hours on the meter could actually have operated the least number of real hours... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Bird]

I don't know how many hours would be considered "normal", but the general impression I get from this forum, which is undoubtedly the most informative place on the Internet, is that a large percentage of the CUTs only average about 100 hours a year, but of course, that's just my guess and it does vary. I would think anything from 100 to 200 a year would be in the "normal" range.

 

[OrangeGuy]

A good rule of thumb is the following for under 50 HP engines...

- water-cooled diesel 5000 hours equals 100,000 car miles
- water-cooled gas 2500 hours equals 100,000 car miles
- air-cooled gas 1250 hours equals 100, 000 car miles

Of course, just like cars, the above numbers are achieved with good maintenance and using the engine/tractor as recommended by the manufacturer.

OrangeGuy

 

[Henro]

Just to add some specifics to my previous post...

I have about 437 hours on my B2910 with tachometer driven hour meter and it just passed the two year mark by a couple days...

Not many hours during winter here...so I would expect if I lived in florida I would be around double that!

Guess part of the answer is it depends on where you live and if the tractor sees a lot of use all year 'round...

 

[MicroPilot]

Another perspective: My neighbor has a Massey 1250 thats 3 years old and has just over 120 hours. My new Century (1 month old) has already logged 46 hours!!!

 

[ZJ_HR]

Hours on new tractor are like sex with new wife /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
First month is equal to next six months, than to year later /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[chim]

Part of the problem in determining how many hours "should" be on a CUT is the wide variety of owners and their requirements. Going by the percentage of use, mine sees a lot more mowing than anything else. I live on 2-1/4 acres and mow for some others near me. I have no woods to play in, don't have any major landscaping projects and have no garden. Winter sometimes brings a fair amount of snow, but we have had Winters here without any plowable snow.

My tractor gets about 150 hours a year on the meter. I never checked to see how the meter counts the hours, but that sounds like it could be real-time hours. With the mower going at PTO RPM, I can see that.

I have looked at used CUT's and they were all over the map as far as hous go. There's a big difference between the hours racked up on a unit used by a lawn care outfit and some guy who "thought" he ought to have something bigger than a store brand riding mower...............chim

 

[jinman]

If you consider the manufacturer's warranty, it seems that years are as important as hours. My tractor had a warranty of 3 years or 2000 hours on the powertrain, and that tells me the manufacturer thinks the tractor will hold up for lots of hours. 400 to 500 hours should not be considered much, but if the tractor is 5 or 6 years old, that would be an equal consideration to me.

 

[EdupstateNY]

Thanks to everyone who responded. TBN continues to be the best resource on the internet. Your collective insights confirmed what I was sensing. Thanks again to all.

PS: Have you noticed that once a tractor starts to get some real hours on it the seller reports that the hour meter is "broken" humh!!!