Want to move from 425 to 1430 or 1845

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi everyone - I purchased a PT 425 in August and have invested in many attachments - I really love this machine and have realatively few complaints - The one real problem I have with it is that the machine seems to be underpowered when working on steep
slopes with the 60 inch deck running - Now it is not a problem with the deck - it has plenty of power - and the engine also has reserve power - I think the problem is that the trans pump
is too small for 20 degree slope (my property is about 18 to 20 degrees at the steepest part)

So I am doing some investigating - I am considering selling the unit and moving up to either the 1430 or 1845 - it really depends on the ability for the 1430 to climb my 20 degree slope with the 60 inch deck running - I know the 1430 is suppose to be rated for 30 degrees but the 425 is rated for 20 degrees but I don't think it has enough power for 20 degrees with the 60 inch deck
(it also strains with the 48 inch deck but not as much)

I tested the 1430 and 425 when making my decision at the factory - I thought the 1430 was great but a little too big
(But now I realize it wasn't)
I did not test the unit on hills

I know that the 1845 will handle it but I am concerned that it is too big at 116+ inches in tight spots and it will barely cover the tracks of my 60 inch deck - I think the 15 gpm is too much flow for the mower motor and I will probably have to change the motor or deck -

I really like the idea of a heavier machine - I also noticed that
the 425 is a little light to move topsoil around - even though
it has more than enough hydraulics to do it - The PTO has alot of power as well - I don't want to modify the machine and add
weights untill I am sure I am keeping it

I am trying to compare the trans motor output for the 425 vs the 1430 vs the 1845 - but Power Trac will not provide the models / spec - They only tell me that mine is an Eaton (I think it is a "medium duty series" by looking at the pictures on the Eaton website) and the 1430 is also Eaton while the 1845 is Sunstrand - Don't understand why they won't give me the model info -

Anyway - sorry to ramble on - but any help out there is much appreciated

Also I noticed that the 1430 was a little loud even for a diesel
anyone try and quiet it down with a quiet muffler?

Also I have put together some neat attachments - slicer / seeder, vacuum, backhoe - etc if anyone is interested


-EDM

 

[MossRoad]

Of course we're interested. Post pictures /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[duane]

EDM,

Just a thought. The hydraulic wheel motors on the PT425 cover a wide range of ground speed, 0 - 8 mph. If you are willing to sacrifice some ground speed, you could change out your hydraulic motors to give your more torque. Call Power Trac and see if they could help you out with this.

Duane

 

[MossRoad]

Are the attachments interchangeable between the 400, 1400 and 1800 series? I thought they were not. You might want to check. You could be looking at all new implements as well. However, I'm sure you would have no trouble selling it as a package or seperately, especially if you posted it here /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Scott_F]

Edward,
Welcome to the PT forum. Sounds like you'll have a lot of good input (and valid single user comparisons if you trade up /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif ). As MR mentioned, we'd love to see pictures of the attachments you've put together. Best of luck on your upsizing decision.

Scott

 

[duane]

EDM,

Another thought clicked into my mind. If you went from 23" to 18" tires/rims, you could increase your torque by about (rough number) 25 %. This would reduce your ground speed from 8 to 6 mph. You would also give up 2.5" of ground clearance.

Duane

 

[Anonymous Poster]

EDM,
Welcome...
And sorry to hear of your disappointment with the 425...
I'm getting close to a new 422 (48" deck) and ,of course, am a little concerned with your experience...
With the engine's design angle of operation ~25deg,I'm now
wondering if this "weakness" that you're experiencing is "cleverly" designed to keep the motor "safe" or just an
engineering "coin toss"...
I, too, asked for pump and motor #'s and was refused but I can understand the competitive protection factor...I cannot understand refusing the info to an OWNER, especially on a product with no dealer network. If I were going to build a competitor, I would just buy a machine and "disassemble" it.

I am curious as to PT's response to your slope issue...Please share any response from PT that you care to.

When you said " I also noticed that
the 425 is a little light to move topsoil around", is this also on the 18-20 deg. slope??

I, too, have these angles to work with and am hoping this isn't
the norm... Anybody???

 

[MossRoad]

I was also wondering what was meant by a little light to move topsoil around. Especially after moving 90 tons of granulated limestone 350 yards or so in about 10 hours. I also heap the bucket with black dirt and haul it up a pretty long, steep hill from time to time.

Also, when using the brush hog up hill, I'll lose traction before I lose power. That's with turfs on an even steeper hill than what I haul the dirt up.

Maybe I should measure my hill for slope. Hmm... I'll try to do that the next time I'm out there. All I know is it is steep enough to sled on and get up some pretty decent speed.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

...Oops, 1 more question regarding slope "power"... for anyone that knows the 400's hydraulics...
Is there a pressure relief valve setting in this circuit that
could be "tweaked" to give a little more "travel" power??

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Bruce:
There is a sticker on my 1845 that says the warranty is void if anyone messes with pressure settings, etc. That suggests to me that it can be done. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
One of the unanswered questions that we have posed to Power Trac is with respect to the pressure settings and how to go about testing them. My 1845 with turfs will run out of traction or stall the engine. I've never felt that the hydraulics were stalled. John Coxon (Sedgewood) has experienced hydraulic stall on steep grades with his 1845 on bar treads. Power Trac recommended a pressure test in a relatively low-pressure circuit, which seemed OK. Measurement and adjustment of pressure is an unresolved issue. I think, however, that there seem to be some variations in experience with the 400 series that suggest varying relief settings. I recall at least one report a while back that on the steepest hills one owner thought he was running out of engine power, which suggests that the hydraulics were taking all the engine had - as has been my 1845 experience. None of us has done any careful testing, however, and maybe the variations are just in pedal technique, which makes a tremendous difference in the PT's performance.