Grading What works a tractor harder?

[SPYDERLK]

I like the way you're thinking. It's a machine, make it work. :thumbsup:

Having said that, I find I have an easier time using all my tractor's power with ground engaging stuff, like a land plane filled with rocks, than I do with a finish mower. With a mower I often have to go slower to get a decent cut or to make the turns.

Yeah, undersized mower or thin or short grass will foil it. But thick grass a foot or more high can easily consume 10HP per foot of mower width at about 4mph.

Surprised me on my 2010 JD one time using a 5' bushog. ... I had zinged thru a bunch of little trees ~2" and then hit grass. Thot id messed up the tractor!

 

[4570Man]

As said earlier, both tilling and mowing take exactly the same power.

Running at full rpm doesn't mean you are producing full power. You are running at full rpm with both implements, but you are working way longer per acre with the tiller.

 

[SPYDERLK]

You are running at full power with both implements, but you are working way longer per acre with the tiller.

Yeah. More energy, work, per acre.

 

[TomSeller]

As said earlier, both tilling and mowing take exactly the same power.

Everything takes the same power given equal loading.

Not crazy about running a tractor at full load. I guess I've watched too many tractor pulls where at all out they bust up. I'm more in favor of 2/3 to 3/4 load. Not that I should compare to a tractor pull, but just sayin'

 

[4570Man]

Everything takes the same power given equal loading. Not crazy about running a tractor at full load. I guess I've watched too many tractor pulls where at all out they bust up. I'm more in favor of 2/3 to 3/4 load. Not that I should compare to a tractor pull, nut just sayin'

Tractor pulling tractors are putting out like 1500% of full power of the "stock" engine. Running a stock tractor at pto rpm doesn't hurt anything.

 

[TomSeller]

Tractor pulling tractors are putting out like 1500% of full power of the "stock" engine. Running a stock tractor at pto rpm doesn't hurt anything.

Yep. That's why I said "Not that I should compare to a tractor pull, but just sayin' "

But I still don't like running full power often. Just my $0.02

 

[Leejohn]

I'll tell you a good test and you well see what takes more HP. Take a tiller and back it into a creek like you are going to clean it, then do the same with the bush hog. I guess that is why it's called a hog, a hog on HP.

 

[4570Man]

I'll tell you a good test and you well see what takes more HP. Take a tiller and back it into a creek like you are going to clean it, then do the same with the bush hog. I guess that is why it's called a hog, a hog on HP.

While you're at it why don't you run over 200 feet of 1/2 cable with both.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I'll tell you a good test and you well see what takes more HP. Take a tiller and back it into a creek like you are going to clean it, then do the same with the bush hog. I guess that is why it's called a hog, a hog on HP.

Takes a lot of hp to stir water that fast. That test doesnt show anything relative to the design tasks.

 

[4570Man]

Yep. That's why I said "Not that I should compare to a tractor pull, but just sayin' " But I still don't like running full power often. Just my $0.02

I don't either. My tractor doesn't reach pto 540 until 2700 rpm. I like to run about 2300 for mowing, and about 2000 for just piddling around.

 

[2ndhalf]

I know kind of an old thread but the guys saying it takes the same are correct from my experience. I can kill a tractor mowing or tilling. All depends on the ground speed, depth your tilling, what your tilling, thickness of grass, type of grass. RPM is dictated by all of those variables. This is a "It depends" question that cannot be really answered.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have to disagree with most of the guys here. When tilling, you are going so slow that the tiller is not really engaging the tractor in a pulling contest or PTO HP contest. The blades turn so fast that mostly they are just remixing the soil with just a bit of new dirt being chopped in at each turn. Going faster only makes the tiller come out of the ground so it really doesn't load my tractor any more going faster vs slower. I cant even tell when my tiller is engaged by looking at the RPM but I sure can when engaging the bush hog. I can stall the engine bush hogging if I go too fast in super tough conditions but cant see any stalling in the tiller regardless of speed of travel.

Pulling a disc harrow is more conducive to stalling and more of a comparison to the bush hog for power needed to operate.

 

[SPYDERLK]

As said earlier, both tilling and mowing take exactly the same power.

Running at full rpm doesn't mean you are producing full power. You are running at full power with both implements, but you are working way longer per acre with the tiller.

Yeah. More energy, work, per acre.

Running at full rpm doesn't mean you are producing full power. You are running at full rpm with both implements, but you are working way longer per acre with the tiller. ,,,:confused2:...

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Unfortunately, after I answered the original incohesive post you edited it into incoherence.

 

[2ndhalf]

I have to disagree with most of the guys here. When tilling, you are going so slow that the tiller is not really engaging the tractor in a pulling contest or PTO HP contest. The blades turn so fast that mostly they are just remixing the soil with just a bit of new dirt being chopped in at each turn. Going faster only makes the tiller come out of the ground so it really doesn't load my tractor any more going faster vs slower. I cant even tell when my tiller is engaged by looking at the RPM but I sure can when engaging the bush hog. I can stall the engine bush hogging if I go too fast in super tough conditions but cant see any stalling in the tiller regardless of speed of travel.

Pulling a disc harrow is more conducive to stalling and more of a comparison to the bush hog for power needed to operate.

If your going too fast and your tiller is coming out of the ground your not really tilling (or at least not like you want to). That would be like saying your mowing two foot grass but your only cutting off half way down so you could go faster at that too but you wouldn't be cutting it like you want to. It's still mostly about ground speed. Pulling a ground engaging non rotary implement wasn't in the original comparison posted but I do agree with you that can take a TON of HP depending on the variables.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I have to disagree with most of the guys here. When tilling, you are going so slow that the tiller is not really engaging the tractor in a pulling contest or PTO HP contest. The blades turn so fast that mostly they are just remixing the soil with just a bit of new dirt being chopped in at each turn. Going faster only makes the tiller come out of the ground so it really doesn't load my tractor any more going faster vs slower. I cant even tell when my tiller is engaged by looking at the RPM but I sure can when engaging the bush hog. I can stall the engine bush hogging if I go too fast in super tough conditions but cant see any stalling in the tiller regardless of speed of travel.

Pulling a disc harrow is more conducive to stalling and more of a comparison to the bush hog for power needed to operate.

You have a special case where there is surplus hp ... or a tiller that is too small or light in weight.

 

[DK35vince]

You have a special case where there is surplus hp ... or a tiller that is too small or light in weight.

I run a 6" tiller on my 35 HP tractor.
If I'm tilling previously tilled area I till with ease.
If I'm tilling full depth in an untilled area it will take most all the power I have.

 

[CobyRupert]

Lets get back to basics: It takes a certain amount of Energy to do a task.
Let's say it's pulling a log up a hill. Doesn't matter if you're using a 10 hp garden tractor (assuming traction) geared down so low that it takes 20 minutes, or a 200 hp skidder that takes 1 minute. The "energy" both machines delivered is the same, only the rate (time required) differs.

Horsepower is a measure of the RATE (I.e. speed) of applying that energy.

When people ask how much horsepower do I need to do a task (snowblowing, tilling, mowing etc...) it's sort of the wrong question.
Because the answer is ALWAYS another question: Well, how fast do you want to go?"

 

[SPYDERLK]

Lets get back to basics: It takes a certain amount of Energy to do a task.
Let's say it's pulling a log up a hill. Doesn't matter if you're using a 10 hp garden tractor (assuming traction) geared down so low that it takes 20 minutes, or a 200 hp skidder that takes 1 minute. The "energy" both machines delivered is the same, only the rate (time required) differs.

Horsepower is a measure of the RATE (I.e. speed) of applying that energy.

When people ask how much horsepower do I need to do a task (snowblowing, tilling, mowing etc...) it's sort of the wrong question.
Because the answer is ALWAYS another question: Well, how fast do you want to go?"

,,,,,,:thumbsup: ... Now the blanks are all filled in.

 

[Grateful11]

I have to disagree with most of the guys here. When tilling, you are going so slow that the tiller is not really engaging the tractor in a pulling contest or PTO HP contest. The blades turn so fast that mostly they are just remixing the soil with just a bit of new dirt being chopped in at each turn. Going faster only makes the tiller come out of the ground so it really doesn't load my tractor any more going faster vs slower. I cant even tell when my tiller is engaged by looking at the RPM but I sure can when engaging the bush hog. I can stall the engine bush hogging if I go too fast in super tough conditions but cant see any stalling in the tiller regardless of speed of travel.

Pulling a disc harrow is more conducive to stalling and more of a comparison to the bush hog for power needed to operate.

You mean something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Yz_KCEN8M

 

[jenkinsph]

Lets get back to basics: It takes a certain amount of Energy to do a task.
Let's say it's pulling a log up a hill. Doesn't matter if you're using a 10 hp garden tractor (assuming traction) geared down so low that it takes 20 minutes, or a 200 hp skidder that takes 1 minute. The "energy" both machines delivered is the same, only the rate (time required) differs.

Horsepower is a measure of the RATE (I.e. speed) of applying that energy.

When people ask how much horsepower do I need to do a task (snowblowing, tilling, mowing etc...) it's sort of the wrong question.
Because the answer is ALWAYS another question: Well, how fast do you want to go?"

Pretty much the way I see it^^^^^^