IslandTractor
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2005
- Messages
- 15,802
- Location
- Prudence Island, RI
- Tractor
- 2007 Kioti DK40se HST, Woods BH
I thought I would post my preliminary findings after temporarily installing a tilt meter on my CK20 then heading out to traverse some slopes on the land I work.
Method: slow traverse of slope with CK20, Bush Hog (running)and FEL (down, unloaded).
Simple finding: 15% slope sets off pucker factor quite reliably. Less of a slope doesn't seem to bother me while traversing. Much more than 15% slope (17-20%) sets off "bail out alarms" which are counteracted only by presence of seat belt. Most anxious moments are when turning up hill (slowly, slowly). I did not try it but imagine that experiencing a >20% slope would have resulted in a need for fresh shorts.
Bottom line: If you don't have a tilt meter I would say "pucker factor" is a pretty good substitute. My tilt meter reads yellow after 15% and red after 20% and I now have pretty reliable physiologic correlates in the seat of my pants. Maybe we need to confirm this with some other individuals to report their experiences to see if the correlation holds for others.
Extra credit question for you engineers/physicists out there: I did this while running the Bush Hog. Seems to me there would be a fair amount of rotary momentum in those blades along the plane of the slope. Would that energy tend to stabilize or destabilze the tractor with regard to tipping down the slope?? I guess what I was thinking of was how the wheels of a motorcycle actually provide some gyroscopic like stabilizing effect at speed. Would the orientation of the hog do likewise by resisting change in position or not??
Method: slow traverse of slope with CK20, Bush Hog (running)and FEL (down, unloaded).
Simple finding: 15% slope sets off pucker factor quite reliably. Less of a slope doesn't seem to bother me while traversing. Much more than 15% slope (17-20%) sets off "bail out alarms" which are counteracted only by presence of seat belt. Most anxious moments are when turning up hill (slowly, slowly). I did not try it but imagine that experiencing a >20% slope would have resulted in a need for fresh shorts.
Bottom line: If you don't have a tilt meter I would say "pucker factor" is a pretty good substitute. My tilt meter reads yellow after 15% and red after 20% and I now have pretty reliable physiologic correlates in the seat of my pants. Maybe we need to confirm this with some other individuals to report their experiences to see if the correlation holds for others.
Extra credit question for you engineers/physicists out there: I did this while running the Bush Hog. Seems to me there would be a fair amount of rotary momentum in those blades along the plane of the slope. Would that energy tend to stabilize or destabilze the tractor with regard to tipping down the slope?? I guess what I was thinking of was how the wheels of a motorcycle actually provide some gyroscopic like stabilizing effect at speed. Would the orientation of the hog do likewise by resisting change in position or not??
