Fuel consumtion

[eddieirvine]

I have an L3940 it seems to be using more fuel than it was, same fuel i have always used BP Diesel. Any idea how to check how much fuel i am using? I have some ideas but not sure what it should be using, just general digging and mowing with rear finishing mower ?

 

[dragoneggs]

I have an L3940 it seems to be using more fuel than it was, same fuel i have always used BP Diesel. Any idea how to check how much fuel i am using? I have some ideas but not sure what it should be using, just general digging and mowing with rear finishing mower ?

Do you think it is significantly more? Is it running rough? Smoke? How concerned are you?

 

[4570Man]

Fill the tank up, run the tractor for a while and then measure how much fuel it takes to fill it back up. That’s pretty straightforward. Then divide that amount by the time you ran it.

 

[dragoneggs]

Fill the tank up, run the tractor for a while and then measure how much fuel it takes to fill it back up. That’s pretty straightforward. Then divide that amount by the time you ran it.

Yes, easy to figure gal per hour. But not sure how you are going to figure if you are burning more now than you 'used to' unless you already have that measurement.

 

[4570Man]

Yes, easy to figure gal per hour. But not sure how you are going to figure if you are burning more now than you 'used to' unless you already have that measurement.

I don’t know what to tell you there, but he asked how to figure out how much fuel he was using.

 

[dragoneggs]

I don’t know what to tell you there, but he asked how to figure out how much fuel he was using.

Roger that... just wondering what the OP plans to do with that info.

 

[4570Man]

Roger that... just wondering what the OP plans to do with that info.

I wondered the same thing. Comparing to someone else’s tractor isn’t very useful since the work load makes a big difference.

 

[jeff9366]

I have an L3560. The L3560 intellipanel has an extremely accurate fuel use readout. Doesn't your L3940 have the same intellipanel fuel readout?

My three cylinder L3560 uses 1/2 gallon per hour with all non-PTO implements.

Your four cylinder Tier 3 or Tier 4 interim emissions tractor will use a little more diesel, perhaps 7/10s gallon per hour with non-PTO implements. (??)

I have an L3940. I'm not sure how much fuel it should be using. Just general digging and mowing with rear finishing mower.

I expect operating your Finish Mower off the PTO uses more fuel than "general digging". Has the proportion of time you are using the Finish Mower increased of late?


How long has it been since you checked tractor tire pressures all around?

Is your parking brake disengaged?

Park your tractor over newspaper for several hours and observe if newspaper stains show you have a slow fuel leak.
A loose or improperly mated fuel filter would be likely source of slow fuel leak. Decayed or deformed fuel lines and/or connection fittings another possible leak source.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

If you are burning B20 usage will be higher then if you were burning B5.

Have a BX2230 with a 60 inch deck and it will burn over 1/2 gallon mowing an area where the G2160 with the same 60 inch deck will burn only 1/3 gallon.

Lots of variables so be sure you are comparing the same task.

David

 

[RjCorazza]

As long as you check the items already mentioned (b20, leaks, smoke) I wouldn’t worry about it. I suspect comparing current fuel use with past (not precisely known) fuel use will not help.
My previous tractor was going through a lot of fuel during a blizzard several years ago that I attributed to the high engine load blowing 36” of snow... wrong. A fuel line had been rubbing on the frame, resulting in a leak of perhaps 1 drop every several seconds.

 

[rScotty]

I have an L3940 it seems to be using more fuel than it was, same fuel i have always used BP Diesel. Any idea how to check how much fuel i am using? I have some ideas but not sure what it should be using, just general digging and mowing with rear finishing mower ?

Well, I'm betting that you really are using more fuel even if you can't outright prove it.

Fuel consumption is not something most of us actually measure. It's subliminal - below the surface - like something that kind of sneaks up on a person's consciousness. One day you "wake up" to the suspicion that you seem to be using more fuel than before. And maybe the exhaust has changed smell or color under load. Or it starts a little differently. At least that's how it works for me.

But I bet we can narrow it down, and I'll bet it'll be simple.

Firstly, all diesel fuel is a mixture. Diesel is not a specific compound; diesel is a mixture and can have different percentages of different length and different energy molecules depending on the supplier. If the percentages are skewed enough toward short or long molecules it used to be called #1 or #2. Most of what I see today around here at the pump is just called "pump diesel". It could be either.

Is there anything special recently about your BP Diesel? Does it have any bio-diesel content? Has your station changed suppliers? I'd ask those questions at the BP station first. The answers might surprise you.

I say that because when the local station where we buy fuel changed suppliers we could tell immediately that the tractor was a little different. There's no magic to that, it's because us tractor guys are right there with the engine & the exhaust. We live with diesel fumes all the time....
Folks with trucks or cars probably didn't even notice.
So without expecting much, I asked at the station and sure enough they had changed suppliers. Even the cashier knew it was a different supply truck.

Does your tractor start and run in cold weather about the same as always? Or is it harder to start when cold?
Is the L3940 turbocharged?
Any special Emission Controls on the L3940? Does it have an EGR valve? Especially a valve-modulated EGR valve?
Are you absolutely sure it isn't leaking fuel somewhere? It could be a real tiny leak when parked or none then at all. I just fixed a hydraulic hose leak on mine that I wouldn't have noticed except that the sun hit the hoe just right and I saw a shiny (wet) spot on the dipperstick.

If we knew the answer to those things I bet we can work up to why it's using more fuel now.
rScotty

 

[nybirdman]

Recent changes in diesel contributes to an uptick in usage.You think you use a lot of fuel;my neighbor buys it 100,000 gallons at a time.His big equipment now uses "twice" the fuel it did a couple years ago.

 

[eddieirvine]

ok thanks to all that posted, i am in the process of trying to check my fuel in a better way, and the post helps. one question does any of the diesel fuels do better than others? or do they all seem to be the same?

 

[rScotty]

ok thanks to all that posted, i am in the process of trying to check my fuel in a better way, and the post helps. one question does any of the diesel fuels do better than others? or do they all seem to be the same?

I can remember when you had a choice of diesel #1 or diesel #2 at the few stations that sold diesel. There was a difference: #1 started easier in the cold & was "winterized". #2 made more smoke but cost a few pennys/gallon less & was thought to lube the upper end better. #2 could be winterized with additives, but didn't always come that way. Most tractors used #2 in the summer and #1 in the winter.

Now lots of places sell diesel for cars and light trucks. Around here we call it "automotive diesel" and it all seems to be the same. Maybe it depends on where you live.