HOUR METER

frank_f15 · Jul 5, 2001

after reading some posts , i decided to actually pay attention to my hour meter. last week i started tracto and let it up warm up, 12 min @1200 rpm and the meter changed 2/10 of an hour(ok this is good) today i let it warm up about 8 min and it did not change at all. started using tractor at about 1800 to 2000 rpm and after EXACTLY 1 HR TOTAL RUN TIME it only register .8 of an hour. what gives? are these things not accurate? this is a 1998 b2400. if that makes any diff.

ronjhall · Jul 5, 2001

Frank
My old Farmal 340's hour meter read correct time at PTO speed. At any speed less than that it takes longer to read 1 hour. Checked the parts list for my 2910. Tach is cable driven. Wouldn't be surprised if the Kubota tach works the same as old Farmal.

patrickg · Jul 5, 2001

I would be surprised if it did work like an old Farmall, well just like. There are two basic styles. One is a rev counter (totalizer fed from tach drive) mechanical (as old Farmall) or electronic like many modern pieces of equipment. The count is normalized for a specific RPM (PTO speed is a logical choice) and calibrated to read out in hours (and tenths, probably) at that speed. Other style is just an electric clock keeping a total count of actual hours unit is on where typically on is defined by an oil pressure switch that turns power onto the clock within a few seconds of startup and off when you shut down (or suffer a major loss of oil pressure event, in which case the equipment will stop soon, as it seizes).

Some equipment (especially rental equipment) has both installed. The last flying club I was in had over 50 lease-back aircraft and they ALL had both. The checkout/in form asked for both Hobbs time and tach time. Hobbs is a well recognized maker of these electric timers and has become generic like Klenex for facial tissue.

Patrick

Bird · Jul 5, 2001

Frank, Patrick gave a good description of the hour meters. The only question is which you have. My '95 B7100 had the clock. It wasn't wired through the oil pressure switch, though, it simply ran whenever the key was turned on and quit when the key was off. Now my '99 B2710 has the type that registers one hour in one hour at PTO speed and less at lower rpm. I would expect your B2400 to have the same thing as my B27100, so .8 in an hour of use would sound right. But of course that means I don't understand it registering .2 in 12 minutes of warm up.

Bird

glennmac · Jul 6, 2001

This is a good question.

Bird, what tells you that is how the 2710 meter works? I assume my 2910 is the same but I dont recall seeing that in the owners manual.

woodstock · Jul 6, 2001

I noticed mine seems to under state actual running time. I though I was just loosing track of time while having all that fun.
I am now going to pay more attention and see what gives with these hour meters.

Winnipeg, Manitoba

2001 BX2200 All Kubota FEL, Tiller, box blade, blower w/elec shute, 60 mid mt deck, Ag tires.
Grey market B7000 w/Tiller (120 hrs)
1984 JD 316 after 687 hrs.

Bird · Jul 6, 2001

what tells you that is how the 2710 meter works?

Just observation and experience. The "clock" on the B7100 clicked; took me awhile to figure out what that clicking sound was if the key was turned on, but the engine not running. Of course, the glow plugs took a little longer on the '95 B7100 than on the '99 B2710, and I soon learned to turn the key on, listen for 4 clicks, and start the engine./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

skent · Jul 6, 2001

Pretty sure the BX uses an electronic clock. One hour at any engine speed is one hour on the meter, unless you approach the speed of light. Then the clock accuracy is going to be the least of your concerns.

Steve

Gomez · Jul 6, 2001

But will the lights still work?

PapaRoakes · Jul 6, 2001

Sorry if I'm just stating the obvious, but with the hour meter being a quartz clock tied to the key switch (not oil pressure). It is possible to run the tractor w/o accrued time by turning the key to the "off" position (the desiel will keep running because it requires no spark) but the battery won't get charged and the lights won't work, etc.

On the flip side you might be surprised to find 20 extra hours on the clock of "shed time" when you inadvertently left the key in the "on" position with the tractor parked. Of course, NONE of us would make a silly mistake like that! Nor would most of us newbies be away from our new baby for a full 20 hours. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

PapaRoakes

Gomez · Jul 6, 2001

Um, that was a bit of a joke (Steven Wright-ish)./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

GeorgeH · Jul 6, 2001

{ But of course that means I don't understand it registering .2 in 12 minutes of warm up. }
Bird,

1/10 of an hour is 6 minutes so .2 on the hour meter would equal 12 minutes.

George /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

frank_f15 · Jul 6, 2001

Bird and Patrick: think u are correct. must be tied to pto rpm. as far as the .2 in 12 min. of warm up, must have caught just as it was ready to turn when i shut it off, then when i started it again it turned.1 at lower rpm then in the rest of the 12 min. it turned another.1. best i can figure. iwould think that they could redesigh the thing to register at any lower rpm. not at high speed and not with just the key being on.

Bird · Jul 6, 2001

George, I didn't mean that I couldn't calculate two-tenths of an hour./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Just that I couldn't understand how it could register clock time if it's tied to the rpm, but I suspect that frank explained that in the post above./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

patrickg · Jul 6, 2001

Missing time, hay! Perhaps alien abduction is involved. Weren't there some crop circles up your way?

Patrick

P.S. Or maybe it was someone experimenting on how to optimize cutting a triangular field.

woodstock · Jul 6, 2001

Actually your right, about 5 years ago about 4 km up the highway from our place. I'll see if I can find the photos we took and scan & post them.
Dam that was spooky,

Winnipeg, Manitoba

2001 BX2200 All Kubota FEL, Tiller, box blade, blower w/elec shute, 60 mid mt deck, Ag tires.
Grey market B7000 w/Tiller (120 hrs)
1984 JD 316 after 687 hrs.

patrickg · Jul 6, 2001

If anyone out there is still partly confused regarding hour/hobbs/revcounters, email me privately and I will finish the job.

Many hour meters, clock type not tach type, are not electronic but electric. Actually electromechanical like the old fashioned dash clocks on cars. They run from a wind up spring like a regular mechanical clock but the spring is wound by a solelnoid sort of thingy with electrical contacts on the spring mechanism. when the spring winds down the points touch and C L I C K/FLASH the spring is wound up again (if you are observent and as a youth spent enough time in parked cars in quiet dark undisturbed locations you hear the ticking and see the flash from the arcing of the contacts. In the case of engine hour meters the spring is pretty small and doesn't run the clock very long after power is removed but they were fairly audible with the engine off. Observed several examples in aircraft, boats, stationary engines (this is my first tractor).

Patrick

patrickg · Jul 7, 2001

You said: Actually your right, about 5 years ago about 4 km up the highway from
our place. I'll see if I can find the photos we took and scan & post them.
Dam that was spooky

Spooky is an understatement when you start recalling what happened during your "missing" time. Better check that tractor hour meter again!

Patrick