HST efficiency (no, not horsepower)

[joshuabardwell]

I looked for a pre-existing thread to stick this comment on and didn't find one, so here's yet another thread talking about HST.

I had my first real, extended seat time today, bush-hogging a 3.6 acre field for a neighbor. Took me about 4 hours, which is the longest I've spent in the seat since I got the tractor a month or so ago. Obviously, I really learned a lot.

Since I've never owned a gear tractor, take this with a grain of salt, but I can't imagine wanting to do the job with a gear tractor. There were sections of the field that were steep enough that I had to back down them and then drive up, which seems like it would get really tiresome if I had to clutch each time. But more fundamentally, the HST seemed to really enhance the efficiency of the cutting. I set the throttle so the RPMs rode just a smidge above 2250 (the 540 RPM PTO speed on my tractor) when on the flats. On the hills it would come down to just about 2250. If the hill was too steep, or if I got bogged down in some thick brush, the transmission would go into relief, I would notice the RPMs dropping and back off the pedal until they came back up. Sometimes this slowed me to a crawl, but as soon as conditions lightened up again, I was able to put the pedal back down and speed up again. It's hard to imagine making such fine adjustments with a gear tractor, and I would probably end up just doing the whole job at the lowest-common-denominator speed. But like I said, I've never owned a gear tractor, and obviously people have been getting the job done with them for years, so respect!

Now that I've started another HST-vs-Gear holy war, my work here is done.

 

[milkman636]

It sounds like you are pleased with your choice in transmissions. That is great, hopefully all the other members out there will be happy for you too.

I have one of each so I am neutral in this transmission war. After stepping over the HST/gear line a couple years ago I found that HST lovers were just ordinary people like myself and we could all get along. Now I even own one of their tractors and find myself loving it, but I still like to climb on the old girl and slap her gear levers around once in a while. Maybe I should move to Utah???? Maybe I need another round??? or maybe it's time for bed:confused2:

 

[Redneck in training]

I have the same experience. Unless you plow all day the convenience of the HST is hard to beat.

 

[Frankman]

Before I bought my tractor, a friend let me use his host for a month or so to use for all the stuff I had going on at my new place. I went to a bunch of dealers and drove a lot of tractors. I ended up with a gst. Kinda a split between a gear and hst. Glad I did. Hst was very nice, but experienced some slippage doing different tasks. I also like the throttle control of the foot pedal vs having just the hand one(gst has both).

 

[phiferpharm]

I moved from a gear to a HST and if for no other reason than backing my Bush Hog under trees, find the HST more efficient. The only other thing I added was a wide Boat Mirror, which I think is also a great addition.

 

[k0ua]

Well you won't get any argument from me, I do mostly loader work and some bush hogging in rough steep country, which means going slow, and slower, I have owned 5 tractors now 2 gear and 3 now with hydro.. and it is hydro hands down for me for the reasons you mentioned. In loader work with a lot of back and forth, a gear tractor just wears out your left leg. Of course a shuttle can fix that. But when grading the ability to go fast and slow all within a second or two is invaluable. A lot of guys say things like I want a tractor i can work on..A lot of these same guys have never split a tractor to replace a clutch. Neither have I, but I have seen it done, and It did not look like fun to me. As for mowing you are 100 percent correct, with a gear tractor there are only 2 gears.. too fast and too slow. Read this thread of some gear guys, when they thought no one was looking:laughing: I know I mowed 7 acres with a gear tractor for many years.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/188209-how-do-you-get-8f-2.html

James K0UA

 

[Jerry/MT]

I looked for a pre-existing thread to stick this comment on and didn't find one, so here's yet another thread talking about HST.

I had my first real, extended seat time today, bush-hogging a 3.6 acre field for a neighbor. Took me about 4 hours, which is the longest I've spent in the seat since I got the tractor a month or so ago. Obviously, I really learned a lot.

Since I've never owned a gear tractor, take this with a grain of salt, but I can't imagine wanting to do the job with a gear tractor. There were sections of the field that were steep enough that I had to back down them and then drive up, which seems like it would get really tiresome if I had to clutch each time. But more fundamentally, the HST seemed to really enhance the efficiency of the cutting. I set the throttle so the RPMs rode just a smidge above 2250 (the 540 RPM PTO speed on my tractor) when on the flats. On the hills it would come down to just about 2250. If the hill was too steep, or if I got bogged down in some thick brush, the transmission would go into relief, I would notice the RPMs dropping and back off the pedal until they came back up. Sometimes this slowed me to a crawl, but as soon as conditions lightened up again, I was able to put the pedal back down and speed up again. It's hard to imagine making such fine adjustments with a gear tractor, and I would probably end up just doing the whole job at the lowest-common-denominator speed. But like I said, I've never owned a gear tractor, and obviously people have been getting the job done with them for years, so respect!

Now that I've started another HST-vs-Gear holy war, my work here is done.

What's your definition of "efficiency"? Once that's defined, there are usually no arguements.

 

[crazyal]

I'm guessing efficiency is in terms of how well you can complete tasks and ease of use while doing those tasks.

I've never owned a gear tractor but have used plenty and even get to watch my neighbor use his gear MX5000 while logging. For me I wouldn't buy a gear tractor. The tasks it would excel at aren't ones I would do often enough.

 

[ddb123]

You can blame k0ua for me buying a HST. Thanks again, James! I also live on a hill, and my flat spots are rough. I used to mow with a gear tractor and you are exactly right, you wind up using the slowest gear so you don't have to stop and shift all the time. Mowing goes much faster now. I skimmed over k0ua's post, but I believe he forgot the natural braking of the HST. HUGE benefit on a hill. My cars will always be manual trans -- my tractors will always be HST!

 

[radrock]

You can blame k0ua for me buying a HST. Thanks again, James! I also live on a hill, and my flat spots are rough. I used to mow with a gear tractor and you are exactly right, you wind up using the slowest gear so you don't have to stop and shift all the time. Mowing goes much faster now. I skimmed over k0ua's post, but I believe he forgot the natural braking of the HST. HUGE benefit on a hill. My cars will always be manual trans -- my tractors will always be HST!

There aren't no hills in diamond haha. Yes on the braking factor. I don't think I ever hit the brake except to park it