HST help

[oldpilgrim]

I know a lot of people who have gone from gear to hst, including me.

I know no one who has gone from hst to gear.

 

[nybirdman]

I plow ten acres a year with my HST tractor and glad I have it.I have tons and tons of rocks and the HST lets me stop/slow crawl as needed.Infinate speed control for all work.

 

[k0ua]

Ditto to this.

HST is safer and VERY easy to operate. To me, anyone who has less than 200 acres to care for is an excellent candidate for HST. All the talk about back and forth, loss of hp to HST, etc. is actually not an issue under 200 acres. Everyone in this category does LOTS of back and forth, careful travel around objects, very little of dozens of hours of ground engagement equipment where HP could be a concern under some few specialized circumstances. HST simply is great, and the reliability of the transmission is superb. Fatigue is dramatically reduced by using an HST over a shifting transmission...and if operating for numerous hours, fatigue is a major contributor to accidents.

There are some who see it differently...ask them if they have daily used an HST...I cannot recommend it highly enough, even considering some additional cost over alternative transmissions...worth it, IMHO.

I am pretty much in this camp ^. I can remember 8 hours doing loader work with my geared tractor, and getting off in the evening and just about fall down from fatigue. 8 hours with a HST tractor doing the same work is much much better. There are a million other reasons to go hydro, but If all I ever did was plow, I would probably have some version of a geared tractor. Probably a hydro shuttle. For mowing as others have said, you sometimes need to slow down for a few seconds, then speed up. Here is where the Hydrostatic tractor really shines with infinite speed control. I have owned both gear and HST tractors, I am done with geared tractors. But it is all good, and entirely up to you.

 

[Kodiak45]

after this testimony, I'm sold on hst for sure, but I definitely want some sort of cruise control function

 

[jenkinsph]

after this testimony, I'm sold on hst for sure, but I definitely want some sort of cruise control function

On the Deere ehydro series compacts the two features I like are the cruise and auto throttle functions. The cruise is much like an automotive cruise with a toggle switch to adjust the tractor mph up and down in .1 mph increments. This is very helpful for things such as rototilling where you may need .7 in some soil or 1.9 mph in others. The auto throttle adjust the engine speed to match the travel pedals which I find very easy to use for box blading, you can go from stationary to full speed either direction by pushing down on the pedals.

I would think most tractors brands with hydrostatics have something similar and makes these tractors much easier to operate all day.

 

[oldpilgrim]

my Mahindra has a lever that you press when you reach the speed you want, to hold it there. Simple.

 

[McREBEL]

I had the same concern as you about HST early on in my tractor search but soon became aware most have a cruise. Mine has a basic mechanical cruise. I just pull up on a lever down below the steering column which holds the pedal anywhere I put it. Works great. The HST works great for me. My neighbors like their gears. I do almost grimace when I see them doing a lot of back and forth, constantly clutching and shifting. To each his own.

 

[Kodiak45]

What made me question hst to begin with is the local Deere dealer told me his hst Deere tractors didn't have any cruise option and that it was only sub compact tractors that had something like that. I just need to go see for myself, but I wanted be informed before I heard any pitches

 

[SCWOOD]

Would you like to inch or better yet 1/2 inch up to your tailgate on your truck to load or unload something? try that with gear! HST all the way!
We had two John deere 1972 140s lawn tractors hst when I was growing up. I tried to tear it up by going full forward then slam it in reverse so I would not have to cut grass(this was on pavement!) never had a problem with them!

 

[GManBart]

What made me question hst to begin with is the local Deere dealer told me his hst Deere tractors didn't have any cruise option and that it was only sub compact tractors that had something like that. I just need to go see for myself, but I wanted be informed before I heard any pitches

I know for a fact the Deere 3032E and 3038E have cruise control as an option...they even have a big blue arrow pointing to the switch on the product page On the 3R series cruise control is standard. Going up in size the 4M series has cruise as an option, and the 4R has cruise standard.

This sort of stuff is why I really don't put much faith in what tractor sales people say....they frequently don't know much about the machines they sell.

 

[McREBEL]

I know for a fact the Deere 3032E and 3038E have cruise control as an option...they even have a big blue arrow pointing to the switch on the product page On the 3R series cruise control is standard. Going up in size the 4M series has cruise as an option, and the 4R has cruise standard.

This sort of stuff is why I really don't put much faith in what tractor sales people say....they frequently don't know much about the machines they sell.

You beat me to it GManBart.

https://www.deere.com/en_US/product...y_tractor/3032e_compact_utility_tractor.page?

"The 3E Series Tractors can be outfitted with an optional cruise control switch that is installed on the right hand control consol. This gives operators the ability to keep a constant speed when in transportation, field mowing, or other applications where extended use of the transmission is needed. This kit is very quick and easy to install for those who desire this feature."

 

[k0ua]

Would you like to inch or better yet 1/2 inch up to your tailgate on your truck to load or unload something? try that with gear! HST all the way!
We had two John deere 1972 140s lawn tractors hst when I was growing up. I tried to tear it up by going full forward then slam it in reverse so I would not have to cut grass(this was on pavement!) never had a problem with them!

I hate to be a shameless promoter of my own video, but if you want to see how slow a hydro Kioti can go:

 

[oldpilgrim]

I hate to be a shameless promoter of my own video, but if you want to see how slow a hydro Kioti can go:

Great example. A picture is worth 1000 words.

 

[Sysop]

Great example. A picture is worth 1000 words.

...and at 30 frames per second, that 80 seconds is worth 2.4M words.

Better than any explanation anyone could give. I love how he showed the travel speed isn't as dependent upon engine RPMs as is the case with a geared unit. If you need to crawl with a gear, you have to be throttled down. HST can throttle up and lay massive amounts of torque at those types of speeds. Perfect example of the "infinite" ratios provided by the HST.

:thumbsup:

 

[Kodiak45]

Thanks again for the great example and video. HST appears to be way above and beyond geared. I cant wait until I figure out what I'm going to get. At least know I know that HST is a must. It seems that HST is much superior to shuttle as I picture shuttle just like a geared transmission with just a seamless lever move to reverse. I'm sure there are threads comparing shuttle vs hst as I am not the first in this boat. I need to go do some test drives.

 

[texasjohn]

That extreme slow speed contributes to the safety and precision of the tractor...priceless IMHO. Note that the tractor STOPS when you take foot off of hydro pedal...I once used that feature when I got dizzy and just wanted to stop until everything got straightened out again.

 

[TSO]

Thanks again for the great example and video. HST appears to be way above and beyond geared. I cant wait until I figure out what I'm going to get. At least know I know that HST is a must. It seems that HST is much superior to shuttle as I picture shuttle just like a geared transmission with just a seamless lever move to reverse. I'm sure there are threads comparing shuttle vs hst as I am not the first in this boat. I need to go do some test drives.

It's not accurate to say that HST is superior to Gear. It all depends on the application, the tasks you need to perform. There are times where Gear outshines HST. Having owned both, and even though I prefer HST for myself (because I mostly do commercial landscaping and lots of loader work)... I will say that, without a doubt, a Gear will put the HP to the ground much more efficiently, with more raw power. So, in ground engagement applications, plowing, discing, cultivating, etc...the Gear is actually better.

 

[GManBart]

I will say that, without a doubt, a Gear will put the HP to the ground much more efficiently, with more raw power. So, in ground engagement applications, plowing, discing, cultivating, etc...the Gear is actually better.

We all say this, but I'm not sure it's an entirely accurate way to describe what's going on for people that don't understand it. When we say putting power to the ground, some people get confused and think there's a difference in where the tires meet the ground, and that isn't the case (I know you know this). HST uses more engine power to function, so we get less power at the driveshaft for a given amount of engine power. What happens between the driveshaft and the ground is the same...probably just semantics

 

[Kodiak45]

We all say this, but I'm not sure it's an entirely accurate way to describe what's going on for people that don't understand it. When we say putting power to the ground, some people get confused and think there's a difference in where the tires meet the ground, and that isn't the case (I know you know this). HST uses more engine power to function, so we get less power at the driveshaft for a given amount of engine power. What happens between the driveshaft and the ground is the same...probably just semantics

so when comparing a 45hp HST to a 45hp gear on a dyno at the rear wheel as an example, the gear would have more hp at the rear wheel... is this accurate based on what I have read?
the gear has somewhat of a mechanical advantage over the HST..?

 

[NC419N]

so when comparing a 45hp HST to a 45hp gear on a dyno at the rear wheel as an example, the gear would have more hp at the rear wheel... is this accurate based on what I have read?
the gear has somewhat of a mechanical advantage over the HST..?

Yep that is correct