Typhoon
Gold Member
The more hours I put on my tractor (this is my first tractor with a DPF), the more I realize that it's complex. On one hand, if you understand passive vs active regen, it would make sense to run it hot (over 2,000 rpms all the time) to keep the dpf hot. On the other hand, the higher the rpm's you run, the more soot you produce.. common sense. I have done the thought experiment at length, and my theory is this... after running a tractor for 20+ years, you become very familiar with the conditions that make your tractor produce black smoke (soot). Essentially, a rich air/fuel condition. Biggest example... running at low rpm's while also putting the tractor under a heavy load (lugging). Also, what I call 'jockeying' the throttle... in other words, changing throttle settings too often.. because as we all know, every time you throttle UP, there are a few seconds where the mixture is rich and you dump soot out of the exhaust. So, I have been running my tractor at whatever RPM's I choose. I let it idle for several minutes while I am bucking logs for the sawmill, or stacking lumber, etc. But when the tractor is moving, I keep the rpm's up high.. and try not to adjust the throttle very much. Everything works better that way. After 400 hours on the this tractor, I think I about have it figured out (hopefully!).
