PTO Power and Attachments

[JDGreenGrass]

My JD770 is 24hp with 20hp at the PTO. When considering attachments and the pto horsepower they require, is it better to stick near the mid range of the horsepower required.??....

In other words....If an attachment has a rateing of 16 to 30 horsepower and a similar attachment has a rateing of 20 to 35 horsepower (keep in mind my tractor has 20hp at pto)...would it be best to opt for the 16 to 30hp attachment.??

Also, when an attachment is horsepower rated, they are talking about pto horsepower, correct.??

 

[zzvyb6]

Correct, but keep this in mind: You can reduce the power requirements of attachments with rotating parts by slowing down your ground speed (gearing). Often the "power" requirements are actually based on tractor weight and weight distribution. I.e. a heavy 6' rototiller or impact mower may cause the front end to lift when raising it on the hitch. Adding front weights will help this situation.

For example, my 1070 (35 hp) easily runs a NH 479 9' field mower (with 240# of front weights). It easily runs a 50kw pto alternator for all my 'current' emergency power needs (supposedly needs 100hp but it runs just the same on a JD4020 (106 dyno'ed pto hp). Then again I ran the same 479 mower with a 22hp Yanmar with the loader attached and a bucket full of stones to keep the nose down). Lastly, a field plow is a different animal. I don't believe you're gonna pull a 3 board plow with that rig.

I have the tractor. I have the need. I have a timetable. I try to fit the attachment to the need given the tractor as the fixed entity. The options are to slow down, remove parasitic loads (remove a plow blade), add some front weight to keep it safe, or elimininate the attachment from consideration. I know I can't haul a disc hay mower in top gear, but its too slow in 3rd (of 9). So I stay with a sickle type. I have a pto cement mixer (10 pto hp it says). But if I don't have 800 lbs on the front end, the mixer with cement, water gravel and tipped a bit is gonna be on the ground. Same for my hay stacker. 60 hp required. But its not a power hog, just a hitch weight issue. As long as you can climb a hill, pull like a draft horse and maintain a reasonable (to you ground speed), I don't let power requirments interfere with my workload.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (now those obsessed with 50 hp minimums will follow)...

 

[JDGreenGrass]

See that....That's why I like hanging around here.

Excellent explaination.

 

[YukonPete]

I had a JD 770 and it was a little workhorse. It handled my 6' snowblower just fine. I just adjusted my groundspeed to match the power requirements for the snowblower. I really miss the tractor.

 

[kennyd]

In other words....If an attachment has a rateing of 16 to 30 horsepower and a similar attachment has a rateing of 20 to 35 horsepower (keep in mind my tractor has 20hp at pto)...would it be best to opt for the 16 to 30hp attachment.??

Using your example, I would opt for the 20-35 model for if/when I udgraded tractors...

You can always make the implement demand less power if you need to:
Tiller-just don't let it go down as far.
Snowblower-take smaller "bites" if it bogs down.
PHD-slow down the feed rate.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I have yet another question.....

I guess my concern always goes back to the pto power...in other words, so long as I have 540 (rpm's.??), it will power a "large" implement. Correct.?? It could power a 74" snowblower.??

My 3pt. hitch can lift like 800+ pounds. Also, on my tractor, 6' implements just seem to fit nicely. A reasonable fit.

I really need tractor lessons. Learning what range to use in different circumstances takes a lot of experience if you ask me. How fast to go into a pile of dirt or gravel and then have the experience to curl the bucket to get a full load.....Man, I've got a lot to learn.

Ain't it fun.!!

 

[whistlepig]

My JD770 is 24hp with 20hp at the PTO. When considering attachments and the pto horsepower they require, is it better to stick near the mid range of the horsepower required.??....

In other words....If an attachment has a rateing of 16 to 30 horsepower and a similar attachment has a rateing of 20 to 35 horsepower (keep in mind my tractor has 20hp at pto)...would it be best to opt for the 16 to 30hp attachment.??

Also, when an attachment is horsepower rated, they are talking about pto horsepower, correct.??

You can go off your engine horsepower for your PTO attachments on small farms. You will get in trouble for the weight on your three point before the tractor runs out of power.