PTO speed really needed?

Trev · Sep 10, 2003

I was just reading the thread about how fast people mow, and it occurred to me to wonder.. is it essential to run the finish mower at full PTO speed if you can get a decent cut at a lower RPM without overheating or lugging the engine?

(Whew.. taking deep breath.. that was a long sentence. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

It sounds kind of fast to me, at that RPM, and I wonder if the PTO speed is engraved in granite somewhere.. or can you simply find an RPM that produces a nice cut and let it go at that?

Best............Bob

cowboydoc · Sep 10, 2003

No. You need to run the pto at the recommended speed. If you don't you risk burning up your pto. You can't lug the pto. It needs to operate at higher speeds to function properly both for your tractor adn for the implement.

JD has come up with the e-pto which changes the ratios in the pto itself. This lets you run the pto at slower speeds for equipment that doesn't need the full pto power. But remember this pto is specifically mfg. for this, yours is not.

JerryG · Sep 10, 2003

If you don't you risk burning up your pto. 

What part is this that can burn up?

slowrev · Sep 10, 2003

Yeah how would you burn it up? it is just another disk in your 2 stage clutch assembly on many/most smaller tractors. Once engaged it has a maximum torque value that it will withstand before it slips. It should be ok to run say a rotary cutter between the speed that it cuts ok and its max speed.

Bird · Sep 10, 2003

Bob, this seems to be a never ending topic. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif It seems that lots of folks, especially those new to tractors, but perhaps even some more experienced operators, too, think it sounds like the engine is revved up too much. Well, I don't like the noise either, but the tractor was designed and built to run at that speed all day long day after day without hurting anything. And the implements were designed and built to operate most efficiently at that speed.

Now I know that some implements may do as good a job as the operator wants it to do at a lower speed, and if the RPM is kept up enough to avoid any lugging of the engine, you may not do any serious damage to the tractor or implement, but why take that chance?

If I were buying a used tractor or implement, I'd much rather have one that was operated as it was designed to be operated than one that was not. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

But if the owner wants to run his equipment differently . . ., hey, it's his money and his equipment, he can do as he pleases. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

MossRoad · Sep 10, 2003

Interesting question, Trev.

There have been some argum... er, uh,... lively discussions on this before /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif. What does your owner's manual say about it?

My IH manual specifically states that my( not yours, not everybody else's, just my ) tractor should be run at PTO speed all the time to maintain proper pressure and lubrication.

slowrev · Sep 10, 2003

MossRoad,
My IH manual does not say that it should be run at PTO speed all the time. It also has a foot throttle. Why would foot throttles exist if you were supposed to run it at PTO speed all of the time ? I would suspect that all Hydro eauipped tractors say to run at PTO speed for the Hydro's benefit.

cowboydoc · Sep 10, 2003

It should be run at pto speed when you are running the pto. If you aren't running the pto you should run it in the middle range and make shift adjustments according to this. If you start lugging down and dropping rpms shift down and vice versa. The pto speed is not an arbitrary #. It's where your tractor needs to run to have maximum efficiency. But like Bird said it's your machine and do what you feel is best.

Bird · Sep 10, 2003

( Why would foot throttles exist if you were supposed to run it at PTO speed all of the time ? )

Reckon it's 'cause you're not running the PTO all the time or every time you drive the tractor? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif