What to do?

James · May 23, 2000

JimBinMi,

Would you believe that I am the only one around for 20 miles that has a compact tractor. I have a lot of people stop and pull in my drive way and ask questions about the blue boomer. I am always glad to give information, never test drives though. I think New Holland should give me a little kickback for helping to sell this tractor to potential custormers. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I think Wen was right, I think she looked at the brochure, and you know how women are. If she can do it, I can do it too. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Hope she dosen't read this post. I am surely going to be sleeping with my blue friend if I'm not careful. You know I just get to sit and watch when there is work to be done now. Hey, what am I complaing about? What a thoughtful woman. Honey, if you are reading these post, see I don't realy mind that you wont let me drive the tractor. Think that will help smooth things over boys? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

P.S. I see how they all poke fun at the little TC18. I wonder if they just are jealous because that little TC18 has got more heart, a blue heart, than the same size orange compacts. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Orange fellows don't take my comments wrong. I just have got to help poor JimBinMI out. There are several of ya'll, and only 4 or so of us blue guys to take up for one another. I think we are loosing Paddock to the orange fever. A good dose of blue medicine might cure him, just kidding Paddock. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

al f · May 28, 2000

James,

Don't worry, there's plenty of "us" out there. I have owned 3 blues, from a 1971 Ford LGT 100 (still own, runs like a scalded dog), to an 1100 (don't own anymore), to a TC 25 (just bought). Maybe it's just that we are actually out there USING our tractors, rather than here TALKING about using our tractors like some "others". Oooh boy, I can't believe I got involved in this discussion.

Al

JimBinMI · May 28, 2000

Al f,

Hooorah, Hooorah, Hooorah!!!!!!!! /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Even though I'm one of those talking about it! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

gordon · May 28, 2000

yup I put almost 8000 hrs on my Kubota by talking about it thats for sure---wake up---/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Gordon

JimBinMI · May 29, 2000

Gordon,

Are you serious? That's like 4 years of 40 hours a week in that seat! How many years have you owned that thing? I'm jealous, do you skip work a lot? Is your hourmeter working OK?

If you're serious, in all of my seriousness, we have a true compact Kubota expert in our midst! Hooorah! /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

gordon · May 29, 2000

10 years and the hourmeter works just fine thank you I use it for logging and landscaping and any thing else that pays good.
I did a post on here not to long ago about it its a L3750 with a cab and front end loader. The post was about some of the things that have broken over the years alot of which I caused./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gifhttp://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=owning&Number=5057&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words= &Match=Entire Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=1000&Old=2days
Gordon

JimBinMI · May 29, 2000

Gordon,

Wow, you average about 800 hrs./year! Hope you know that you are the exception and not the rule! I will have my TC18 one year on June 29th and right now I have about 63 hours on it. My dealer estimated that for my use, I will put about 100 hours/year on it. But I don't hire out either, never intended to, this is a personal use tractor, and for me 18.5 hp is plenty for what I need it for on 8 acres! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

gordon · May 29, 2000

Jim go back and reread my last post I added a link to it.

JimBinMI · May 29, 2000

Gordon,

Thanks, I did, and I responded to that old post since you referred to me there!

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

al f · May 29, 2000

Easy there Jim, I was just being a little sarcastic, I think you just used up like a dozen posts worth of exclamaition points.

Al

_RaT_ · May 30, 2000

Jim, you havent even burned the paint off your TC 18 yet. New Holland has used on its old series tractors simple hour meters. I won't assume they still use the same actual time meter on the Boomers, but in your case it sounds like you pretty much just mow grass or weeds which means close to full RPM and therefore a fairly accurate representation of the wear hours on your tractor. The Kubota L4850 uses a Hobbs meter, that gives me the true representation of the wear hours I have on it. Much like airplanes that use Hobbs meters, it gives you a perfect way to maintain your equipment. A great way to find out what meter you have is how its attached. Most diesels use a tachometer. If the meter is run via the tachometer, run via a cable (like that of a speedometer) to the engine, you have a Hobbs meter in all likely hood. Check yours out. Rat...

JimBinMI · May 30, 2000

Re: Proofmeter

Rat,

This was a discussion earlier on hourmeters, mine is called a Proofmeter and it records one hour for every hour at 1833 rpm. When I use the rear mower, I'm at 2450 rpm so it records an hour in less than an hour. I've checked it out and it does! So, based on some comments I got from Kubota owners, even though their manuals do not state it, they think they record an hour for every hour at pto rpm. Mainly this means that I will record hours at a faster rate than a Kubota but I guess one consolation is that my maintenance will be more regular...better maintenance = longer lasting? I don't know if all NH's record at the same rate or not though.

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

_RaT_ · May 30, 2000

Re: Proofmeter

Jim, I will have to check into the most desireable RPM for a given motor to use as its index for an hour of engine time. That is, why would 1833 RPM be selected as the hour of engine time to an hour of actual time. It could very well vary from engine to engine, even to the point of basing it on the torque/hp intersect. At any rate, the bonus of using the Hobbs type meter is that it only operates while the engine is running and it more accurately determines the true "wear time" of a piece of equipment. In my boat for instance, it is a simple hourmeter connected to the 12 volt side of the coil. If we forget and leave the key on, motor running or not, hours will accumulate until we turn the key off or more frequently, the battery goes dead. The real bonus in all this is that at the rate at which your accumulating hours on your tractor, you will probably be dead before you need to consider rebuilding the engine. Isn't that a nice thought? Rat...

JimBinMI · May 30, 2000

Re: Proofmeter

Rat,

"The real bonus in all this is that at the rate at which your accumulating hours on your tractor, you will probably be dead before you need to consider rebuilding the engine. Isn't that a nice thought? Rat..."

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....yes and no! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

W5FL · May 31, 2000

Re: Proofmeter

Paddock

Most manufacturers set the hour meters to read one hour at pto speed, since that is where tractor normal operation usually takes place, at least for many sustainable activities on tractors. Have no idea why NH decided to do theirs differently. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

JimBinMI · May 31, 2000

Re: Proofmeter

Wen,

Do you know how your Kubota clocks hours? When I posed this question before, I got few answers and maybe one definitive! From what you Orange guys told me before, it is not listed in your manuals. Did anyone ever find out how it works on Orange, or others? And just because my NH TC18 records at 1833 doesn't mean that the others do!

Any other BLUE owners out there gonna post how yours records hours?

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

Hawgee · May 31, 2000

Re: Proofmeter

Can't say yet as to how the TC40 will record hours. Our old MF35 with Perkins ran the tach cable off the back of the cam. Working RPM was marked at around 1450 or 1650. Can't remember, been awhile since I looked. Because this was being used in a multi RPM Utility mode, the key to any Hour meter or Proof meter was to let ME know what it had done. Something to think about the next time you look at a used tractor. Where was it being operated and what was it doing. RPM and what kind of work?
To argue the type of meter is more important to me if I was shopping for used. Reminds me of the guy when asked "How tall is the tree?". He replied, "I rightly don't know, but if we were to chop it down, I could tell you how long it was".

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

tbarber55 · May 31, 2000

Re: Proofmeter

My NH 1220 records hours at 2000 rpm,the service manager said it's a good average rpm for usage.
I also have a Kubota L345DT, I have no idea of how the hour meter works on it. Ive been on it for 4 or 5 hours at a time
and im lucky if it puts 1 hour on it. It has 970 hours on it
but it runs and looks more like 9070 hours.I personally will take a NH over Kubota but thats me....

Anonymous Poster · May 31, 2000

Re: Proofmeter

Maybe it actually has 9070 hours on it...

gordon · May 31, 2000

Actually thats not that many hours compared to alot of tractor owners and alot compared to others. I hire out so really its not a bunch of hours they rack up before you know it.
For personal use 100 hrs a year is a good amout of time on the meter and there is no sense to over buy in the purchase of a tractor ---get what will work best for you./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Even if its blue!!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Gordon