Posted by jdemaris on January 10, 2011 at 09:42:59 from (67.142.130.12):
In Reply to: Re: Cheaper ?? posted by jackinok on January 10, 2011 at 09:17:24:
There are many, many variables. Here in our northeastern dairy farming area, the most successfull farmers I know now, and going back 30 years are the ones that rarely bought or buy new equipment and take good care of what they have.
There is very little difference in over-all efficiency from many tractors built in 1960 to the ones built in 2011. Many newer utilty-sized tractors built today actually worse. As to matching ground speeds? Many 8 speed tractors around from the late 50s do pretty well on smaller farms.
When you factor in the price of new equipment and what it take to maintain it - versus older IF you do the work in-house, there can be major savings.
One example - running a 5 foot brush hog that might need 15-25 horsepower, The higher the number, the more fuel efficient. An old Deere B or Ford 8N is almost twice as efficient as a new 160 horse Deere in this situation:
Deere B - 11.7 test rating Ford 8N - 11.1 test rating New Deere 7630 turbo-diesel - 6.5 test rating.
1947 John Deere B (two cylinder gas) tested making 25.79 horsepower for two hours and got a rating of 11.79. At 18.7 horse it was 10.9. At 14.8 horsepower it dropped to 9.5. At 12.8 horse it was 9.2, and when worked at only 6.4 horsepower it dropped way down to 6.
2007 John Deere 7630 turbo-diesel. When worked at 161.8 horsepower it is rated at 18.16. When worked at 92 horse it drops to 14.3. When worked at 62 horse it drops to 12.4. When only worked at 31 horsepower it drops way down to 7.6.
Note that an 8N Ford can make 25 horsepower with a rating of 11.l horsepower hours per gallon.
Now in other areas where 300-400 acre farms are considered small, I assume things can be quite different.
By the way, I've read though many draw-bar efficiency tests from the Nebraska Test Institute, and hydro-drives usually do poorly when compared to gear or hydraulic-clutch drives.
Also note that when somebody invests in big new tractor, and then uses at times for small low-power work, it's often turns into a dog on fuel. An old gas-powered 8N Ford can be more efficient running a brush-hog, then a brand new, 200 horse turbo-diesel tractor.
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