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Thirsty tractors

L

larry@stinescorner

Well-known Member
The post below got me thinking
I worked at a farm/slaughterhouse when I was young,,in the town I grew up in in NJ.The family had a
560 gas,tricycle type.It would drink gas.
My neighbor in PA bought a real nice Oliver 770?Gas tractor at a sale.He was a young boy then,,his
grandpa and him had the tractor looking beautiful.
One day I was there when they were loading it up to take it to the sale.
I asked why? His grandfather said,,if you do any work at all with that tractor,you will go broke
filling up the gas tank!
Does anyone else remember or know of some notoriously thirsty tractors?
 
I worked for a fellow Who had an 1800 Oliver gasser -- leave the yard about 8 am and Ya better be back by 11;30 or You will be walking back -- worked the snot out of that thing tho -- 21 foot tandem disc -- Roy
 
My F20 could drink up 10 gallons just thinking about work. But, to be fair, I only ran it on gas, never oil.
 
I cannot agree with that. I never considered ANY of the five DEERE's I had thirsty. Neighbor had one same model as mine and acording to him took twice as much as mine did so why would there be that kind of difference with same model? Probably one not adjusted same as the other and if adjusted correctly would have cut his fuel usage.
 
What you going to adjust on a diesel? My Oliver 1650 diesel won't burn near as much fuel as my cousin's JD 2350 and the 1650 is suppose to have more power.Back in the 70's I used to
help a outfit near me chop corn with a couple JD 4020 diesel tractors those things about lived at the fuel tank.
 
they never thought about how many acres a full tank would do just thought about how much gas the tractor took. You could work an M hard from 7:00 till noon and not run out but look at the work finished in that time if you want the horse to work you gots to feed him
 
A Deere 3020 gas was very hazardous to your feet if you did any job without adding gas to it first.LOL I had a 4020 gas as an extra big tractor years ago and feel like it used less gas than the 3020. Does not seem possible but it seemed that way when using both. Tom
 
I remember when my Grandpa bought his first diesel. MF Super 90. Diesel was .19 per gallon and gas was .35. Back in the day gasoline consumption was not given much thought.
 
I have read that Case LA's had a thirst that could never be quenched. Maybe the 500's too if they were gas powered.
 
I don't believe any farmer when it comes to tractor fuel usage. his brand is always better than the brand he does not own. It's been that way since tractors came into use. To get the true facts we need to look it up on the Nebraska tests.
 
Well right now gas is ALOT cheaper than diesel fuel. For low hour useage and cold weather it's hard to beat the gas tractors.
 
I can remember dad telling me that the 8N would use a gallon an hour pulling two bottoms and the 350 IH would burn 1 1/2 gallons an hour pulling three.
 
I think any tractor over about 60 horsepower burning gas seemed thirsty. I worked for a nieghbour running an 830 Case gas and that one seemed to need re-fueling a lot sooner than the 730 diesel. My Uncle's LA Case was considered a heavy gas user. Dad used to figure 3 gallons an hour of gas for the Cockshutt 50 on field work. It was rare to see any big gas tractors here. 60 hp and up were predominantly diesel powered.
 
Larry, A JD G working hard would drink fast.
I had a 49 Case LA that would drink fast if pulling a big disc. When I enlarged my pond pulling a dirt pan, the LA was not bad on gas as it was only working hard loading the pan. The rest of the time it loafed hauling and dumping.
I have to keep a can nearby when using my JD H to take gas out of the tractor as it seems to make gas.LOL
Richard in NW SC
 
And I was told to get real about my comment about a 930 gas needing a refinery to keep it in fuel. We had an 830 that putting up hay would need 60 gallon a day starting about 11:30 AM till it got tough at night. In MI The dealer came out and weened it so it only used about 30 per day same job.
Later we had a 930 diesel and used about half the fuel on the same job. This was in the 70's and 80's .Yes fuel was cheaper and still a sizeable cost on any operation regardless of size. the differential in price was not nearly what it is today either. A diesel still penciled out then.
 
Talked to a guy who came back from WWII and had to plow up the whole farm, as it had gone to grass and weeds while he was gone. Had "the biggest Case they made" (LA?) and said he took a 55 gallon drum of gas to the field in the morning, and plowed until the barrel and the tank on the Case were empty. He said the time varied a little bit depending on the terrain, but "I was never later for supper."
 
I had a a JD 4040 that would burn 7 gallons an hour.The 730Diesel would burn 2-3 doing the same work.Neighbors 4430 would burn 11.
 
That's pretty much the same reason Pop traded his M for an 88 diesel back in 1954, Bruce. Once you started moving to the high side of 40 hp. gas consumption gets pretty high for heavy work. Gas is certainly less of a headache in really cold weather, though.
 
I would agree with that - back when they were common most 50-60 hp gas tractors were used for heavy work and more load equals more fuel. Smaller gas tractors were often used for light work and often were fairly easy on gas due to that. Tractors I have been told were thirsty included JD G , 3020 and 4020 ,and 720 and any of the older gas/distillate "dual fuel" tractors from the 1930's and 40's compared to their higher compression gas version. Around here the Oliver 6 cyl gas tractors were considered fairly good on gas up thru about a1650.
The tractors I listed are here based on what owners of them told me over the years. My neighbor who mentioned the JD 3020 had a 3010 which he claimed used only 2/3 the fuel of the 3020 which replaced it.
 
Never found the nebraska tests to be
even close to real for fuel use. I've
run tractors that we're far on either
side of the nebraska tests.
 
Then they talk about how much fuel a day. One farmer has tractor in field daylight to dark. Neighbor has 2 hours livestock chores at each end of day. Which one uses the most gallons in a day?
 
I ran a 4840 jd one year pulling a big v-ripper. Was a huge load for that tractor. If I remember correctly it had about a 100 gal tank and we started at 7:00am and took lunch about 1:00pm and you had to be at the fuel pump at 1 or you wouldn't make it.
 
Worst thing I ever ran was a small Case trencher on tracks. It had a Wisconsin engine, if I remember correctly. We rented one to install sprinklers at the county softball complex. It was a full time job for someone to run back and forth with a 5 gallon can to keep it running.
 
. It is all relative . More power means mote fuel . A tractor with a small fuel tank seems to use more fuel because of the more frequent re-fills .
Rather than taking the word of BS Bubba , how about using the proven numbers from the Nebraska tests ?
 
Can't believe nobody has mentioned the 400-450 IH, even on tractor rides guys complain how hard they are on fuel. Had a few guys tell me that IH increased the size of the fuel tanks on these models so that they could stay in the field till noon for lunch. Same guys said you never left the farm without a 5 gallon gas can with these tractors.
 
(quoted from post at 10:47:06 11/30/18) I had a a JD 4040 that would burn 7 gallons an hour.The 730Diesel would burn 2-3 doing the same work.Neighbors 4430 would burn 11.
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How exactly do you compare a 55HP tractor’s fuel conspunotipn to a 125HP tractor .
Total lack of common sense and no understanding of the basic laws of thermodynamics or heat engines .
 
An Oliver 1800 gasser would burn 6.5 or 7 gallon per hr under heavy load. That would be pulling a plow all day. Gas back in the day was not that much expense at .30 cent a gallon. When tractors reached around 70 hp that was beginning of the end for gas engine tractors.
 
I've seen Nebraska tests be way off for
real world fuel use. I might use it for
comparison, but then I would check for
real numbers.
 
Way back in the early 80's when I was farming I needed a tractor to run the corn dryer. I just had to have a jd 2 cylinder diesel because I always heard how efficient they were. So I got a 730d and put it on the dryer. I was so dissapionted when it burned more fuel per batch than my 830 case did. When I complained to the dealer that sold it to me he said the only reason jd guys say they are so cheap to run is because most had up graded from a G or 70 gas and compared to that they were cheap to run. It was not bad, but did burn just a bit more than the 830 on the same job.
 
I always like the complaints about how much fuel is used and usually no reference as to how much and how much faster the work got done. LOL.
 
Early 400's had an 18 gallon tank, couldn't see it under the sides of the hood, later 400's and all 450's had 21 gallon tank, stuck below sides of hood 4-5 inches. If you pushed it hard you could burn 3 tanks of gas a day with a 450. 450 burned right around 4 gallons an hour, maybe a bit more.

Plowed one night for the BTO a mile away from home. ALL his diesel's were "Busy" so he hooked his 4020 gas to the 5-14 F-145 plow. Started plowing about 7 PM, half mile rows, 16 rounds per tank of gas running in 4th gear. Diesel's all pulled the same plow in 5th. Gassed up about 11:30, back out and 16 rounds later, about 4 AM I'm gassing up again when the Boss comes out to start chores. Was burning 7 gallons per hour. A diesel pulling the same plow in 5th burned 5 gallons/hour.
 
I agree with you on the the Nebraska tests.I've seen where their numbers don't come close to what the actual fuel consumption is on many tractors and have been off both ways.
 
Right now gas here is $1.89 a gallon and diesel is still $3.00 a gallon. Maybe the only time in history that it is cheaper to run an 806 gas than a diesel.
 
Ok, here's a comparison for you. My brother bought a new 4650fwa as his main tractor. He was never impressed with the fuel use or pulling power and he had a couple break down issues as well. His next big tractor was a new case 9270 4wd. By actual numbers the case did almost exactly twice the acres/hr of the 4650, and it did it on about 1/2 the fuel/hr. Of course most of the loads were heavy for the JD and light for the case. That is til they got their first rippers which was the fist hard pull for the case. It did burn more fuel then, but still very efficient. None of the newer either case or jd's they have had have come close to that 9270 for efficiency.
 
Who wants to do math? No-one? OK, here's some oats for consumption;

The Otto cycle spark engine(4 stroke gas) runs about .4 Lb/hour/HP of fuel in good repair and well tuned for stoichiometry(air/fuel ratio). Many engines can run at much higher ratios than that and still operate and not foul the plugs too bad. The .4 Lb/hour/HP works out to a air/fuel ratio of basically 15:1. (a bit more, a bit less). If we work backwards from HP, it's easy to see that there is a lot of variation, but take the type of work done, and it starts to make sense.

The Oliver 1800 mentioned above was running ~7GPH under heavy load. The engine was rated 74HP at the PTO. From this we can derive that the pumping losses, and the ancillary losses, and driving the hyd pump, and the trans/PTO gears all takes up about 25% of the power output. Working backward, the Oliver 1800 engine shaft HP was pretty close to 100.

Take 100HP/hour, and divide by the fuel used of 7GPH, and we come up with a air/fuel ratio of: 100/7 = 14.3:1. Running just a bit rich, this engine could be tuned a bit and produce the 6.5GPH number with a slightly leaner mixture. 100/6.5 = 15.4, which is right in the ballpark for our proper stoich mixture.

Any tractor can be evaluated the same. Find the PTO HP, multiply that by 1.25 for the shaft HP, then divide the fuel used per hour, and find the stoich ratio. Something close to 15:1 will be good. Below 14:1 is getting pretty rich mixture. Getting down to 12:1, and now one has a thirsty tractor.

What a lot of folks don't take into account is all the parasitic drag that a tractor runs. Not just the alternator, but also a hefty power steering pump. Trans gears in tractors are big, heavy, solid pieces. PTO drive accounts for a load of HP, and finally the hyd pump is sucking up HP all the time.

Fill the tank full. Run your tractor under load for 1 hour. Stop and refuel, note the exact usage, and check your HP used, and then the air/fuel ratio. If you don't get near ~15:1, change the jets in the carb to a leaner mixture. The plugs should be golden brown, and not black, or dark chocolate.

Diesel engines are about 15-20% more thermodynamically efficient due to less pumping loss, and slightly higher energy density of diesel over gas.

For more reading, research "BSFC", brake specific fuel consumption. Tractors are never going to be 'efficient' just because of the amount of work they do, just sitting still.
 
Ah,memories.

I can still see Bobby Hopkins standing with his foot on the running board of the milk truck,saying that he didn't know how his 400 could get that much gas through a little line that small. LOL


Kinda like my son in law's uncle saying he'd never be able to fill his AC 190 gas with the engine running.
 
I would side with the one reply that said to check the Nebraska test results. Everyone has their own (sometimes cockeyed) way of determining fuel useage. I had a neighbor once that always figured out his gas mileage on a new car or truck by comparing it to what the fuel gauge said on his trip to and from his mother-in-law's house which was a couple of hours away. The size of the gas tank or the accuracy of his fuel gauge or how it functioned meant nothing to him. As long as each new car/truck did better than the last one, he was happy. And if the mileage was worse, he'd always figure out a way to make it better than the last vehicle he owned. I got suspicious when his new '76 Dodge Van 360 V-8 was getting about 45 miles to the gallon .... ha!
 
Buick don?t you know Nebraska tests are all fake
Especially if it says John Deere did anything better
than another brand ? Working the 3020 and max
load 3rd gear wide open I?m a burning 3.33 gallon
per hour acres per hour depend on what I?m
pulling. Working the 4020 at max load I?m 4.3
gallon per hour both diesel . Diesel fuel is 2.99 a
gallon right now . Gas is also 2.99 today locally
cvphoto4290.jpg


cvphoto4291.jpg
 
Yes and then it?s always well I pulled the same implement and could go a gear a faster . What he doesn?t say is in one field there can be ten different kinds of soil and across the fence or down the road a 1/4 mile the soil is completely different . Also just buy lifting my implement less than inch make a huge difference in how hard a plow or cultivator pulls
 
My first farm tractor was an Oliver 1850 gas that I still have. I thought, why does this tractor have a main fuel tank and both fender tanks??? 100+ gallons??? I realized the first day about 11am when the main tank was dry! Someone made her hot too, which makes it worse on fuel useage (but more fun to use). Dyno?s at 112hp.
 
Had a Allis 190 gasser. That thing ran great but would drink 7gl per hour idling or doodling around with a loader. Owned it for about 3 years, put the loader on a Massey 1080 sold the Allis at auction and now fill the Massey up once a year.
 
We had a 3020 gas that we bought to pull a 4 row corn planter, found out it was cheaper to put our 7020 diesel on it that use the 3020.
 
Ooliverguy ,I Agree with ya,had a 1850 main and 2 fender tanks also and it loved its gasoline like a drunk homeless man loved his whiskey,GUZZLE GUZZLE BURP!and always wanting MORE!
 
On our Ford 3000 gas, in about 5 hours of dong heavy pto work, the tractor burned though 6 or 7 gallons vs our Ford 6610 burned between 3 or 4 or maybe less doing 8 + hours of the same work.
 
I am talking gas but it should be same for a diesel of 2 exact models they should use same amount of fuel not one half again as much as the other. I am not talking one make against a different one but same make and model
 
The thing is that the 830 only used about half after dealer worked on it as before. That says something was not adjusted correctly. Other wise for the change in that tractor before and after how would you describe it. That is what I was saying most of the ones that were called fuel hogs just needed like that dealer did to that tractor to cut fuel usage in half. What did he do to cut the fuel usage yet get same amount of work out of it.
 
And were those tractors in the real world adjusted the wat they were for the tests. Probably every one of them needed some tweaking
 
Don't think I have ever seen tractors in the field weighted up like the tractors in the Nebraska Tests or pulled as with as much weight behind them as they pulled.I suspect a tractor manufacturer would have voided the warranty on many of the tractors if they were weighted up like in the Tests.Everything changes when tractors are pulling lighter loads at less then maximum RPM.
 
I was in the market for a gas 3020 or 4020 when I bought this last tractor after hearing all the complaints I?m glad I didn?t get one
 
I don't know how much gas this tractor used in a day .It was along time ago, almost 50 years i was a 9 year old kid then.. It was a Case 530 with a loader. It was a friend of my dad's. He would come and help with some farm work. I just remeber he had a 8 gallon milk can mounted on the loader frame full of gas at the start of the day and would empty it by the end of the day. I still like the looks of those Case tractors.
 
When I bought my mom's farmall C the carburetor was adjusted improperly and it drank gas and the spark plugs were black in minutes.

After I adjusted it, it sips gas. Plugs are white.
 
(quoted from post at 11:23:16 11/30/18) . So I got a 730d and put it on the dryer. I was so dissapionted when it burned more fuel per batch than my 830 case did.
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I sure would have liked to have been there measuring the diesel that the JD 730 diesel burned vs a 830 Case. IMHO if JD 730 diesel burned more diesel than the Case it had something wrong with the engine/fuel system.
 
Bingo, Jim.

IIRC, the JD 720/730 held the sacrosanct NE tractor test HP Hr/gallon economy record from 1957 until well into the era of turbochargers.

Dean
 
John Deere G, seems I remember it burning close to 5gal/hr. We new not to expect it to go much longer than 3 hours on a tank of gas. We never ran it on anything but gas. I have an old arial picture of our farm that shows the G parked at the gas tank, a fitting tribute for sure.
 
(quoted from post at 14:39:25 11/30/18) Had a Allis 190 gasser. That thing ran great but would drink 7gl per hour idling or doodling around with a loader. Owned it for about 3 years, put the loader on a Massey 1080 sold the Allis at auction and now fill the Massey up once a year.
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If it really burned 7gallon per hour, the tractor was grossly out of tune .
 
(quoted from post at 18:25:47 11/30/18) Bingo, Jim.

IIRC, the JD 720/730 held the sacrosanct NE tractor test HP Hr/gallon economy record from 1957 until well into the era of turbochargers.

Dean
Click to expand...

The 720/730 reigned supreme until a Japanese built Model 1650 too the prize .
Due to efficiency of scale . A 300HP tractor tends to be more efficient than an otherwise similar 100HP tractor .
 
(quoted from post at 19:40:42 11/30/18) John Deere G, seems I remember it burning close to 5gal/hr. We new not to expect it to go much longer than 3 hours on a tank of gas. We never ran it on anything but gas. I have an old arial picture of our farm that shows the G parked at the gas tank, a fitting tribute for sure.
Click to expand...
The G wasn’t designed for gasoline . The G was designed for lowest cost per acre fuel costs . Instead of expensive gasoline the 4 to 1 compression engine would operate on cheaper distilant.
With just a set of 8 to 1 pistons , a cold manifold and decent gasoline . The G almost doubles the HP output on the same displacement t and rpm.
 
I have owned two tractors to add to the list. 1st I nominate the Allis D19 gas. It would pull 4-16s in clay all day any day, but never missed lunch. If we filled up in the morning it was empty by noon so head for the house. My 2nd vote is for the White 2-135 with the big 478 engine. Yes with it having a 155 engine in it and being a front wheel assist it will get some work done in a days time, I feel it used about 11-13 gallons and hour if you where pouring the coal to her. Almost as bad doing light work. Some times I felt you should shut it off to save fuel if you hoped out to take a leak. Al
 
On some engines worked hard you will need to run a bit rich to avoid burning valves. Best to tune the carb on a dynometer with exhaust
gas temperature. Or if you burn valves, run a bit richer. I learned the hard way chopping corn.
 
I think Nebraska tested tractors on a concrete track, up to 15 percent slippage on concrete.
 
Leroy: I don't remember as this was when I was about 9or 10 years old. I just remember dad and grandpa were unloading hay and it died took them a minute to figure out it was out of fuel. I guess that was not the first thing they looked at with it being a new tractor.
Dad bought the gasser case, because the combine was a gleaner E with the D-19 or such engine about 60 horse and the case was about 68 so not a big difference and the combine only used about a half tank each day cutting wheat. Both jobs would have been close in length as dew and tough at night. He thought the case would be a similar fuel consumption. It liked it's fuel doing field work.
My 806 diesel and the 930 case diesel were pretty close on fuel. The Cat would beat them both for work done in a day for fuel consumed. the D-6 would plow all day on about 20-25 gallon the Ih and case would use about 40 gallon per day on same length days. Starting after chores and plowing till dark.
Or stiegers will work ground for about a gallon per acre to chisel plow with the older one and the newer one runs I believe cheaper on the disk. Pulling sunflower 29 foot.
 
Good Lord, a 4020 diesel used enough fuel when worked hard. Can't imagine what a 4020 gas would use.................................
 
Hey buickanddeere, I notice the other day you tried to correct someone for not doing a spell check,,,, but look what you did (More power means mote fuel ), maybe you should lighten up a bit,, right?
 
I have never payed much attention to the tractors but the jd 9500 combine seems to use about 10 gallons of diesel per separator hour
 
When I was a tot, Dad's F-20 was a thirsty devil. My brother mentioned it to a parts dealer who told him to change the plugs and oil. Brother ordered and installed the plugs and a new filter. Fuel consumption dropped to 1/3. Dad got mad as a hornet about it. My brother took the old plugs and smashed them with a hammer. Dad wasn't real long on maintenance.
 
My neighbor, RIP, 2007, farmed most of his life with AC tractors, WD, WD45, D17, D19, until buying a JD 2940 FWA in 1980 or thereabouts. He had both diesel and gasoline D19s.

After buying the 2940, his D19s were light duty back up tractors. He used his JD to pull his heavy 14' disc and JD 4-14 plow in our local, small farm, heavy clay soil.

I remember watching him pull his 4-14 plow in heavy soil with his gasoline D19 when his 2940 was away for repairs and his D19 diesel was apart in his shop for overhaul.

It pulled it well and ever missed a beat but I have no idea how much gasoline it used. It was working hard.

Dean
 
The case ran the dryer on 10 gal of
fuel per batch. I always carried 2 cans
of fuel over each fill. I put the JD on
expecting to save some, but kept
putting in 10 gal per batch. I didn't
think anything of it til the second day
when it ran out while unloading. So
over about 30-35 hours the JD burned
the same 10 gal per batch plus however
much extra the tank held. As I said, it
wasn't much and both were good, but the
JD did burn more. A batch took about 4
hours to dry, so we are talking about 2
1/2 to 2 3/4 gal per hour.
 
(quoted from post at 21:27:59 11/30/18) Someone on here once posted that a 15-30 stood for 15 gallons before lunch and 30 gallons before supper
Click to expand...

5hr on a tank of fuel at max load.

Nebraska Tractor Test 130:
Test Date: October 26 - November 2, 1926
Type: Kerosene 3-speed 2WD
Belt power (max): 34.91 hp [26.0 kW]
Belt fuel use (max): 3.7 gal/hour [14.0 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 26.67 hp [19.9 kW]
Drawbar pull (max): 4190 lbs [1900 kg]
Max pull gear: Low
 
(quoted from post at 21:59:55 11/30/18) Good Lord, a 4020 diesel used enough fuel when worked hard. Can't imagine what a 4020 gas would use.................................
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Test Date: May 17 - 24, 1966
Type: 340ci gasoline Syncro-Range 2WD
PTO power (rated engine speed): 95.56 hp [71.3 kW]
PTO fuel use (engine speed): 7.9 gal/hour [29.9 l/hour]
PTO power (rated PTO speed): 85.81 hp [64.0 kW]
PTO fuel use (PTO speed): 6.9 gal/hour [26.1 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 83.28 hp [62.1 kW]
Drawbar fuel use (max): 7.7 gal/hour [29.1 l/hour]
Drawbar pull (max): 10,658 lbs [4834 kg]
Max pull gear: 2
 
(quoted from post at 20:27:54 11/30/18) I have owned two tractors to add to the list. 1st I nominate the Allis D19 gas. It would pull 4-16s in clay all day any day, but never missed lunch. If we filled up in the morning it was empty by noon so head for the house. My 2nd vote is for the White 2-135 with the big 478 engine. Yes with it having a 155 engine in it and being a front wheel assist it will get some work done in a days time, I feel it used about 11-13 gallons and hour if you where pouring the coal to her. Almost as bad doing light work. Some times I felt you should shut it off to save fuel if you hoped out to take a leak. Al
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Test Date: April 3 - 19, 1962
Type: Gasoline 8-speed 2WD
PTO power (rated engine speed): 71.54 hp [53.3 kW]
PTO fuel use (engine speed): 6.2 gal/hour [23.5 l/hour]
PTO power (rated PTO speed): 65.19 hp [48.6 kW]
PTO fuel use (PTO speed): 5.6 gal/hour [21.2 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 63.91 hp [47.7 kW]
Drawbar fuel use (max): 6.8 gal/hour [25.7 l/hour]
Drawbar pull (max): 8,587 lbs [3895 kg]
Max pull gear: 1

White 2-135 Nebraska Tractor Test 1275:
Test Date: May 9 - 18, 1978
Type: Diesel 18-speed 2WD
PTO power (rated engine speed): 137.64 hp [102.6 kW]
PTO fuel use (engine speed): 9.4 gal/hour [35.6 l/hour]
PTO power (rated PTO speed): 138.03 hp [102.9 kW]
PTO fuel use (PTO speed): 9.3 gal/hour [35.2 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 113.67 hp [84.8 kW]
Drawbar fuel use (max): 9.2 gal/hour [34.8 l/hour]
 
(quoted from post at 18:17:52 11/30/18)
(quoted from post at 11:23:16 11/30/18) . So I got a 730d and put it on the dryer. I was so dissapionted when it burned more fuel per batch than my 830 case did.
Click to expand...

I sure would have liked to have been there measuring the diesel that the JD 730 diesel burned vs a 830 Case. IMHO if JD 730 diesel burned more diesel than the Case it had something wrong with the engine/fuel system.
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Nebraska Tractor Test 736:
Test Date: April 1960
Type: Diesel Case-O-Matic
PTO power (rated engine speed): 63.74 hp [47.5 kW]
PTO fuel use (engine speed): 4.6 gal/hour [17.4 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 58.3 hp [43.5 kW]
Drawbar fuel use (max): 4.6 gal/hour [17.4 l/hour]

Nebraska Tractor Test 737:
Test Date: April 1960
Type: Diesel
PTO power (rated engine speed): 63.76 hp [47.5 kW]
PTO fuel use (engine speed): 4.3 gal/hour [16.3 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 54.27 hp [40.5 kW]

Nebraska Tractor Test 917:
Test Date: October 1965
Type: Diesel
PTO power (rated engine speed): 64.26 hp [47.9 kW]
PTO fuel use (engine speed): 4.8 gal/hour [18.2 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 57.69 hp [43.0 kW]
Drawbar fuel use (max): 4.8 gal/hour [18.2 l/hour]
 
(quoted from post at 19:40:42 11/30/18) John Deere G, seems I remember it burning close to 5gal/hr. We new not to expect it to go much longer than 3 hours on a tank of gas. We never ran it on anything but gas. I have an old arial picture of our farm that shows the G parked at the gas tank, a fitting tribute for sure.
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http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=tractormuseumlit
 
(quoted from post at 22:19:12 11/30/18) When I was a tot, Dad's F-20 was a thirsty devil. My brother mentioned it to a parts dealer who told him to change the plugs and oil. Brother ordered and installed the plugs and a new filter. Fuel consumption dropped to 1/3. Dad got mad as a hornet about it. My brother took the old plugs and smashed them with a hammer. Dad wasn't real long on maintenance.
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Test Date: November 5 - 12, 1936
Type: Kerosene 4-speed 2WD
Belt power (max): 27.84 hp [20.8 kW]
Belt fuel use (max): 2.8 gal/hour [10.6 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 20.66 hp [15.4 kW]
Drawbar pull (max): 2927 lbs [1327 kg]
Max pull gear: 1
 
(quoted from post at 22:06:57 11/30/18) Hey buickanddeere, I notice the other day you tried to correct someone for not doing a spell check,,,, but look what you did (More power means mote fuel ), maybe you should lighten up a bit,, right?
Click to expand...

The occasional slip on the screen on a smart phone is one thing. Errors in gramar and spelling occurring in every sentence is another.
 
(quoted from post at 09:35:38 11/30/18) The post below got me thinking
I worked at a farm/slaughterhouse when I was young,,in the town I grew up in in NJ.The family had a
560 gas,tricycle type.It would drink gas.
My neighbor in PA bought a real nice Oliver 770?Gas tractor at a sale.He was a young boy then,,his
grandpa and him had the tractor looking beautiful.
One day I was there when they were loading it up to take it to the sale.
I asked why? His grandfather said,,if you do any work at all with that tractor,you will go broke
filling up the gas tank!
Does anyone else remember or know of some notoriously thirsty tractors?
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Test Date: April 21 - May 7, 1958
Type: Gasoline 6-speed 2WD
Belt power (max): 50.04 hp [37.3 kW]
Belt fuel use (max): 4.3 gal/hour [16.3 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 42.75 hp [31.9 kW]
Drawbar pull (max): 7,000 lbs [3175 kg]
Max pull gear: 1
 
(quoted from post at 09:58:08 11/30/18) What you going to adjust on a diesel? My Oliver 1650 diesel won't burn near as much fuel as my cousin's JD 2350 and the 1650 is suppose to have more power.Back in the 70's I used to
help a outfit near me chop corn with a couple JD 4020 diesel tractors those things about lived at the fuel tank.
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4020 thirsty ? Nope.

Test Date: November 16 - 20, 1965
Type: Diesel Syncro-Range 2WD
PTO power (rated engine speed): 94.88 hp [70.8 kW]
PTO fuel use (engine speed): 6.0 gal/hour [22.7 l/hour]
PTO power (rated PTO speed): 86.85 hp [64.8 kW]
PTO fuel use (PTO speed): 5.3 gal/hour [20.1 l/hour]
Drawbar power (max): 83.79 hp [62.5 kW]
Drawbar fuel use (max): 6.0 gal/hour [22.7 l/hour]
Drawbar pull (max): 11,249 lbs [5102 kg]
 
Ill agree to that. I know running the tuff stem beans this year I used a lot of fuel but in dry corn I probably could run a half day more on a tank.
 
We had 2 a gas and an early diesel. the gas you could plow 6-8 acres on a tank and the diesel was closer to 12. The diesel was turned up a bit and was not near a economical as the 4230. The gas 4020 now has a 105 combine diesel and the old 4020 was traded off on a 4x4 loader tractor.
Another fuel hog is my 4250!
 
Nebraska tests are frequently so far
off it's a joke, and in both
directions. I suspect the test results
more often reflect what happened at the
deer cabin the manufacturer invited the
testers to than actual test results.
Especially when it comes to the 4020
and 730d JD.
 
You bet. But as a young man I loved the 2? flame out the stack at night! Oh wait, I still do! Man does it run strong, I don?t know what the previous owner did. Could you buy fire crater pistons or whatever for it?
 
A cousin and I were talking about something like that. They demonstrated a 4020 D for my uncle back in about 64 or so. He already had a 4010. He said the 4020 they eventually bought new wasn't near the horse as the one that they demoed. He figured the demonstrator tractors were probably turned up a bit to say the least.
 
As a kid we had a 460 that liked its gas when working hard. Later I had a 756 that could burn the stuff quick when working.
 
You bet. But as a young man I loved the 2? flame out the stack at night! Oh wait, I still do! Man does it run strong, I don?t know what the previous owner did. Could you buy fire crater pistons or whatever for it?
 
(quoted from post at 08:53:53 12/01/18) Nebraska tests are frequently so far
off it's a joke, and in both
directions. I suspect the test results
more often reflect what happened at the
deer cabin the manufacturer invited the
testers to than actual test results.
Especially when it comes to the 4020
and 730d JD.
Click to expand...

Just because you don't like the facts does not mean they are not true. You sound like a l i b e r a al .
 
(quoted from post at 07:25:49 12/01/18) We had 2 a gas and an early diesel. the gas you could plow 6-8 acres on a tank and the diesel was closer to 12. The diesel was turned up a bit and was not near a economical as the 4230. The gas 4020 now has a 105 combine diesel and the old 4020 was traded off on a 4x4 loader tractor.
Another fuel hog is my 4250!
Click to expand...

What is there not to like about 15.7HP per hour per gallon ?

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2837&context=tractormuseumlit
 
(quoted from post at 14:20:26 12/01/18) I'll take the real world results/experiences of farmers that have run and bought fuel for tractors thru the years over any one time test results.
Click to expand...

I'll take the accurate, provable and repeatable test lab results or the experiences of farmers that have run and bought fuel for tractors through the years who tend to forget or stretch the results.
 
(quoted from post at 19:03:22 12/01/18) You bet. But as a young man I loved the 2? flame out the stack at night! Oh wait, I still do! Man does it run strong, I don?t know what the previous owner did. Could you buy fire crater pistons or whatever for it?
Click to expand...

It is not flames from the stack, it is incandescent exhaust gasses.
 
The proven results are the ones of tractors actually run in the field not one supplied by a manufacturer specifically for the test which is hardly a random sample in the first place.
Also the testers seemed to be very chummy with the tractor companies personnel.So yea I don't think one hand picked tractor out of thousands of that model can be counted to be exactly like all the rest.I've owned multiples of several models of tractors and none are ever EXACTLY like the others.
 
(quoted from post at 23:08:47 12/01/18) The proven results are the ones of tractors actually run in the field not one supplied by a manufacturer specifically for the test which is hardly a random sample in the first place.
Also the testers seemed to be very chummy with the tractor companies personnel.So yea I don't think one hand picked tractor out of thousands of that model can be counted to be exactly like all the rest.I've owned multiples of several models of tractors and none are ever EXACTLY like the others.
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No bias in what Bubba says about the tractor brand X that he loves and brand Z that he hates .
 
Just as their is no bias from
government workers, we know we can
trust all of them to do right. And
since you are one of us, that makes you
bubba too, and equally untrustworthy.
Calling the rest of us bubba is just
bad form and you should be ashamed.
 
Jon, You posted 3 or 4 different times blasting several different model JD's......seems strange to me that a Case always did better. Your one of my favorite posters, but I think some biased observations might be happening. As far as thirsty on fuel, my JD G would be at the top of the list. Our '52 A will out work it & burn half the fuel. By the way, I have Case also.....I like all old tractors, & NO bias.
 
(reply to post at 22:29:52 12/02/18)
Click to expand...
Lots of thirsty cases too. I've never driven them because they weren't the models we would use. But I've heard that an LA would drink a lot and I know a 1370 can burn a good 8-10 gal per hour when working. And the smaller 4wd cases like 24/2670 and 44/4690 could too. However the larger 2870 with the scania engine was very efficient, both and uncle and brother had one at different times. I only mentioned those jd models because those were ones I drove and they were the worst for economy of any tractor I drove. I've never even used a larger gas tractor for any heavy work so can only relate what I've heard there.
 
(quoted from post at 20:08:47 12/01/18) The proven results are the ones of tractors actually run in the field not one supplied by a manufacturer specifically for the test which is hardly a random sample in the first place.
Also the testers seemed to be very chummy with the tractor companies personnel.So yea I don't think one hand picked tractor out of thousands of that model can be counted to be exactly like all the rest.I've owned multiples of several models of tractors and none are ever EXACTLY like the others.
Click to expand...

Over the years, guys have messed with carbs, injection pumps, transmissions, added turbos, added intercoolers, added auxiliary fuel tanks, did no maintenance, did excellent maintenance, wore out but kept using tires, replaced bias tires with radials, put bigger tires on, put smaller tires on, ran them in the hot, cold, rain, dark, had their guts pulled out, just sat in the barn all the time, let the neighbor borrow them, hired a knothead to run them, broke 'em, fixed 'em, cobbled 'em, etc. Your exact same model 45 year old tractor and mine might be night-and-day different now when it comes to fuel economy, power, lugging ability, comfort, etc.

So yes, the Nebraska tractor tests are going to be more accurate than what someone said on an anonymous forum. Real world experience is better, but how are you going to accurately and scientifically compare one against another?

I have a B, 60, 2020 gasoline, 4430, 4640, and 4840. I would single out the 2020 as my thirstiest tractor for work done when run hard but it doesn't get run hard a lot. I don't have a meter on my gasoline barrel, so I can't really give fuel consumption numbers on my 45 year old tractor. And again, each machine has its jobs. The 4840 and 4640 are going to burn more fuel when worked hard than the others. I can burn off all the 103 gallons of fuel in it in one long day, but how much did I get done versus doing the job with the 60 or 2020?
 
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