Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a hydrostatic transmission on my small John Deere...sure is simple to use when all you have to do is mash the forward or reverse pedals and not have to think about it.
I do not have a tractor, but two skid-steers, that's perfectly adequate for my small property. I did own a 955 track loader when I lived on a bigger property, and will most likely again. The hydrostatic systems on the Bobcats seem to be reliable, and a friend with a hydrostatic dozer says the same about his Caterpillar. They can be expensive to get parts for, though.
In a prior life -- all ICEs (Internal Combusion Engines) with gears and grinding.
But now I am playing with some (homebuild) electric versions. Put an old forklift drive motor in a small tractor and it looks like it will pull its own guts out. So it runs on DC from a pair of batteries on-board or can be cord connected. Just used a small tractor with a dead gas engine, and did a straight swap-out on the engine. So it still has the gear drive to the wheels -- which makes it sort of jerky on start and stop, but I figure I could re-enable some sort of clutch, or use hydrostatic, or build a DC drive controller for the motor and make it very smooth. As far as transmission system, right now it only has a set of relays to make two speeds for the motor and a three speed gear box (plus reverse) so it has 6 forward speeds and 2 reverse speeds.
Upgrade I am pondering is doing this again with an old farm tractor that has a working hydraulic system and pto (but dead ICE engine, again), so I can see how it handles equipment and other work loads.
I have seen an electric hydrostatic Bobcat on Youtube. Electric has tons of torque, just like the old steam engines did even at low speed. There is even a "solar electric tractor" but it is coupled to an old tractor's transmission.
I have seen an electric hydrostatic Bobcat on Youtube. Electric has tons of torque, just like the old steam engines did even at low speed. There is even a "solar electric tractor" but it is coupled to an old tractor's transmission.
Yeah, the old gears and transmissions run forever, and if they have a dead ICE attached, the whole mess is seen as scrap. As far as torque, if I let mine get off the leash, it will climb right up a tree or side of a building.
The nasty part about tractors are the stinky-air-making and expensive-fuel ICE. Get rid of the ICE and the things will run forever.
4 speeds forward and one reverse on my IH Super C 1954. One of the best purchases I have ever made IMHO.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
