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Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 4:24 pm
by propane1
Just cut the grass here for the first time this year. Some places needed it and some not.
Any way, did a fuel mileage test on the Case 224. It used 2.66 litres per hour. Give or take a bit. I find that good. My YT16H Ford uses 4 litres per hour. Both 48” deck. Now heavier or wet grass would make some difference.
The John Deere 140H3 beside the Case, in the picture, gets about 3 litres per hour. 46” deck. Both 14hp Kohler K321’s.
Any way, just another ramble.
Noel
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 5:26 pm
by DavidBarkey
I try to cut the grass here as much as possible with customers mower when doing "Test Drives " and there gas .
I have to make sure each machine works as it should you know .
Dave
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 6:18 pm
by thebuildist
Lol! I thought I was the only one. I recently did a little deck maintenance / rehab on my son-in-law's little green monster, and once I had it all put back together I went ahead and mowed my entire property including the tall stuff down by the creek. Just to be sure it all worked properly in all conditions!
Deere makes a smooth-cutting deck. There's no denying it.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 6:56 pm
by Eugen
thebuildist wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 6:18 pm
Deere makes a smooth-cutting deck. There's no denying it.
It's all about the swindles!
Oops! I meant spindles!
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 8:43 pm
by Timj
That's funny, my old neighbor was so impressed with my Ingy's cut over his Deere.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 9:32 pm
by MattA
When mowing with my 4016 (Vanguard engine), I can burn through 2.5-3 liters per hour. This is with my 48" deck and hydravac running.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 12:11 pm
by propane1
Checked the MF 7 fuel usage. It was 1 1/2 litre per hour. But only 34” deck.
Noel
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 2:23 pm
by Eugen
So that 244 wins the mileage/hp contest?
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 3:01 pm
by propane1
Hard to say.
Noel.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 7:11 pm
by DavidBarkey
If I drank as much beer in an Hour as Frankie does gas I would be an alcoholic. Onan P220. Might be thirsty but works hard when needed .
Dave
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 7:31 pm
by Timj
DavidBarkey wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 7:11 pm
If I drank as much beer in an Hour as Frankie does gas I would be an alcoholic. Onan P220. Might be thirsty but works hard when needed .
Dave
You would just be drunk, if you did it every day, then you would be an alcoholic.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 7:34 pm
by Eugen
Propane57 wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 3:01 pm
Hard to say.
Noel.
2.66 liters divided by 14 horse power is 0.19 liters per hour per horse power. It's the smallest of all reported numbers.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 7:39 pm
by propane1
Jumpins. Never tried that way. Thanks.
Noel
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 7:56 pm
by MattA
Eugen wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 7:34 pm
Propane57 wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 3:01 pm
Hard to say.
Noel.
2.66 liters divided by 14 horse power is 0.19 liters per hour per horse power. It's the smallest of all reported numbers.
I'm In the .156 to .188 range running a 48" deck and hydravac. I'll have to mow the lawn without the hydravac and see how much fuel I burn through. My fuel consumption goes up a lot with the hydravac. Those numbers are appropriate anyways... I don't have a way to measure the actual fuel consumption other than estimating it
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 10:49 pm
by Timj
So I thought I would give it a go and see how much of a gas guzzler the Onan p218 is. Will definitely need to find an accurate way to measure the gas to be truly accurate. The first hour used about a gallon, the next half hour about 5/8 gallon. So it looks like the Onan burned about 4.1 liters per hour. Premium no ethanol gas with seafoam.
Tomorrow I have some thick, heavy grass to do, we'll see how much it can suck through it when it's really working.
I guess there is a lot of factors to consider, flat or hilly, how thick/tough is the grass, and how much area is being cut.
I think the amount of fuel used per acre mowed may be a better comparison.
Tim
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 7:35 am
by propane1
Timj wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 10:49 pm
So I thought I would give it a go and see how much of a gas guzzler the Onan p218 is. Will definitely need to find an accurate way to measure the gas to be truly accurate. The first hour used about a gallon, the next half hour about 5/8 gallon. So it looks like the Onan burned about 4.1 liters per hour. Premium no ethanol gas with seafoam.
Tomorrow I have some thick, heavy grass to do, we'll see how much it can suck through it when it's really working.
I guess there is a lot of factors to consider, flat or hilly, how thick/tough is the grass, and how much area is being cut.
I think the amount of fuel used per acre mowed may be a better comparison.
Tim
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 7:38 am
by propane1
Propane57 wrote: ↑Sun May 22, 2022 7:35 am
Timj wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 10:49 pm
So I thought I would give it a go and see how much of a gas guzzler the Onan p218 is. Will definitely need to find an accurate way to measure the gas to be truly accurate. The first hour used about a gallon, the next half hour about 5/8 gallon. So it looks like the Onan burned about 4.1 liters per hour. Premium no ethanol gas with seafoam.
Tomorrow I have some thick, heavy grass to do, we'll see how much it can suck through it when it's really working.
I guess there is a lot of factors to consider, flat or hilly, how thick/tough is the grass, and how much area is being cut.
I think the amount of fuel used per acre mowed may be a better comparison.
Tim
That’s a good idea Tim. But I don’t have a spot I could do that. The antique tractors or I should say tractors on Tractordata sometimes have their fuel usage in the specs and it’s measured amount of fuel per hour. An example is the Allis chalmers
D15.
Noel
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 8:49 am
by Spike188
Agriculture tractors in the US, specifically Nebraska, were required by law to have fuel efficiency testing preformed.
The Universi of Nebraska became the recognized test lab. They have always used gallons per hour at the rated horsepower while comparing torque curve and rpm. The Nebraska test often sparked heated debates among those loyal to certain brands.
Spike
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 10:02 am
by Eugen
Spike188 wrote: ↑Sun May 22, 2022 8:49 am
Agriculture tractors in the US, specifically Nebraska, were required by law to have fuel efficiency testing preformed.
The Universi of Nebraska became the recognized test lab. They have always used gallons per hour at the rated horsepower while comparing torque curve and rpm. The Nebraska test often sparked heated debates among those loyal to certain brands.
Spike
I often checked drawbar hp values on their site.
I can't think of a better way than filling to the top and then using the tractor for some time and then take note of how much it takes to fill up to the top again.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 10:06 am
by propane1
So my method is not to scientific in measuring gas. I just use a litre oil jug and fill it, then fill the gas tank on the tractor.
But some were filled at a gas station, then did the cutting, then right back to the same station and fill.
Noel
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 10:55 am
by Timj
I was thinking about an oil jug too. Probably way safer than using
's large measuring cup.
Now to find a large area to line them up.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Mon May 23, 2022 7:23 am
by propane1
So was just thinking about how long it would take to cut an acre of grass. With what ever size deck. Then realized that the speed of the tractor would have to be included. So how fast is a lawn mower ? I have no speedometer on mine. Hehe.
How do you figure that out. ?
Just had a thought, Tractordata gives speeds sometimes of the tractor. So could look up speeds there maybe.
Noel
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Mon May 23, 2022 9:48 am
by Eugen
Let's keep it simple gentlemen and bring in the diesel engines too!
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Mon May 23, 2022 9:54 am
by propane1
That would be good Eugen. I don’t have any diesels.
Noel
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Mon May 23, 2022 10:17 am
by Eugen
Propane57 wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 9:54 am
That would be good Eugen. I don’t have any diesels.
Noel
Me neither, no diesel gt. Would like one but why are the prices of diesel engines so high?!
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Mon May 23, 2022 10:07 pm
by Timj
Propane57 wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 7:23 am
So was just thinking about how long it would take to cut an acre of grass. With what ever size deck. Then realized that the speed of the tractor would have to be included. So how fast is a lawn mower ? I have no speedometer on mine. Hehe.
How do you figure that out. ?
Just had a thought, Tractordata gives speeds sometimes of the tractor. So could look up speeds there maybe.
Noel
I didn't go digging into it but an old Ingersoll flyer I have lists top speed in low range at 4mph for 3000 and 4.2 for 4000 series tractors.
That would calculate to almost 2 acres per hour at 4mph with a 4' deck.
5280'×4mph×4'=84480sq. Ft ÷43560=1.93 acres per hour.
That would jump to 2.42 acres per hour with a 5' deck.
So if conditions allowed you to run at full speed in low range a 5' deck would cut a half acre more per hour than a 4' deck.
Re: Fuel mileage on garden tractors.
Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 5:45 pm
by propane1
So tested fuel usage on the MF 16, with the 12 hp k301 engine in it. It cuts grass nice and lots of power. So it gets 2.6 litre per hour of cutting grass, so about the same as the Case 224. Did some service to it to day. Good now for the summer. Son is quite happy with it.
Noel