I found something my 4520 does better than my 3720........ or worse.......

Brian,
I would expect the fuel consumption to decrease as the engine is run in. New motors are tight to start with. I average about 1.5 for most of my jobs but work that invoves sustained loading will use more fuel.

A typical summer time mowing session for me is about 2.5 hours, the 4520 uses about 4 gallons of diesel. That would be maintaining areas that get mowed every 2-3 weeks. Yesterday I cut 3 fields (totaling 2 acres) that had not been cut in about 5 years, and it used about 6 gallons in just under 3 hours. Very tall grass and weeds, gum tree saplings up to about 1.5". FWIW, it was a "yep, this is why I go the 4520 and MX6" moment.

On my little 318, it took about 6 hours to cut less than I cut now in 2.5 hours, and the 318 burned about 5 gallons of gas. And it wore out the just-replaced spindles in the deck in 3 years, the original ones lasted 15 years (that's kinda how I knew it was time for something bigger). Last year, I had tried to mow part of a field that had not been cut for 4 years with the 318, it took multiple slow passes and still didn't do well, and could not deal with (didn't even try) the gum trees. The 4520 was running about 2.5 MPH (in reverse so I could take out the trees). One pass was enough. After a little bit of limb trimming, next step is to recover some paths in the woods.

I was "used to" what my B21 TLB (21 HP) used, so at first the 4520 seemed to be thirsty. Now I view it this way: It uses more fuel than you'd like when you doing small stuff, but uses less fuel than you'd think when you running hard.

Pete

I kinda guessed it was about average. I was a bit suprised because I could load my 3720 up tot he max and still burn a gallon an hour.

I plan to get a PTO generator so I am hoping I can cut that to .5 to .7 per hour with econ pto and the light load of the genny.

Brian,
I would give the pto generator alot of thought before buying. I currently have four generators, one Hondal 2000 inverter, one Honda 3000 inverter, one Onan 5500 commercial diesel and the Miller Trailblazer welder 8000 w. The one that is used the most is the 2000w Honda, it will run about 8 hrs on a gallon with medium loads, is less than 50 pounds and very quiet. In the last two years Honda has introduced a 3000 w version of this model which weighs about 75 pounds this is another good choice. The Onan diesel genset CMQD 5500 is mounted on one of my service trucks and connected to the front fuel tank. It is very quiet for a diesel and is good for running power tools on construction sites. The Miller gas driven welder is loud, thats OK given everything about welding is noisy but it would not be a good choice for backup power because of this. The Honda 3000w electric start genset I have for the 5thwheel is a great unit too and is the quietest of all at 58db, while this unit weighs about 135 pounds it is a good choice for emergency power with longer run times. Fuel consumption for all of the Hondas' and the Onan is very low compared to using a tractor and 3 pt genset. I personally can't see running my tractors to produce electric power when so many genset choices are available. I did note the other day that the X749 is capable of running the 10,000 w 3pt genset, that would be more feasible than running a 4520 but not near as efficient as a stand alone Onan 10,000 w CMQD which will idle using .12 gals/hr.

All of that said, there are lots of good choices for generators out there and it is easy to find a good match for your application but the 3pt models are much more inconvienient than the stand alone units, give that some thought.

jenkinsph said:

Brian,
I would give the pto generator alot of thought before buying.

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Agreed....At first I wanted a PTO version, but the more I looked into it, and the more I researched it, the more I found that wasnt so hot an idea...picked up a Kubota GL6500 which needs a rebuild, just gotta run it down to my BIL's place...

Good info Steve. I have a 4000 watt genny now. I am pretty sure its a kawasaki motor but I could be wrong. It is right on the edge of running everything I would like to in my home when we loose power. There is no AC for sure! I can heat with it. I use it so seldom (only when the power is out) that it is a major PITA to keep up. I pull it out and run it every month or two. The battery in it puked so no more electric start.

I would go to a PTO genny to have one less motor to work on. I would also have the power to run my AC if needed. The price in fuel is nothing. I would run the tractor for days on end at 1750 rpm's and not feel bad. I have not had to run my genny in 4 years. There was a car that slid off the road and hit my electric pole and I was out for 12 hours. I rarly loose it. Until I post this I am sure.

2 gallons an hour would not be bad for me. Your car burns WAY more than that!

FordGuy said:

2 gallons an hour would not be bad for me. Your car burns WAY more than that!

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These are tractors?!?!? They are not high class speed machines. They are low hoarse power torque machines. Most run at around a gallon to a gallon a half an hour in the compact tractor range.

Brian said:

Yup, 2 gallons an hour.....


I am not suprised that it eats fuel, but I expected about 1.5 gallons an hour or less since I have not been pushing the tractor at all!:kidw_truck_smiley:

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Even then Brian, it looks like you might have been taking it easy..According to the Nebraska Test Lab, your 4520 burns 3 Gal an hour:
http://tractortestlab.unl.edu/Deere/JD_4520EHydro.pdf

From a HP-HR/Gal standpoint, the big ones ARE more fuel efficient....I'd say your correct when you say your 1586 uses less fuel.

Brian, here's your generator. 45KW on a 1000 gallon LP tank (800 gallons of storage). 6 cyl 300 cu-in (4.9L) liter in line Ford industrial motor, they used to be in school buses and all sorts of things. Just over a gallon an hour idling, 2 to 3 on load, and 4 gallons an hour at peak load (which we never see). So basically when the house is on it, it's typically 50-70 gallons of fuel in a 24 hour period. Only down side to LP is the higher exhaust temperature.

Pete

I could run the whole block on that. I could add some NOS to it to cool the EGT's

The short story (wandering a bit off topic...) is that when I got it, our old house was all electric. It was cheaper to go from a 25KW to a 45KW than it was to get a heat pump or gas pack, or replace the stove with a propane stove. I brought it with me to the new house (also all electric) because no one buying the old house would really appreciate it, and if they did they would understand that having a pad, propane tanks, and a transfer switch is the hard part. Buying the generator is the easy part. New house has 400 amp ASCO brand switch.

One other "general info" on generators. The pricing (at least when I got this one) on generators had a big of a stair step to it. The 18 to 25KW were 4 cyl engines, the 35 to 45 were 6 cyl engines, and the 55 to 65 where 8 cycl engines. So the simple act of keeping one heat pump 10 KW resistive electric on line bumped me from 25KW to 35KW ($1200), and for $800 more I went up to 45KW. When I bough this is 1997, it was about $12,500. I prices a new one in 2005 and it was about $16,000. I don't know if the "miracle of modern management" has "simplified" pricing down to a linear per KW curve or not.

I also liked the Onan because 45KW means 45KW continuous at max temp (120F ambient). None of the "peak" and "average" derating stuff.

It took about a year for generator prices around here to stabilize after Hurricane Fran in 1996. I got a quote of $32K for an installed system. I "found" a 200 amp transfer switch that was new in the box. All in all, I spent about $15K putting in in. That's when I got my B21 TLB. It cost $23K in 1997, so I figured that compared with the install price that was $6K more, and I got the TLB out of it! Important lesson in rationalization when purchasing tractors here...

Had no outages for 20 months after it went in. Then we had a 20 hour outage after a storm. In 2001 during the ice storms it was very nice. I was traveling and it all came on and just worked. I called home from Orlando and as you can probably figure out the difference in reaction with "Big ice storm, we're OK" and "Big ice storm, we have no power."

That's my generator story.

Pete

My house could run no issue with everything on with a 15K. When we built our home, we went so energy efficent that our average winter heating bill is 100 dollars. We can AC our home for about 69 a month. We have about 3800 sq feet of living space. I would rather have something that would come on automatically, but to be fair, I see us in a new home in a few years.

In the MD/VA/PA area we are looking at a natural gas powered generator as they tend to be pretty reasonably priced, and I think for about $12k I can get one installed to support my house during power outages.

Brian said:

I just filled up on fuel for the last 6 hours use. I was suprised when i looked at the hour meter and it was only up 6 hours. In that time I have installed some equipment, pulled a small chissel plow, pulled a small 2 bottom plow, rototilled in some straw and used the rotary cutter to cut some paths for my daughters razor. I did a lot of stuff for a short time.

12 gallons of fuel.

Yup, 2 gallons an hour.....

I used our 15 foot chopped to cut a field of clover down so we could plow it today and used less fuel with a 35 year old 175hp IH (1586).

I am not suprised that it eats fuel, but I expected about 1.5 gallons an hour or less since I have not been pushing the tractor at all!:kidw_truck_smiley:

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Any chance you have a dirty air filter?

D.

No chance Darin. I went through everything on the tractor and everything is clean and in place. I think its just a bit of a shocker coming from a very fuel efficient tractor..

Quiet Yanmar vs. the John Deere.

Much different power level.

D.