PTO driven Generators...

[maple1]

Tractor hour meters used to have printed on them on the face 'hours at engine PTO speed' - or something to that effect. It wasn't just simply the hours running. They don't say that anymore - so not sure exactly how they work these days. But thinking back on how the hours have added up lately on ones I've run - I'm thinking they now just show the running hours no matter the engine/PTO speed.

 

[Ashful]

The age and condition of the tractor is what causes depreciation. The hours, unless extreme, have little bearing.

About this PTO hour vs. operating hours thing. In my experience, the hour meter accrues true hours at PTO speed and at lower engine speeds accrues less than true hours. The engines are designed to run at PTO speed so that is where they measure true time. Has anybody ever actually seen an hour meter run more than 100% of actual time?

I have never seen an hour meter do that. All that I have seen are electric versions that run off of the ignition. On/off with ignition. Dunno, maybe with the 'tronics on this new stuff they are based off of rpm. Kinda cool but I have never seen one.

This is well documented on forums such as tractorbynet.com, and varies by manufacturer and age. Older Fords, for example, are calibrated to log actual clock hours in the 1000 - 2000 RPM range. Above that, they log more than one hour per hour, and below that range they log less. At PTO RPM, many tractors do log more than one hour per hour. Deere of the vintage of my tractor is similar, although I do not recall exactly what RPM they are calibrated to. Many other brands log true clock hours, regardless of engine RPM.

In terms of hours having little bearing on resale value, you need to spend more time checking used tractor prices, as I found a high dependency on such, when shopping 1980's Deere's. $13k for a 700 hour machine versus $7k for a 1500 hour machine. Not much an issue for me, either way, but it might be for some.

Truly, I don't really care about the resale value of my tractor, other than being a little cheap at heart, I consider it a consumable product. Not everyone thinks that way, though... just playing devil's advocate.

 

[Jags]

and varies by manufacturer and age.

I only have one of 4 tractors that didn't come with the optional hand crank. That one is my 1964 Case backhoe...and that runs a mechanical tach.

 

[Highbeam]

The hour meters seem to run slow, or maybe the work just takes a long time.

When shopping for 30 year old tractors that only have 700 hours on them you are in an extreme case. That thing was not used, a garage queen. Heck my 200 hours per year includes a lot of sitting since I trailer my machine to a woodlot.

 

[Ashful]

My tractor was 27 years old with 800-odd hours on it, when I bought it. Yep, it sat more than it ran.

 

[Clarkbug]

I know most of the discussion quieted down here on this, but I wanted to add a thought....

While its not an issue to run a tractor engine for hours on end, this usually happens with an operator in the seat. Running a tractor unattended has a different set of risks associated with it. In a previous lifetime, tractors that were running generators or irrigation pumps were equipped with a murphy switch that would kill the engine if there was a loss in oil pressure or if the engine temp got too high.

Not sure of the cost to add a switch, but if you are looking to invest in a PTO generator, it might not be a bad addition if the machine will run without someone checking on it very regularly.