Technology | Fall 2008
Leave fuel in your tank.
By Scott Garvey
How to get more pull from your diesel dollar
Although fuel-economy sales pitches dominate the automotive industry — and have for some time — it was actually farm machinery manufacturers who pioneered the idea. Early tractors could burn less expensive distillate fuels, and manufacturers’ literature at the time hailed that capability as a way for farmers to keep costs down.
The famous Nebraska Tractor Test lab, which started evaluating tractors in 1920, was testing and reporting on fuel consumption rates long before anyone was looking for mileage ratings on car window stickers.
But with cheap diesel in the late 1960s and early 1970s, fuel expenses became relatively minor, so some engines designed during that period were certainly less than miserly in their fuel consumption. Now, though, those heady days of low-cost fuel are just a distant memory. No one has to tell producers that today’s reality is considerably different.
So that raises the question of how to get through a season on the farm with fewer litres of fuel going up in smoke? Fuel efficiency has been a subject of considerable study over the past few years, and the major manufacturers are now introducing features on new tractors aimed at conserving what has become a costly input.
Case IH’s Diesel Saver Auto Productivity Management system is just one example: it automatically adjusts engine speed and transmission ratio to provide maximum fuel economy. When the load decreases, so do engine RPMs. According to Case IH, that can translate into fuel savings of 5 to 25 per cent.
John Deere claims its new 8030-series tractors are up to 10 per cent more fuel efficient than their predecessors. These tractors gain their economy from the new 9-litre engine’s design, and an infinitely-variable transmission. Combine that with a GPS guidance system and there are more savings. “A lot of guys are seeing 10 to 15 per cent improvement on a hands-free (GPS) system,” says Deere spokesman Eric Hodson.
For anyone wanting to compare fuel consumption on tractors, those Nebraska test ratings are available to the public. Some can be viewed directly on the test lab’s website, while many of the newer tests can be ordered for a nominal fee.
But to reduce your fuel bill you don’t have to bring home a shiny new tractor or search test data for a used one with a better consumption rating. If you have Internet access, Google “tractor fuel economy” and you’ll find numerous reports outlining dozens of maintenance and management tips to reduce on-farm fuel consumption.
Among the advice offered is some that seems pretty intuitive, like throttle down and gear up whenever possible; and limit engine cool down and warm up times to 10 minutes, which is fully adequate for heavy-duty engines. But other fuel-saving tips may not be as obvious. Some university research has yielded interesting results.
In a University of Missouri study, simply replacing extremely dirty oil and fuel filters in a test group of tractors led to a 10 to 20 per cent reduction in fuel consumption. If you’re burning 200 litres per day, that’s a saving of between $20 and $40!
When it comes to tires, proper inflation is just as important on a tractor as on a car. That, combined with proper ballasting, will give you the most pull for your fuel dollar. And if you have an MFWD tractor, you shouldn’t have duals on the rear axle, according to a University of Michigan report. An MFWD tractor will provide superior traction and fuel economy without them.
So with fuel prices likely to remain high for some time, now isn’t too soon to start looking for ways to cut fuel consumption next year. And don’t just think spring operations. No-till operators can prepare for the following year’s crop by managing crop residue properly, right from the combine. That will avoid the need for follow-up operations like heavy harrowing. “You have to do a proper harvest job,” says John Blair, a no-till grower who farms west of Saskatoon, SK. “You don’t want to go back out into that field with a big tractor. Fuel is a big issue.”
Blair believes that rising fuel cost is one of the most significant issues producers have had to deal with in a long time, and the net value of taking a tractor into the field now has to be closely evaluated. “You don’t just do (field work) because your dad did it. You have to have real justification,” he says. FF
