4840 fuel consumption

[dave977]

Quick question for those of you owning or know about the fuel consumption of a JD 4840. Had heard that the tractor can take 10 gallons/hour. Anyone know what you are getting for fuel consumption with yours. My dad is looking into buying one but know is hesitating with the new information that he heard.

thanks

 

[Bob]

They are factory rated @ 160 HP.

I doubt they made 14.5 HP Hrs/gallon at Nebraska, but let's use that figure, as an example.

160 HP/14.5 HP Hrs/gallon = 11 gallons of fuel used per hour @ full load.

Using 13.5 HP Hrs/gallon (probably more realistic... I don't have access to the test data at the moment)...

160 HP/13.5 HP Hrs/gallon = Almost 12 gallons of fuel per hour at full load.

It takes FUEL to make HP!

Some of the most efficient tractors ever tested at Nebraska are in the 17 HP Hrs/gallon range, meaning almost 9.5 GPH @ 160 HP.

Will you be using it to capacity, or putzing aroung with it?

 

[Kevin Schmidt]

It will run about 7.5-8 gallons/hr doing tillage (pulling it pretty good) even if it is turned up a bit. Less if lighter chores. To get to 10 gallons an hour can be done, but you will need to turn the screw up to about 275hp and pull it real, real hard. I thought the 4840's were 180hp rated

 

[thurlow]

180 H.P., Bob,........ think the 4640 was 160...........I had one (48)for a long time. I never really loaded it that heavy; 21 ft 235 JD disc and 25 ft Glencoe cultivator, mostly. Around 8-9 gal per hour as I used it.

 

[LarrySTN]

The 4840's got over 16 hp per gallon/hour at max efficiency, meaning if you averaged 160 hp for 1 hour you would burn 10 gals. Most 4840's came from factory with 210hp or more. According to Nebraska tractor test, they were one of the most efficient in their hp range. They weren't very efficient a light loading though, most big engines aren't.

 

[Bob]

Yeah, sounds right. The biggest green 2WD I ever had was a 4630.

I still have this 8630, though, IIRC, 12.8 HP Hrs/gallon @ Nebraska!

<img src = "http://ndtc3500.stellarnet.com/~blweltin/Bob/StuckThree.jpg">

 

[thurlow]

Always thought I'd like to have a 4-wheel drive, but my fields weren't big enough to jusify it. About 20 yrs ago, a dealer down the road had a 7520 on the lot that someone had put a Sound Guard cab on; prettier than a speckled pup; I sure did want it.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Had a 4840 for a dozen years turned up to 210 hp. Had 2 4430's turned up to 140 hp and the 48 would take less fuel per hour than the 4430's. We pulled 23 ft disc and 30 ft feild cult with the 48. Got on to really being efficient by just running RPM at 1900 instead of wide open. It was amazing how much fuel was saved by throttling back and still had amazing lugging abaility.

 

[buickanddeere]

If you are going to make lots of HP you have to burn lots of fuel.
You have to look at HP per gallons per hour. Figuring gallons per hour or tanks of fuel per day is only going to confuse the issue.

 

[Bob]

I don't think there's any use trying to baffle them with the FACTS about HP Hrs/gallon!

Like the one guy says, "you have to turn it up to 275 HP to burn 10 GPH"... Let's see... 27.5 HP Hrs/Gallon, I guess our fuel crisis is SOLVED!

 

[buickanddeere]

I was talking HP per hour per gallon is the way to compare.
There seems to be the types out there that think their tractor burning 5-1/2 gallon per hour. Are using less fuel than a tractor buring 9 gallons per hour.
They don"t seem to understand one of 75HP and the other is 150HP.

 

[JDBert]

99%honest- has it right- throttle them back to 1900 rpm makes a HUGE difference.

 

[HeyPigFarmer]

You seem to have the same problem as my father, measuring fuel consumption in gallons per hour, not gallons per acre. That would be like figuring the fuel economy of your car in gallons per hour, it makes no sense. A 4840 will burn a lot of fuel, but they are a big tractor.

Thurlow is correct, the specs at Nebraska are as follows:
Max PTO = 180.62hp at 15.67 hp-hrs/gal at 2200rpm
Throttle back to 2167rpm and the economy goes to 15.85 hp-hrs/gal
Max Drawbar = 151.21hp at 13.35 hp-hrs/gal
75% Economy run = 122.99hp and 12.54 hp-hrs/gal

but out of the 40 series Deere tractors it was the most efficient because it had the most horsepower. We used one about 3-4 years back, power to spare but didn't like only having the 8 speed.