I would think a B could pull a single bottom plow I have never tried. An 8n can pull the heck out of of a 2 bottom had and used one for years. same hp but the bigger wheels and extra weight mean a lot.
Horses can make more horses.The way I read your post…. I only saw you placed a Value or Price on the topic.
I was adding the LABOR also required to maintain a horse. Then there are Vet bills. Farrier bills. (and the time spent attending those appointments) Mucking out the stalls. Harness and Tack.
Tractors are definitely easier and cheaper. (And according to the latest motor-oil debate, Tractors also can Love.… so horses don’t have any advantages I can think of.)
The additional fuel used during active regeneration is very noticeable but Tier IV hurts in other ways with vehicles. My 2018 GMC 2500HD is rated for 10,000 pounds GVWR, 800 more than my previous 2006 GMC 2500HD but they had almost identical payload ratings with most of the 800 eaten up by the weight of the DPF, DEF, and supporting systems. There is also a penalty, particularly when higher power is being developed, due to the increased back pressure from the DPF even when it is fresh from a regen.Think the biggest problem with DPF is the extra fuel needed to ignite it when doing a burn off. Dropped the fuel efficiency on VW TDIs to not much better than our current Mazda3. TDI did 40 mpg overall. The 3 does 35.
Continuing in our tradition……that would mean MORE vet bills, farrier bills, mucking out stalls…..(besides…I’ve already GOT more tractors…)..Horses can make more horses.
Right on. Some of the best engines I ever worked on were Isuzu tier 3, common rail fuel system. They used egr, but it was a "light" egr system. Tier 4 the fuel consumption went up considerably with the addition of the dpf/doc system.There is a decent comparison chart here of the BSFC of several different types of engines. Not surprisingly, the huge very low speed long stroke marine going diesels are near the top of the efficiency class surpassed only by two stage gas turbines that extract as much heat energy as possible from the fuel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake-specific_fuel_consumption
Small diesel engines took an overall efficiency hit from Tier IV emissions equipment when a DPF is required, both in terms of fuel needed for regen and for the additional exhaust restriction imposed by the DPF. This has been offset to some extent by the more precise injection control and higher injection (thus better atomization) brought about through high pressure common rail systems with electronic control of the injectors. DEF is a bit of a bother but it does help with Tier IV fuel efficiency because it allows more NOx to be generated during the combustion cycle that is then cleaned up via the SCR system. Prior to DEF/SCR systems, NOx was reduced via controlling peak combustion pressure via EGR and reduction of compression ratio and boost level.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the low fuel consumption of the 3.3L Mitsubishi turbo diesel powering my standby generator. I did install it just before Tier IV required DPF and DEF for this size of standby generator.
A diesel engine needs to run under enough load to avoid "wet stacking" but it tends to remain far more efficient at reduced power levels compared to a gas engine running at reduced power, especially in a fixed RPM environment.
GM uses AFM (active fuel management) on most of their gas powered vehicles and it attempts to improve fuel efficiency at lower power levels by leaving the intake and exhaust valves closed on some of the cylinders during AFM operation. This reduces the amount of power normally required to pull intake air through a mostly closed throttle plate reducing the pumping loss of the engine when running at low power. This closed throttle plate is how gas engines provide engine braking, similar to the work we would face in trying to inhale when pinching our nostrils mostly shut.
The benefits are minimal in many situations, especially compared to the complexity and weight added by the AFM system but it can provide some gain under the right conditions. Prior to Tier IV, most diesel engines had a very free flowing intake and exhaust but the DPF imposes a substantial exhaust restriction and many DPF equipped engines now have a throttle plate to help create exhaust heat during DPF regen.
Rodger
Tell me about it.…that would mean MORE vet bills, farrier bills, mucking out stalls…..
Our Mazda3 uses 87 octane and has 14/1 compression ratio. Does about 38 on hwy and averages 35.The additional fuel used during active regeneration is very noticeable but Tier IV hurts in other ways with vehicles. My 2018 GMC 2500HD is rated for 10,000 pounds GVWR, 800 more than my previous 2006 GMC 2500HD but they had almost identical payload ratings with most of the 800 eaten up by the weight of the DPF, DEF, and supporting systems. There is also a penalty, particularly when higher power is being developed, due to the increased back pressure from the DPF even when it is fresh from a regen.
The switch to gas direct injection with most current gas engines has done a lot for car and truck operating efficiency. My Cadillac ATS and Camaro RS are both equipped with GM's 3.6L V6 with 11.5:1 compression ratio engine which are designed to use regular 87 octane fuel. Both have consistently provided a combined MPG avg in the 27.5-27.9 range and both return over 30 MPG in 80 MPH interstate driving. I am very happy with that level of operating economy from a 335 HP engine that runs on regular fuel. I don't put a lot of miles on my 2016 Corvette Z06 (also gas direct injection) and it definitely isn't fuel stingy but it will stay around 27 MPG in high speed interstate driving. It requires 93 octane minimum for its 650 HP supercharged V8 so I don't drive it if I feel like being cheap
Rodger
...doesn't like they are very interested in the stilt grass?
We hired 50-60 goats from the local firm here around Charlottesville. These eat stilt grass, but the guy said it would not be cost effectively because you'd need to do it for 4 or 5 years in a row. A lot easier though than mowing the entire property (once I've paid a forestry mulcher guy nearly $10k to remove all small trees and stumps) with a brush hog....doesn't like they are very interested in the stilt grass?