Low vs. Med

[Evad]

I ran into somebody the other day that has the same L3301 that I do and we both use it primarily to grade roads with a box blade so we were comparing notes. The one thing I thought was odd is that I always use low when grading the road with the box blade, he keeps his in Med. We basically are going the same speed when grading. With an HST does it matter if I am grading in Med or Low? I admit it would be nice to be in Mid so that when I need to move to another section of road I could get there faster without shifting, but I thought that it would be bad to grade at such a slow speed in Med setting. Thanks for any advice you might have.

 

[jimh406]

There is overlap between L and M. I usually run in M with my Grader Scraper and use less treadle pedal except when I'm going on the flat or downhill. I find it's quite a bit faster than L at full pedal.

 

[jyoutz]

There is overlap between L and M. I usually run in M with my Grader Scraper and use less treadle pedal except when I'm going on the flat or downhill. I find it's quite a bit faster than L at full pedal.

I do the same. The only times that I use low is for loader work, plowing the garden, or connecting implements.

 

[Evad]

Thank you for the replies. The one thing I have noticed is that HST whine is far less when I am in Low vs. Med. Not sure if that means anything but I do enjoy the less whining from using Low.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Thank you for the replies. The one thing I have noticed is that HST whine is far less when I am in Low vs. Med. Not sure if that means anything but I do enjoy the less whining from using Low.

It means the HST is less loaded because your final drive is geared down. H/M/L is just a 3 speed mechanical gear box between the HST and the rear axle

Dan

 

[NCL4701]

I use whatever the tractor is comfortable with. Light duty such as pulling gravel back to center, medium works swell as I’m just moving aggregate and the box isn’t generally full. Reshaping a packed roadbed with a full box and rippers full down is more of a low range operation. Although possibly not necessary, when pulling something, I prefer moderate to full pedal in low range v nominal pedal in medium.

Edit: Just remembered where I got the “more pedal lower gear to achieve same speed” thing from. When I was looking at HST v shuttle one thing a friend who runs golf course equipment told me was the only cooling the HST gets is via fluid flow so higher flow rate (more pedal) into a lower gear is preferable to lower flow rate (less pedal) into a higher gear to achieve the same speed because the higher flow rate helps the HST cool. Could be total crap but it made sense to me and now it’s such a habit I almost completely forgot why I do it that way.

 

[hedgerow]

Its funny the AGCO I had before the MX6000 only had a two speed. I thought with the three speed I would use medium more. No I don't think in thousand plus hours I have used medium an hour. High for the road and low for every thing else. I like more peddle movement that low gives me.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

I can honestly say that my LX2610 is in Midrange 99 percent of the time. I use Low range for stump pulling, box scraper ripper work, and when trying to get unstuck in the snow.
Most of my loader work on the LX2610 has been snow removal, in M range. If I were moving dirt or gravel I'd probably use Low range more.

Low range... pulling stumps, getting unstuck, parking in a tight spot, use of any kind close to buildings.
Mid range... Grading the driveway with the box scraper w/o rippers engaged, moving snow with the rear blade or bucket, moving limbs with the grapple, going from point A to point B on semi-rough terrain, mowing trails with the rear rotary cutter.
High range ... driving down a well graded road.
Once I get a rototiller I'll be using Low range more.

My family were farmers, and since childhood they taught me to listen to the diesel engine.... never bog it down.

Not a pro, just a hack. My 02 cents.

 

[Rdrcr]

I do the same. The only times that I use low is for loader work, plowing the garden, or connecting implements.

Agreed.

Mike

 

[jyoutz]

Agreed.

Mike

L = loader
M = mowing
H = highway

 

[Rdrcr]

L = loader
M = mowing
H = highway

Absolutely!

Mike

 

[jimh406]

That's ok, but what if you aren't mowing, but grading instead?

 

[Bmyers]

I use medium low and medium high for most of my tractor work.

If I need more power, I will drop down to low high or low low.

I only use high low and high high for roading the tractor.

 

[RBsingl]

For some operations, you need a lot of torque at the driving wheels and it is easier on the HST to do a large share of that torque multiplication via a lower gear range rather than relying just upon the HST to do the majority of the work.

Rodger

 

[jyoutz]

That's ok, but what if you aren't mowing, but grading instead?

I still use M, unless there is a need for heavy cutting. Normal road grading is fine in the M range.