Do they rate home ridding lawntractors horsepower way over what the are ? In the last 15 years I have had 3 mowers counting the one I bought this year. It is rated for 25 HP, but does not seem to be able to do much work. The same as the other 2 . I know if I had hooked even 2 or
3 regular horses to it they would do more work.Seems that they are rated like some computer speakers. 50 watt speaker ratings powered by a small wall cube and you open one up and the speaker is labled for 2 watts.
What "work" are you doing ? It's hard for me to imagine that any 25 hp twin would work much when just mowing grass .. mowing up steep hills ? Does it have a gear / hydro / or cvt tranny ? My ~ 1990 20 hp twin has way more power than I need to mow the lawn. If I were to mount a cab, add weights ; and blow snow - 20 hp would be well-used.
If it's a hydro tranny - make sure it isn't heating up - keep the fan clear of grass debris. John T.
Tractor horsyepower can be rated different ways. Horsepower at the fl
Tractor horsepower can be rated different ways. Here's a bit of information.
The lawn tractor is a John deere x590. Hydro transaxel. It has a floor 'button' that even locks the rear wheels. I put a Little Green Monster bucket loader on it. I was playing around trying to learn how to use the bucket. Got into some soft ground and one of the rear wheels got into a rut while I was backing out. Not a very deep one, maybe about half way up one of the rear tires. Not axel, just the rubber part of the tire. I had the mower attachment on,but raised all the way so it was not draging the ground and the bucket was up enough it was not draging. The tractor would not back out over the rut. Had to rock it back and forward and finally got up enough speed to go over the hump. The tractor is almost new, less than 20 hours on it. The tires were not spinning due to the rear end locked. It was as if I had just backed into a wall or tree.
Just to mow on a relative flat lawn or even one with a good hill like I have, the first mower I had would mow just fine with 20 HP engine.
The biggest weakness in most riding mowers that call themselves "tractors" is the belt drive. My golf cart can drag any of those "tractors" around like a toy and it has 7 year old batteries in it. I am not sure a single "4L" belt is going to transmit much more than 2-3 HP without breaking or slipping. Neither the old Craftsman nor the Troy Bilt I have now will pull the hill behind my house. You aren't dragging much behind them either.
It is measured BHP at the end of the engine crank shaft and they trust the engine manufacturer to give the true number. They stopped rating cars and outboards like that decades ago because the number is BS.
OK - Clare or one of the other guys here can probably explain it - my wild-ass-guess is that the loader is hogging the hydraulic capacity. So < if I'm correct > it isn't the 25 hp engine that's at fault - but rather the hydraulic pump/reservoir capacity. There is a fix for this - for old farm tractors - but I'm not sure about your JD lawn tractor ..
here's the older version of the x590 for everyone's edification :
Farm tractors are tested at the University of Nebraska test lab.
The biggest problem I have with my Rusty Tractor is getting the power to the ground . It's a 1982 JD model 317 with a Kohler 17 hp opposed twin and a hydro trans driven by a driveshaft . I have about 80 lbs (filled concrete block) over each rear wheel and still have traction problems . And it's even worse with the front blade mounted , which is when I need traction the most .
The loader is powered by electricity so there is no load on the engine unless the motion switches for it are being used. Even then it is not using any hydraulic power.
That Little Green Monster loader is made by a man in Florida. While those loaders for the x590 are not that heavy duty, it is enough for me to play with and I could have used it a few times in the past. I usually leave it off when mowing as it only takes me about 5 minuites to install or take off by pulling 4 pins and unhooking 3 electrical quick connects.
You may have something there.It does not matter how much HP the engine has if it can not get to the wheels. I am not sure how large the drive belt is going to the transaxel, but there is only one of them.
I know the x590 is not a 'real' tractor. I don't use it to do any farming with as my garden is only about 20 tomato plants and a few squash and I would have had a few cucumber and cantalopes but some of the seed did not come up and some varmit ate the ones that did.
I just humor the people who call riding mowers "tractors" no matter how they are advertised. If it is V belt driven, it isn't a tractor.
I understand what you are saying.
Even though mine and lots of others are belt driven it is classified as a garden tractor. The way of telling is the mowers and lawn tractors have the rear wheels held on by an E-Ring and the Garden Tractors have the rear wheels held on by bolts.
But I do agree if it does not have a drive shaft it is not a 'real tractor'. Just enough to keep people like me happy for the price. I would really have to go up about double the price of what I have to come close to a Real tractor.
Fill the rear tires with calcium chloride?
Does the spec say HP, or PP? PP is ponypower. Much less.
Darn.
Might help some I guess , those tires ain't all that big . I think they used to make steel or cast iron weights that bolted into the center of the wheel . A couple of 12 inch rounds of 2" steel plate would probably be enough ...
Or you could do like I did and buy an older model for 25 bucks or so . Then spend a grand or more on parts to rebuild what's worn out .
Not exactly sure where his problem is, but it sure as heck isn't the horsepower of the engine (he didn'tstall theengine by over-working it)
That thing is not a "garden Tractor" - it's something between a riding mower and a lawn tractor. It's not made to haul a load or do any tillage.. It will handle a snow blower, as well as the belly-mount mower. Putting a loader on it is pure insanity!!!.
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