Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
however, and because the market is for collectors and restorers, the price of the parts is
sometimes high. Still, the parts are more readily available than they have been in the past.
Size
Choose a tractor for the work. Be sure it will fit into the areas you need to work in, such as
in a loafing shed or under a barn overhang, and that it will fit into the storage shed where
you will park it. Make sure you feel comfortable mounting, dismounting, and operating a
tractor before you buy it.
Horsepower and Power Takeoff
Buy a tractor with enough horsepower to run the implements you require. It is better to
have more horsepower and not need it than to need more horsepower and not have it. The
power takeoff (PTO) is an extension of the drive train that allows power to be mechanic-
ally transferred to other machinery or implements via a removable drive shaft with splined
couplings. Live or continuous PTOs are independent; that is, they rotate independently of
the tractor drive train. With a live PTO, you can power an implement with the engine de-
clutched and the tractor standing still. Two-stage, semi-live PTOs are engaged and disen-
gaged in conjunction with the tractor drive train by operation of a two-stage clutch. There-
fore, the tractor must be in motion for a two-stage PTO to be operable.
The PTO transfers power from the tractor to the gearbox of implements such as a manure
spreader, posthole digger, rotary mower, and brush hog. Because the PTO is a revolving
splined shaft on the back of the tractor that turns at 540 (standard) revolutions per minute,
if an operator's clothing or hair gets caught in the mechanism, serious injury or death could
occur. Modern tractors and equipment have mandatory shields or guards around dangerous
parts of farm machinery like the PTO, but such safety requirements did not exist when the
older models were manufactured. If you use a PTO, even if it is shielded, be sure to keep
children away from the equipment and use caution when working around it yourself. If you
have an unshielded PTO, contact the manufacturer of your tractor for information on ret-
rofitting the PTO with a shield, or have a blacksmith or welder fabricate guards for your
machinery.
Transmission
A transmission is a device (full of gears) that uses gearing and torque conversion to effect a
change in the ratio between engine rpm and driving wheel rpm. A transmission can make a
tractor user-friendly or user-angry. A tractor's transfer case is made up of at least two trans-
