I just purchased a 650J. I am learning the ropes and have another rookie question. I have been told that I should run the dozer at full or almost full throttle, (3,000 RPMs in my case). If I am doing light work and don't need the power or speed, is it acceptable to run at lower power settings at lower RPMs? It seems like there would be less wear on the machine and better fuel consumption. Is running at reduced throttle settings harmful in some way, a bad practice for some reason I don't understand, or was I given bad advise?
I run mine at half to three quarters.............never had an issue....As a new operator i feel that you should run slow and take your time until you get used to the machine and what it is that you are doing...For grading take small cuts with plenty of angle on your blade and go slow. Dozer operation is mostly seat of your pants feell IMHO..........the proverbial "Bubble in your butt" feeling....Take your time and enjoy your new machine and be careful and slow down would be my advise...I have been running heavy equipment for 40 plus years and am stilll learnign things about these units....Remember grease is your best friend.Good luck AND STAY SAFE. :usa
The only issue that I see about running low RPMs is possible lag in hydraulic response time. The effect can very greatly depending on brand and even individual machine. Some machines will display no significant effect. That little foot pedal, by your right foot, is a decelerator. I usually run the throttle setting to max and than decelerate as desired. This way I am ready to be at max speed at any time (like when reversing back to the start of the cut). If I am doing a lot of precision work, that requires low throttle and travel speed, I may set the throttle down so that my foot doesn't get too tired from the decelerator pedal. IMO best technique is full throttle and use decel when required. No ill effects for using low throttle setting when necessary. It just may not be most productive.
Copy what DGODGR said. Maybe what the guy who told you full throttle meant to say put the hand throttle full, then use the decelerator pedal to control speed. What I like to do with the Hydrostatic machines like I believe that is, is to idle the engine, push the travel lever to the stop, then regulate the speed and power with the decel pedal. If you leave the engine full throttle, and use the travel lever to regulate, you may find yourself getting a jerky response, especially in any rough terrain. To me, it is easier to hold the lever full forward or back most of the time. Once you get some seat time, you will come up with what works best for you given what you are doing. You will not hurt the machine by running less than full throttle, and you will save your wallet on the fuel bill.
Thank you all for this helpful information. I don't know where I would learn this stuff without this forum!
Yair...this you should 'run it wide open' seems to be a fairly common misconception...even down to such mundane items as lawn mowers and line-trimmers. The sales man who delivered our new JD greens mower was addamant that it had to run flat out...it doesn't. Had a bloke here on a skid a while back and he was driving me crazy...flat out backwards and forwards and achieving sweet ##ck-all. I told him to steady down and get a blade full and try and shift some dirt. He got a little huffy and reckoned that's not the way you operate a Bobcat...I dropped the ramps down on his trailer and we had a parting of the ways. Cheers.
Actually lawn mowers and string trimmers do need to be run at full speed. The faster the blades (or line) the better the cut on the grass. Otherwise you tend to rip the grass instead of cut it. But I agree on not needing to run a skid or other equipment at WOT all the time.
Yair...Orchard Ex. What you say is right in theory but in our conditions about half throttle on the JD greens mower gives a good cut and the same goes for the Jakes. I have single cylinder 16hp gasoline Kohler engines with over six thousand hours so there must be some advantage in keeping the revolutions down. Like wise with trimmers. I only use four stroke Hondas and for light work as trimming along pathways and such like it is only necessary to use enough throttle to keep the clutch locked tight...I get very pi##ed off if I find a worker screaming them at full throttle unless they need the power. I set the Vtwin on the Scag 600 revs off max and no one is the wiser. I get high hours and minimal breakdowns...but this is under our conditions, it could be different in other places. Cheers,
I was told it was bad on the hydrualic pump, dont know if thats right or wrong. I run my Komatsu d39px -22 at 3/4 to 1/2 while lightly finish blading roads. The fuel burn rate is almost half at those fuel settings.
I have been told that too, but in all my years have never seen proof of it. I find things last a lot longer if you only run them as fast and hard as it takes to do the job at hand. Full out production is best at full throttle, but light duty work like trimming and clean up, just use as much as needed to do the job. Fuel burn is less, and wear and tear on the entire machine is also less.