FARMALL H VS. M

HOW MUCH MORE FUEL WILL THE M USE VS. THE H LOOKING TO BUY EITHER an h or m but i have heard the m is going to use more.going to use it to plow snow, move dirt, haul rock etc. found an m with loader and wide front for 150 however it needs rear tires.

Not much more, about .3 to .4 gallons an hour at near wide open.


Now the H and M both are farm tractors. You wanna move dirt and rocks you need a tractor designed for that. Check this out. http://ytforums.ytmag.com/viewtopic.php?t=953415. Thats one of the things happens when you should be using something designed for earth and rock moving. Also go check out much older farm tractors with loaders and see just how many have welds all over the loaders. That stuff ws designed to move a little cow poo and maybe push snow. You would be way better off looking for an indurtrial tractor with a loader on it.

And M for 150? Even if it needs tires if it runs out good would be hard to pass up. A used set of tires and some chains and you would be set.

Rick

We had an H with a loader in the mid to late 60's. It had a narrow trip bucket and used the belly pump. Dad at 84 still has the tractor and uses it for a few chores. About 1970 he came home from an aucton with an M with wide front and an oliver loader with about a 6' bucket. The M had a 12 volt conversion, live hydraulics and power steering.
When cleaning out the cattle barn with straw manure and a dirt floor, we ran the H in 3rd gear I believe at full throttle and would ram into the manure pack. Then push the clutch in, put the transmission in neutral, and raise it a couple feet. Push the clutch in, shift into reverse and back it out while struggling to steer it where it needed to go.
When we started using the M, we would also use 3rd gear, half throttle and drive into the pack, clutch it, shifting into reverse and then head out. Steering with one hand it was easy to maneuver and outside we would go.
I was quite impressed at 15 or 16 years of age with the power and control. We also had a couple of 706 gassers so I knew what real power was. The only 2 things that we didn't like on the M was that the steering would sometimes lock up. (probably a worn steering sector gear). The other problem was that sometimes the brakes, or one of them would lock up when on the road in 5th. Dad traded it off for a 656 hydrostatic utility with an International loader after I moved to the city in 73. That was a real loader tractorl

an h is a half ton pickup and an m is a ton truck.my comparison.

Nebraska Test C maximum load fuel consumed (gasoline)
H = 2.075 gal per hour
M = 2.966 gal per hour

The numbers Cowman quoted are at FULL LOAD. That's pulling a plow.

You won't be running either tractor at anywhere near full load, so the actual fuel consumption will be much less, and the difference will be much smaller.

An H or M is better than a shovel and a wheelbarrow, but you need to realize that there are limits. It's not a Cat, or a Trojan. Don't think you're going to go out there and dig ponds or mine for gold without consequences.

The M is about 50% more tractor, I would get one of those if you plan to move dirt and rocks. I do not believe either came with live hydraulics or PTO. You might want to upgrade to a 300-400 if you do not have a sentimental attachment to the letter series.

(quoted from post at 20:48:49 10/17/12) HOW MUCH MORE FUEL WILL THE M USE VS. THE H LOOKING TO BUY EITHER an h or m but i have heard the m is going to use more.going to use it to plow snow, move dirt, haul rock etc. found an m with loader and wide front for 150 however it needs rear tires.

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An H is for light duty work. You are going to be much safer on the M. Less likely to come up in the front end and more weight for pulling power.
An M for $150?

Fuel use for a original M won't work for a lot of tractors still around. Lots of M were built to make more power. Recently mowed some bottom land for a church that had grew most of the year.
Used a M and a brush hog 7.5 finish mower. Sould have brush hogged first but I give it a shot. Kept the governor opened up on the M a lot.
Kept track of the fuel use for the job and was almost 4.5 gallon a hour. Have a H that uses a lot less but its used for lighter stuff.
If I could only have a H or a M It would be a M.

It's worth over $400 at the scrap yard. It should be on the way to your house yesterday!

Also the fuel consumption rates are kinda iffy. Guy I know has a CaseIH 9350. Big darn thing. Burns over 20 gallons an hour. Works out to .9 gallons an acre. The one he traded off only burned about 16 an hour but worked out at abour 1.2 gallons an acre.

I have an M. It plays with a 6 foot brush hog in heavy stuff. A tractor the size of the H will run it but not in heavy stuff. There you are down to a 5 footer. So how many more acres per hour are you going to cut with that 6 foot hog?

Rick

Did you mean to type 1500 for the M ? Not 150? I have both of those tractors, and for my use and likely yours too, fuel useage isnt a concern. Unless you use it for heavy work, and often, is it gonna matter a few more gallons either way? An H is handy and dependable as heck, but the M can push way more snow, dirt , etc. The M will pull more also. I say buy one of each !

If 150 is correct it should already be in your driveway. Also at that price fuel consumption shouldnt be an issue. Now if your looking at an H or M with comperable prices, I would choose the M for what you are describing to do with it. An M isheavier and has more power. If you are gonna be pulling it around on a trailer the weight might be an issue if you dont have a truck / trailer that can handle it. My M is pretty efficient I have no complaints with it. Im sure an H would do better but there would be drawbacks for the improved efficiency.

Growing up I never knew anything other than our old H. I thought it was pretty impressive for what it was. When I was 20 I bought my own Farmall, an M and was impressed at what it could do at half throttle in 3rd gear compared to the H at full throttle in 2nd gear. I still love that old H and it will be in my garage for as long as I'm here, because it was my first love, but to this day I still prefer my M for most work. As far as the work I do I don't really notice a fuel difference between the H and M, however my Super C I can tell you I fill up once for every 3 times I fill up the H or M. I swear sometimes I think that thing runs on air more than fuel. I think it uses less fuel than my lawn mower.