Effectiveness of PTO speed reducer

Overslope · Sep 28, 2016

Hi, Guys. First post.

I'm thinking about purchasing a JD 4840 to use as our primary tractor. It's exactly what we've been looking for, other than the 1000 rpm pto. We're all 540. I've been researching PTO speed reducers and found the Hub City model (which is hard to find), an Australian Company, and Rodono.

Anyone have experience with these? Do they work pretty well, or do they cause problems?

Hoping to keep the tractor long term, so if the unit works well I don't mind buying and installing, but I'm worried it'll always be sort of an oddball, a weak point, or just generally harder to work with.

So, any unforeseen issues I should be concerned about? Thanks.

DeltaRed · Sep 28, 2016

Dont know what you're running,but a few of neighbors have 1000 only tractors(4520;4630;4650;1270case ....)They run em at half throttle and get along fine.use them on on a small square baler;stack wagon.If you have a hydroswing swather,get a 1000 rpm pump.If you dont put too many hrs on the pto equipment,or need somethng that uses high horsepower,this might work for yu. Not ideal,but workable.

coonie minnie · Sep 28, 2016

Here's a concern- I think you will find all of those PTO speed reducers are for light duty, intermittent use- aka a grain auger, etc. I was shopping for one of those several years ago, and none are recommended for something like a forage bagger (what I was looking to do) or a manure pump etc. They really do not have enough oil cooling capacity to handle continuous duty.

Another concern would be the 4840. If you are going to be doing a lot of PTO work, pick something else. The 4840 PTO driveline, if worked hard, had some issues. In 1986, ours spun a bearing in the transmission case housing. Ours wasn't the only one.

If you are looking for a dirt work tractor that would occaisionally run something like a batwing mower, you'd probably be fine. If you are looking for something to do a fair amount of PTO work with, pick a tractor that has the speed you want and has a more rugged PTO than the 48.

IA Roy · Sep 28, 2016

Hub City model 390 is rated at 125 hp. I don't know about this product, but Hub City used to build quality speed reduction gearboxes. I have not been around them for quite a few years.

Overslope · Sep 28, 2016

Ok, that's exactly what I wondered about. Thanks for the responses.

It would be doing a lot of pto work, but pulling a batwing mower in thick Bahia grass will be exactly its primary job. On paper the 4840 is really over powered for what we do. It's replacing an MX110 that's 110 horse power.

As things sit, I'll have to transport it long distance and put a speed reducer on it. Think I should look for a different tractor?

I'd also love to hear about any other problems the 4840 is prone to.

buickanddeere · Sep 29, 2016

Better to trade rotary cutters .

Effectiveness of PTO speed reducer

Overslope

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DeltaRed

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IA Roy

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