175: Gas vs. Diesel Fuel Efficiency

These are from Nebraska Test: Diesel at 100% full load uses 4.2 GPH....at 540 PTO speed it uses 3.6 GPH......at wide open throttle zero load is uses 1.1 GPH. Gas engine at 100% full load uses 5.1 GPH....at 540 PTO speed it uses 4.8 GPH and at full throttle zero load 1.7 GPH. Your results may vary !!!

8 or 9 foot rotary mower will work the snot out of a 175 in heavy material. General rule of thumb in my opinion — gas would make a great loader tractor and more so for cold weather— diesel for any work. The 175 is still pretty minimal for most equipment that draws power over 55 hp.

We'll just be clipping pastures with it at about 8", not overly heavy material.

1953 WD - Grandpop bought new, sold to neighbor in 1965, I bought back in 2001, restored 2021; 1974 175 Gas; 1980 5050 Diesel, w/400 Loader

We're thinking that some light duty mowing with keep the 175 young vs. leaving her sit in the barn.

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Edited by 1953ACWD - 08 Aug 2021 at 10:13pm

1953 WD - Grandpop bought new, sold to neighbor in 1965, I bought back in 2001, restored 2021; 1974 175 Gas; 1980 5050 Diesel, w/400 Loader

1953ACWD's beautiful old tractor !

My only comment is that it is too bad to have to put a chain on that beautiful paint.

Edited by WF owner - 09 Aug 2021 at 5:44am

That's a beautiful 175!!! I'd love that.

I would have preferred a diesel, too. However, I fell in love with this tractor when I saw it and had to bring her home. Then, my wife and daugther fell in love with her, too. So, I figured she'll have to get assigned to some light duty work - mowing. If I did my math correctly, clipping our 100+ acres of meadows won't cost enough to worry about fuel efficiency. I might even use a 9' Enrossi sickle bar mower and barely work her for better fuel efficieny compared to a rotary mower. Anyway, she's a keeper and I'll just have to live with a gasser.

1953 WD - Grandpop bought new, sold to neighbor in 1965, I bought back in 2001, restored 2021; 1974 175 Gas; 1980 5050 Diesel, w/400 Loader

Ed (Ont) I agree and am torn about using her vs. preserving her. Part of me thinks that using old iron keep them functioning and useful and perhaps more enojoyable vs. sitting in the barn leaking oil. Another part of me thinks that babying and preserving them is the smarter thing to do. Honestly, I'm still on the fence about it.

1953 WD - Grandpop bought new, sold to neighbor in 1965, I bought back in 2001, restored 2021; 1974 175 Gas; 1980 5050 Diesel, w/400 Loader

For some reason I am recalling the original Jaws movie. 100 acres of mowing? That’s a nice looking tractor currently, may have a different appearance in short time working.

I sense there isn't a perfect answer to using reconditioned tractors for work or not; it's partly a matter of individual needs/wants. In my case, it's economics, a fondness for old Allis-Chalmers, and having come across this particular tractor for sale. One trip to a repair shop with a newer tractor for diagnostics probably cost more than the extra gas money I'd need to run this tractor for a year of light duty work. Plus, I can work on this one.

The issue with this tractor is complicated by its gas engine. TractorData.com provides a calculator to estimate mowing time based on ground speed and mower width. (https://www.tractordata.com/articles/technical/tractor-mower.html) When I plug in a 108" (9') mower and a ground speed of 4 mph, I get an estimated time of just over 25 hours to mow 100 acres.

Based on Nebraska's test results (thank you, DrAllis), the gasser will burn about a gallon per hour more than a diesel under various loads. If my math is correct, that's about 25 gallon of extra gas, at about $3.25 (including road taxes for example purposes), for a total of $81.25 more than diesel if the two fuel types were the same price per gallon.

Even if we clip the pastures twice a year, it doesn't seem like a huge saving to run a diesel over this gasser if my math is correct. The difference might even be less given the light load of clipping at 8" to 10" high, especially if we use a double-action Enorossi sickle bar mower. Am I looking at this correctly?

AC7060IL - You're correct about the ladies having a bit more sensitivity with and gentleness on machinery. I'll probably need to draw straws with them as to who's going to mow.

1953 WD - Grandpop bought new, sold to neighbor in 1965, I bought back in 2001, restored 2021; 1974 175 Gas; 1980 5050 Diesel, w/400 Loader

If using very simple math - here’s a tractor/mower driving a continuous straight 100 acre, 9’ width strip.

100acres x 43560 sqft/acre=4,356,000 sqft.
4,356,000 sqft/acre divided by 9’ mower= 484,000’ strip.
484,000’ divided by 5280’/mile= 91.6miles.
91.miles divided by 4mph=21.9hours.

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