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Estimating Farm Fuel Requirements - Water

Estimating farm fuel Requirements Fact Sheet No. farm and Ranch Series| Equipment by Downs and Hansen*. With increasing concern for fuel The average horsepower use is less than Quick Facts conservation and energy management, the maximum power rating mainly because farmers may wish to estimate the amount a tractor is selected to do high- power Estimating the amount of fuel of fuel required to perform specific farming requirement operations, such as heavy used in farming operations oper a tions. By knowing the amount of fuel tillage, in a timely manner, and usually has will help select the best used, farmers can select the best conservation excess power for seedbed finishing, seeding conser vation practices for practices to manage farm equipment. and cultivating. Only a few crop production farm equipment. operations require maximum power. fuel consumption is shown in Table 1. Tractors use an average of Type of fuel only 55 to 60 percent of their There are three common types of fuels maximum horse power on a used in farm tractors: diesel fuel , gasoline fuel Requirements for year-round basis.

Table 2: Average energy-use rates and fuel requirements for farming tasks. Operation Energy-use rate, PTO hp-hrs/acre Gallons per acre Gasoline Diesel LP gas

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Transcription of Estimating Farm Fuel Requirements - Water

1 Estimating farm fuel Requirements Fact Sheet No. farm and Ranch Series| Equipment by Downs and Hansen*. With increasing concern for fuel The average horsepower use is less than Quick Facts conservation and energy management, the maximum power rating mainly because farmers may wish to estimate the amount a tractor is selected to do high- power Estimating the amount of fuel of fuel required to perform specific farming requirement operations, such as heavy used in farming operations oper a tions. By knowing the amount of fuel tillage, in a timely manner, and usually has will help select the best used, farmers can select the best conservation excess power for seedbed finishing, seeding conser vation practices for practices to manage farm equipment. and cultivating. Only a few crop production farm equipment. operations require maximum power. fuel consumption is shown in Table 1. Tractors use an average of Type of fuel only 55 to 60 percent of their There are three common types of fuels maximum horse power on a used in farm tractors: diesel fuel , gasoline fuel Requirements for year-round basis.

2 And LP gas. Their respective physical Crop Production characteristics are: Energy-use rates for farming To disk a field, the gallons of fuel per acre for that field are nearly constant regardless of operations frequently are Diesel fuel lb/gal 138,000 Btu/gal Gasoline lb/gal 124,300 Btu/gal the size disk and tractor used. For the same measured in horsepower LP gas lb/gal 92,300 Btu/gal operation, differences due to equipment are hours. The present trend is toward larger tractors quite small. Therefore, the fuel used per acre Select the most fuel -conserv . and diesel engines. The diesel engine is more for any specific operation can be assumed to ing method by comparing efficient and powers nearly all new tractors be constant except for small variations due different tillage methods and over 100 horsepower (hp). to soil types, moisture content and depth of operation. cropping systems. Energy-use rates for farming operations Estimating fuel frequently are measured in horsepower hours Requirements (hp-hrs).

3 A tractor-disk combination with an average 100 hp at the drawbar for five hours Tractors even the larger, high- horsepower units use an average of only 55 delivers 500 hp-hrs of energy for the disking operation. Since it is not practical for farmers to 60 percent of their maximum horse power to measure drawbar horsepower, energy on a year-round basis. Requirements normally are based on rated maximum power takeoff horsepower (PTO- Table 1: Average rates of fuel consumption for year-round operation of three fuel -type hp). Diesel tractors deliver an average of tractors. PTO-hp-hrs/gal; gasoline, hp-hrs/gal; and Average fuel LP gas, hp-hrs/gal. Engine consumption Example: A diesel tractor rated at 100. fuel type per rated PTO-hp maximum PTO-hp operating at full load uses gal/hr: 100 hp / hp-hrs/gal = Diesel fuel gal/hr gal/hr. On the same basis, a 100 hp gasoline Gasoline gal/hr tractor uses 100 / or gal/hr, and an LP gas gal/hr LP gas tractor, 100 / or gal/hr.

4 Agricultural engineers from several states have compiled average values for power Requirements and fuel used per acre *. Downs, former Colorado State University research for specific farming tasks as shown in Table Colorado State University associate and Hansen, retired Cooperative Extension 2. These figures assume typical conditions Extension. 2/96. Reviewed 9/98. associate professor. Reviewed by Ayers, Cooperative and average working depths and may be Extension agricultural engineer and professor, chemical and bioresource engineering. 9/98 used to make fuel estimates for the indicated Table 2: Average energy-use rates and fuel Requirements for farming tasks. Energy-use rate, Gallons per acre Operation PTO hp-hrs/acre Gasoline Diesel LP gas Shred stalks Plow 8 inches deep Heavy offset disk Chisel plow Tandem disk, stalks Tandem disk, chiseled Tandem disk, plowed Field cultivate Spring-tooth harrow Spike-tooth harrow Mulch treader Rod weeder Sweep plow Cultivate row crops Rolling cultivator Rotary hoe Anhydrous applicator Planting row crops No-till planter Till plant (with sweep) Grain drill Combine, small grains Combine, beans Combine, corn and grain sorghum Corn picker Mower (cutterbar) Mower conditioner Swather Rake, single Rake, tandem Baler Stack wagon Sprayer Rotary mower Haul small grains Grain drying Forage harvester, green forage Forage harvester, haylage Forage harvester, corn silage Forage blower, green forage Forage blower, haylage Forage blower, corn silage Forage blower, high-moisture ear corn operations.

5 If a higher-than-average Table 3: fuel requirement comparison of moldboard plow vs. stubble mulch system fuel requirement is indicated because of for wheat production. some local condition, such as heavy soil, Diesel fuel , gal/acre*. increase the table values by 25 percent. Reductions of as much as 25 percent may Moldboard Stubble Operation plow mulch be made for light energy requirement situations. There are exceptions to the Disk plus-or-minus 25-percent correction, Plow . such as the application of chemicals where Sweep the variation is nearer plus or minus Mulch treader 10 percent. Sweep (twice) The best way to adapt these figures Disk (twice) . to your own situation is to run periodic checks. Carefully measure the amount of Field cultivation fuel used for specific operations over a Drill short time, such as two or three days. By Combine using the field acreage and amount of fuel *To convert to metrics, use the following consumed, you can check your average conversions: 1 gallon = liters, 1 acre =.

6 Against the figures in the table..4 hectare. Compare Different The figures in this fact sheet are averages based on available research data. A farmer Tillage Methods could make a reason able estimate by using The table also can be used to compare these figures, but should maintain personal fuel Requirements for different tillage records and make spot checks to refine methods or for different cropping systems. the accu ra cy of the figures to individual Such comparisons become more and more farming systems and conditions. important with increasing emphasis on fuel conservation. For example, suppose you want to compare diesel fuel Requirements References for two different tillage systems for wheat Agricultural Engineering Yearbook. production. Assume average conditions and American Society of Agricultural compare a moldboard plow system with a Engineers, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, stubble mulch system as shown in Table 3.

7 Mich. The comparison reveals that the stubble Estimating Farming fuel Requirements . mulch system saves gallons of diesel Wendell Bowers and Myron Paine, fuel per acre over the moldboard system. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla. Nebraska Tractor Test Reports, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb. Colorado State University, Department of Agriculture and Colorado counties cooperating. CSU Extension programs are available to all without discrimination. No endorsement of products mentioned is intended nor is criticism implied of products not mentioned.


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