FUEL CONSUMPTION OF TRACTORS.
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Do Not Mislead the Farmer by Extravagant Claims. By Henry Sturmey.
E FREQUENTLY HEAR, very wild and cer tainly wide-of-the-mark statements, from salesmen in regard to the fuel consumption of their tractors, and there is a considerable amount of misunderstanding of this question amongst farmers. One of the first things a farmer asks when investigating any particular tractor with a view to purchasing, is: How much fuel does it bush per acre ? " Then the salesman will often readily give a figure which he thinks will suit. It is suite possible he does not know any better, and may give the figure in perfect good faith.
The figure he gives may also, quite possibly, be a figure actually obtained by one of his tractors upon some particular occasion. But it does not necessarily follow that such a figure could be repeated under other conditions, and when the farmer buys a tractor on a definite statement as to fuel consumption and finds, in practice, that it works out at 50 per cent. Or .60 per cent, more he is rather inclined to be dissatisfied and to think that he has been deceived. It is, obviously, not in the interests of either the customer or the vendor that misunderstandings of this kind should arise.
In point of fact, it is not possible for any broad statement in regard to fuel consumption to be made with any degree of accuracy. When all is sad and done, it gets back to the amount of work which the engine has to do, and that is a factor which is not governed solely by the acreage. All readers of this -journal know that, with a motor wagon, the consumption will vary considerably with the conditions of service ; thus it will be heavier with a loaded van than with an empty one, and it Will be heavier again when the vehicle is working either in hilly country or on soft and lumpy roads, and so it is with the tractor, and, both tractor and lorry being driven by the same type of engine, are governed by the same conditions. Acreage per hour depends on speed of ploughing and width of out, and both these factors have influence on the fuel consumption. But fuel consumption is still more influenced by. gradient and, most particularly, by soil consistency. A tractor working with any given number .of ploughs on land with a per square inch resistance of 9 or 10 lb. will use a great deal more fuel per acre than when working with the same machine and plough and at the same speed on land with only 3 or 4 lb. per square inch resistance. -Hence, it is most unwise, and unfair to both parties, for any broad fuel consumption statement to be given without qualification. If the salesman gives limits, as, for instance, if he says "two to three" gallons per acre, without. explaining why a 50 per cent. margin is mentioned, the farmer does not get the information he is seek'ng, and he thinks very likely the salesman does not know or. has something to bide.
When such questions are asked, the importance of the varying factors above alludekto should be clearly and carefully explained, or there may be trouble afterwards. • From a reference to this matter in an American farming paper I see that the understating of fuel consumption by salesmen is prevalent on the other side, and it is interesting to note that, in the article in question, the result of. a large series of inquiries taken by one of the American Government Agricultural Departments is stated to have shown that the percentage of tractors: averaging 2i gallons to the acre was quite small, the great majority of them averaging, under varied conditions, three 'gallons and in some cases going up to four ; whilst the proportion of those which could show a consumption of two gallons only—which I judge from the nature .of the article to be the figure to have been most commonly stated by the salesmen—was virtually nil.
This is interesting to English tractor users, because, of course, the majority of tractors in use in this country are of American construction, so that the figures would apply equally on both sides the Atlantic.
It may, however, be explained that the American gallon is substantially smaller than the English gallon, containing only 128 ounces as against 160 °wades in the English gallon. If, however, the salesman states, and the farmer calculates on English gallons at the American rate, they will be in a much safer position in making their estimation. In other words, it is shown that, under average conditions, most American tractors use three American gallons to the acre, so that if we figure on three English gallons to the acre we shall be on the outside, and, therefore, on the safe side unless the -conditions of our land areexceptionally heavy. It is much more satisfactory to figure on the safe side than otherwise, as a less consumption than that reckoned on will be pleasing to the customer who will feel that the salesman gave him a square deal and did not attempt to deceive him, whereas if the result panned out otherwise dissai:sfaction a.ncl grumbling would follow as a matter of course.