800 Hp vs 18 Hp

[dcarver]

Check this out..

https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=FLQhvruimfs

 

[lonerider]

Bet you could get rid of tree stumps in a hurry with that.

 

[garyahouse]

Wonder what that rascal weighs. What I thought was really interesting was that the tires never spun or slipped even a little bit.... as it was dragging the more modern tractor with engine racing and tires digging huge trenches in the ground.

Gary

 

[Lauren_TK]

It's all about the torque baby! And, of course, how you apply it to the ground.

Steam, when used correctly, is the irresistable force. However, given the list of steam's drawbacks, I won't be purchasing a steam bike anytime soon.

 

[lonerider]

Back in 2002, while riding PA 456, I spotted a similar one in a farm driveway:

Nobody was around, so I didn't have the chance to inquire about the age or manufacturer. Never saw it again on any subsequent rides.

 

[NormKern]

Look at the red chain connecting the two tractors. It is not horizontal. It is attached much higher on the steam tractor. When the two tractors pull against each other, the tension on the chain increases. Due to the angle of the chain, increasing tension pulls upward on the 800hp tractor, effectively taking weight off the rear wheels. For the steam tractor, just the opposite is happening. The 800hp tractor is losing traction as the steam tractor gains it. As long as the steam tractor is geared low enough to be able to turn the rear wheels and make them slip on the dirt, it will out-pull the other tractor. Simple.

This is not a horsepower contest- it is a traction contest. If the height of the chain attachment points was reversed, the 800hp tractor would win easily.

 

[Lauren_TK]

Look at the red chain connecting the two tractors. It is not horizontal. It is attached much higher on the steam tractor. When the two tractors pull against each other, the tension on the chain increases. Due to the angle of the chain, increasing tension pulls upward on the 800hp tractor, effectively taking weight off the rear wheels. For the steam tractor, just the opposite is happening. The 800hp tractor is losing traction as the steam tractor gains it. As long as the steam tractor is geared low enough to be able to turn the rear wheels and make them slip on the dirt, it will out-pull the other tractor. Simple.
This is not a horsepower contest- it is a traction contest. If the height of the chain attachment points was reversed, the 800hp tractor would win easily.

It is about traction. As I mentioned in my previous post, it is about how the torque is applied to the ground. The weight and the big wheels alow more of the torque to be applied to the ground.

Around 35 seconds into the clip, you can see that it is not a chain, but a bar on a pivot. If the bar was lifting the 800hp tractor, its wheels would not be able to dig furrows in the dirt. So I do not believe the rear of the 800hp tractor is being lifted.

 

[Jer]

Hey Don that looks like the tractor pulls held in Sublimity Oregon located about 12 miles SE of Salem.

 

[CAJW]

I could've used that guy this weekend. I ended up digging trenches by hand to install drain pipe around my new storage building, which is sitting on about 75% rock! He'd have it done in no time!

 

[FJRBluesman]

Look at the red chain connecting the two tractors. It is not horizontal. It is attached much higher on the steam tractor. When the two tractors pull against each other, the tension on the chain increases. Due to the angle of the chain, increasing tension pulls upward on the 800hp tractor, effectively taking weight off the rear wheels. For the steam tractor, just the opposite is happening. The 800hp tractor is losing traction as the steam tractor gains it. As long as the steam tractor is geared low enough to be able to turn the rear wheels and make them slip on the dirt, it will out-pull the other tractor. Simple.

This is not a horsepower contest- it is a traction contest. If the height of the chain attachment points was reversed, the 800hp tractor would win easily.

It is about traction. As I mentioned in my previous post, it is about how the torque is applied to the ground. The weight and the big wheels alow more of the torque to be applied to the ground.

Around 35 seconds into the clip, you can see that it is not a chain, but a bar on a pivot. If the bar was lifting the 800hp tractor, its wheels would not be able to dig furrows in the dirt. So I do not believe the rear of the 800hp tractor is being lifted.

Gunny!

Well done for old technology kicking but it in the 21st century.

 

[HotRodZilla]

There's a HUGE weight difference also. That heavier tractor never lost traction.

Kind of like pulling a 2013 Corvette Z06 around with my old '73 350ci 4 door Buick Century.

 

[lnewlf]

Look at the red chain connecting the two tractors. It is not horizontal. It is attached much higher on the steam tractor. When the two tractors pull against each other, the tension on the chain increases. Due to the angle of the chain, increasing tension pulls upward on the 800hp tractor, effectively taking weight off the rear wheels. For the steam tractor, just the opposite is happening. The 800hp tractor is losing traction as the steam tractor gains it. As long as the steam tractor is geared low enough to be able to turn the rear wheels and make them slip on the dirt, it will out-pull the other tractor. Simple.
This is not a horsepower contest- it is a traction contest. If the height of the chain attachment points was reversed, the 800hp tractor would win easily.

Norm has it right..

My '60 JD dozer with a 60 horse Detroit would pull both of them

 

[NormKern]

Look at the red chain connecting the two tractors. It is not horizontal. It is attached much higher on the steam tractor. When the two tractors pull against each other, the tension on the chain increases. Due to the angle of the chain, increasing tension pulls upward on the 800hp tractor, effectively taking weight off the rear wheels. For the steam tractor, just the opposite is happening. The 800hp tractor is losing traction as the steam tractor gains it. As long as the steam tractor is geared low enough to be able to turn the rear wheels and make them slip on the dirt, it will out-pull the other tractor. Simple.

This is not a horsepower contest- it is a traction contest. If the height of the chain attachment points was reversed, the 800hp tractor would win easily.

It is about traction. As I mentioned in my previous post, it is about how the torque is applied to the ground. The weight and the big wheels alow more of the torque to be applied to the ground.

Around 35 seconds into the clip, you can see that it is not a chain, but a bar on a pivot. If the bar was lifting the 800hp tractor, its wheels would not be able to dig furrows in the dirt. So I do not believe the rear of the 800hp tractor is being lifted.

The force pushing down on the wheels of the 800 lb tractor equals the weight of the tractor MINUS any upward force caused by the towing bar's upward angle. Strictly speaking, the 800 lb tractor is not being lifted OFF the ground. OTOH, the more tension there is on the steel bar, the more upward force reduces the weight on the rear wheels of the 800 lb tractor.

For example, if the angle of the bar is 30 degrees and the tension on the bar is 5000 pounds, the vertical force component = 5000 lbs * sin(30 degrees) = 2500 pounds. That's 2500 pounds less on the 800 hp tractor and 2500 pounds more on the steam tractor. The more tension, the more it hurts the 800 hp and helps the steam tractor.

 

[Lauren_TK]

For example, if the angle of the bar is 30 degrees and the tension on the bar is 5000 pounds, the vertical force component = 5000 lbs * sin(30 degrees) = 2500 pounds. That's 2500 pounds less on the 800 hp tractor and 2500 pounds more on the steam tractor. The more tension, the more it hurts the 800 hp and helps the steam tractor.

Granted.

However, I do not think that the lifting force is changing the outcome in favor of the steam tractor--given all the other factors listed previously.

Saddly, we do not have a way of producing an empircal test, and answer the question.

 

[lnewlf]

Also not seeing any pull from the front wheels on the Deere

 

[Old Guy]

For example, if the angle of the bar is 30 degrees and the tension on the bar is 5000 pounds, the vertical force component = 5000 lbs * sin(30 degrees) = 2500 pounds. That's 2500 pounds less on the 800 hp tractor and 2500 pounds more on the steam tractor. The more tension, the more it hurts the 800 hp and helps the steam tractor.

Granted.

However, I do not think that the lifting force is changing the outcome in favor of the steam tractor--given all the other factors listed previously.

Saddly, we do not have a way of producing an empircal test, and answer the question.

I tend to agree with you. Had the newer tractor been able to get the traction, given the weight difference, it may have just done a very entertaining wheelstand

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I also wondered why the big Deere was not using 4WD. That might have influenced the outcome.

While the upward angle of the tow line did not lift the rear of the Deere, it did effectively transfer some of its weight and therefore some of its traction to the drive wheels of the steam tractor. As Norm so effectively explained, removing weight from the John Deere and transferring it to the steam tractor transferred traction as well.

I wonder what sort of V-8 diesel the Deere was using. That certainly was not the original John Deere diesel.

Good stuff though. Thanks for sharing this little video with us.

 

[Lauren_TK]

As Norm so effectively explained, removing weight from the John Deere and transferring it to the steam tractor transferred traction as well.

Norm is correct that traction is being transfered--no arugment there.

I do not believe that the amount of traction transfered influences the outcome due to the steam tractor's weight, torque, extremly large wheels, ect.

Fun to speculate about it though.