I had to make a quick work run into St. Louis this morning but I had the afternoon free to start moving equipment around and figuring out how I was going to fit the 861 into the barn. I also needed to figure out what I was going to use each girl for as things progress so a bit of test driving was in order.... Wink..Wink that's my excuse anyway. I also needed to do a bit of maintenance on the 8N as well.
The wildly warming and falling temps has caused a fair amount of moisture (ie Water) to build up in the sediment bowl on the 8N so I needed to clean it out.
After running the two girls around a bit I finally decided the 861 was geared so low and tended to jump easier when the clutch was let out that the 8N would do a better job for driveway snow removal. At this stage I needed one of the girls with the blade on in case we get snow and to begin pulling some fence posts and ripping out that old fence line. Since there are no corner posts to rip out I decided the 8N would be the blade tractor for the time being. The 861 is heavier and has a much higher maximum lift on the three point but I think the 8N should be able to handle the post removal as well and it won't rut out the driveway either.
There other big difference I noticed between the two is that although the 861 likes to jump easier at take off she also settles down to a much slower ground speed when needed without wrapping the engine out as much. Because of this I think the 861 will now become my main brush hog tractor and I will probably use her in post hole drilling mode as well and sickle mowing when the time comes.
So the 8N got the blade and was then moved up to the front of the barn where I can easily pull her out for snow removal while the 861 now get's the former 8N's home in the back.
It's hard to believe by looking at the two of them next to each other that the 861 is so much more powerful and heavier. The only hint I see from the side is that you can see barn through the top of the engine compartment on the 8N while the 861 is totally filled. From the back you can also tell the 861's tires are almost half again as wide as the 8N's.
While I had em both out my neighbor pulled in on his Big New Holland and was all over the 861 reminiscing about the good old days LOL. He told me he saw a gas one sell at an auction last Summer for $4300.00 in about the same body shape overall, so I am feeling pretty good about my deal right about now.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!
Oh PP be careful with the girls. be gentle you don't want to give it to them to hard. Hate to see one or both break a hip a I mean break down.....evil grin
ReplyDeleteRob - Well they gotta be able to do the work required of them other wise they are just expensive ornaments don't cha know :)
DeleteYou are going to need more girls to do maintenance, wash tractors and of course drive them. Should be interesting to see them in action, the tractors that is.
ReplyDeleteSf - Yes I don;t think any thing short of a Swedish bikini team of tractor mechanics will do actually. :)
DeleteYou'll find that the diesel has MUCH more torque and will do more work before getting hot. You (essentially) cannot lug the engine down hard enough to hurt it.
ReplyDeleteYou just gotta get used to the new powerplant, really
B - Oh the 861 sure has some torque. I am looking forward to using her for the stuff the 8N was just too small and wound too tight to do or needed more power. I finally put the blade on the 8N because she works well for snow and I really want to repair the 861's seat and start getting some other minor things done to her. She has seen some hard use over the years while the 8N has been living the life of a cream puff for decades :)
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