2022 Compact Tractor Buyers Guide #3 PTO Differences. Independent vs. Live PTO, Mid PTO

PTO (Power Take Off) is implemented differently on some models. Learn the details here. You WANT Independent PTO!

Tractor Time with Tim Information:

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[andrewsamanthamadison]

Love this channel when Tim’s rockin a Kioti hat! I appreciate the fact that Tim can get in any tractor and find the positives and negatives and isn’t brand loyal. Thank you for what you do!

[themintlord]

I think it's really good you're using a different brand of tractor in each video to show the viewers all their brand options as well... keep up the good work!

[daverobertson]

😊Tim, I grew up on a small farm and have been driving tractors for over 60 years. Operated every pto engagement That you talked about .My favorite is the two stage clutch pto engagement for safety and ease of ware on tractor parts. Just my option.

[davidmartin]

The old Ford 8N and 9N tractors which had a huge popularity even today were plagued with PTO runout and you needed to get used to that issue. The other issue with them were very light front end. Add a 6ft brush cutter and it rivaled some carnival rides! Great info Tim.

[lonewolfFirearms]

Thanks Tim for showing my favorite tractor brand some love.. I have the Kioti ck3510se and have gone head to head with a few friends who have deere and kabota tractors of similar sizes and am proud to say in every competition we have put them through my Kioti has come out the winner. I'm just hoping I can win the longevity test but my tractor is only a year old so we will have to wait and see on that one..lol.. Thanks again for rocking the kioti hat.

[khtractors]

I’ve used a 2 stage clutch a lot, I have 3 tractors with that style. It’s great for baling thick hay with a square baler where you can stop the tractor with the baler still running when easing into big section of the windrow. It’s very easy to use. I like the independent pto as well. Both have advantages and disadvantages but I do not like a single stage clutch. Good explanations! Old Massey Ferguson’s have a ground speed pto where your pto speed drives according to how fast you drive. It’s nice to unclog sickle mowers and to Tedder hay without beating the hay to death at 540 rpm.

[douthitfarmsalabama]

I bought a L2501 gear drive a few years ago and it never even occurred to me that it didn't have an independent PTO like my MX. It was a good tractor and I made it work, but I sold it and got a Kioti CK3510SE (super equipped!!!) and couldn't be happier.

[crslyrn]

Pretty good series on the Buyers Guide Tim. Years ago, I had a Kubota L305DT with a Double Clutch system with a manual engagement lever for the PTO. When depressing the clutch pedal, the 1st position disengaged the transmission to allow the shifting of gears & then depressing further down with the clutch pedal to the 2nd position disengaged the PTO clutch allowing PTO engagement or disengagement. It worked well overall. Thanks for taking the time to go over the PTO system. Take care.

[chrisrexroat]

Growing up using old Masseys and Fords, and even now running one of my dad's Masseys to bale hay, both had the two stage live clutches. They work very easily to me. The PTO stage of the clutch was around the last inch or two of clutch travel so you have to purposely press the clutch all the way to engage the pto, very unlikely to disengage it while clutching to change gears.
My first compact tractor was a JD 4010, and it had the electronic pto engagent that was very abrupt. Multiple times I sheared a shear bolt on my rotary cutter. One of (and the last) time that I broke a pin was on the input shaft to the rear end of the tractor. Shortly after I made that repair, I traded that tractor off to a 2320.
Good to see you at the NFMS this year!

[christophersiano]

Just a word of caution regarding early "Live" PTO designs. Many of the Fords and machines that copied them used a hydraulic clutch to engage the PTO. Since the fluid can carry the clutch just like the torque converter on an automatic transmission, you can easily have the PTO disengaged but still start to spin when you fire up the tractor. Especially if it's cold and the hydraulic fluid is thick. Most of these designs have a brake band that tries to keep this from happening, but that brake wears out and needs regular adjustment. Typically an attachment that has a lot of drag will keep the shaft from turning, but lighter items like sprayers might not.

You didn't mention it, but there are 2 PTO speed standards. The classic 540 rpm and the 1000 rpm. Usually you don't mess these up because the two use different splines.

One other safety item. This is one I DRILL into the kids. Never, ever, no way, no how do you go near a PTO if the machine is running. I don't care how many guards, sleeves, etc are in place. If a PTO catches your clothing, you can't get away in time. Even if the machine is off, you can sometimes have significant binding in the system that when something is released, the shaft can turn. I keep a large screwdriver in the machine's toolbox to make sure I can move something in the system to ensure that there is no binding before working on it - even if I'm just adding grease.

Especially when you get into the larger machines, the PTO can and will seriously hurt you if you don't take every precaution.

[earlyriser]

I love this little series. I especially love how you are moving from dealer to dealer to discuss the various features. Although you didn't go over the Kioti on this episode I got to look at one with you there and compare.

[charlesfirstenberger]

I owned a Kioti ck2610 with live pto. First of all it was a fantastic tractor it did things that amazed this old farm boy. Second, after about the first 15 minutes of operation using the clutch halfway to stop the tractor while rotory cutting in the woods became second nature and I didn't even think about it. Downsized to a 1025r so I could mow the lawn too but the kioti was the best compact tractor (I've owned several compacts) I've ever owned. Thinking about that nice 25 cab tractor you were in now!

[deanbacon]

Great video !!! My grandfather and father always preached not to start the pto on anything at 3/4 to full engine rpm

[C_J_]

Two stage clutches work very well on a gear drive for shifting gears with the PTO running. We always baled hay with one and world frequently stop the tractor to let the baler consume clumps. I have also used a snowblower on one where you ride the first stage of the clutch to avoid taking in snow too fast... They are really well setup for stopping the tractor. Where they come up a bit short is you really have to depress and bury the clutch to engage the PTO. I often stand up and jam the clutch all the way down to avoid grinding on the gears.

[Tcrim]

The Kioti video you did before was one the best Kioti videos I’ve seen. The salesman was outstanding.

[rockysmith]

The 2 stage clutch has a distinct stopping point for stage one so it is easy to know where to stop to change gears without interference of PTO

[johnmedlin]

My Massey Ferguson 1740M has the soft start mode, and it is nice because it doesn't feel like the tractor is going to shake all to pieces.

[hphillips]

Glad you explained the PTO types in a way that is easier to understand especially for new people. Funny thing is I have almost 250 hours on a B 2650 and have never used the PTO

[charlesbessenbach]

I had a Ford 960 with the two stage clutch and it was much more convenient than my 8n. Had no trouble shifting gears/directions with the PTO still running.

[traindudeacw]

I’m loving this series of videos on the differences in the different sizes, horsepower and physical size of tractors.

My solution to using the electric PTO engagement system is to engage the PTO with the tractor or zero turn mower, with the engine at idle speed, and once the mower/attachment is spinning, then i advance the throttle up to full speed. When i want to stop the mower, i decrease the throttle speed back to idle, and then i disengage the PTO button.