The Marvelous Diesel Mini-Tractors!

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NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW ...

Nothing short of heating the crankcase oil on the kitchen stove would get my ol' MF-135 running on a frigid winter day. But the Yanmar (as well as the other mini-diesels) has a cold-start attachment that always gets us out of the barn.

On the Yanmar, this system preheats a small quantity of fuel in the air-intake manifold . . . while the other three models have "glow plugs" mounted directly in the cylinders.

And—just to be certain of the glow-plug arrangement's ability—I drove to a nearby Kubota dealership when the mercury stood at a chilly 6°F. Sure enough, the Kubota B7100 (which had been standing out in the lot all night) fired up right away in the early morning cold.

LIFTING AND POST PULLING

My Yanmar has a lift capacity (at the lower link pins) of more than 750 pounds. However, this capability does decrease quickly when the load is placed further from the fulcrum (the point where the lower links attach to the tractor body). I've found that—using a standard boom—the lifting ability of my machine drops to about 300 pounds at a point four feet away from the link pins . . . and down to around 240 pounds when the load is seven feet out.

Unfortunately, wheel weights won't solve this problem. With 240 pounds at the end of the boom, the tractor's hydraulic innards emit anguished squeals as the burden clears the ground. The trick, of course, is to keep hefty loads as near the link pins as possible. All in all, I've found the Yanmar's "strength" to be very impressive . . . considering that the tractor itself weighs in at just over 1,100 pounds.

WOOD HAULING

I knew I was taking a chance when I traded my MF for the smaller import, because I had no idea of how large a wagonload the Yanmar would be able to pull. Furthermore, bringing in firewood is a year-round job at my farm, and our woodlot is across a creek and at the bottom of a deep draw!

You can imagine how pleased I was, then, to discover that—in four-wheel drive (low range)—my spunky vehicle could easily haul a third of a cord of hardwood up a 12-percent loamy-surfaced grade. On those rare occasions when the ground is frozen to a depth of just a fraction of an inch, the Yanmar's tires will tear through the frost and lose traction on the slick undersoil . . . but when the earth is thoroughly frozen (or completely thawed) the mini will really get its shoulders down and pull!

BLADE WORK

When plowing snow or grading, the little imports are limited by available traction more often than by a lack of power. I use a medium-weight, six-foot, rear-mount blade that I originally bought for my Massey Ferguson (the extra width over stock Yanmar equipment is an advantage when dragging or smoothing driveway gravel). The mini-machine usually grabs the ground well enough to handle this full-sized accessory, but the blade must be canted sharply when I want to dig out encroaching grass.

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