Power Director 175 vs 185

I’m to understand the AC 175 has a power director in an oil bath and is mechanically engaged.  I’m to understand the AC 185 is a hydraulically actuated power director.

At our Southern farm, I bale with a 180 and 4x5 Vermeer round baler, baling mostly 4x4's because I sell the hay from that farm and that's what my buyers want. We didn't do hay at that farm for years: Most of the hay we do has been and still is done at our Northern farm for our cattle. I thus started out round baling getting used to baling with the tractors at our Northern farm: Primarily a Ford 5000, Ford 6600 and White 2-105. The 5000 and 6600 are very nearly equivalent in HP and age to the 180, so I feel like I can make a fair comparison.

While the hydraulic PD of the 180 is very robust and handles the stops and starts just fine, my preference would probably lean slightly toward a more conventional tractor with fully independent PTO. If you get to a slug and want to give the baler a chance to digest, it's (to me) more convenient to just hit the clutch for a second and let it digest. The PD does work OK for this, but it's intuitive and hard-wired into my tractor-driving DNA to just hit the clutch. Even after several years of using the 180, it's still not my preference nor as user-friendly. And the hydraulic PD does sometimes keep trying to move the tractor a little when it's in neutral just by the viscous drag of the fluids churning in there - especially when it's cold. That can be a bit irksome sometimes: Even on flat ground you often have to hold it back with the brakes - being prepared to hit the brakes at the same time as you kick the PD into neutral. But that's admittedly my personal preference and opinion. And ultimately I get along just fine with it. So I certainly wouldn't avoid a 180 (or similar Allis), I just wouldn't go specifically looking for one for that task. It's also sometimes a pain because we have a lot of really steep hills and rocky outcrops: Lots of times you need to switch gears more than the range offered by the PD. On flat land, it wouldn't be an issue. But for us it's a little irksome. Having to bring the roll to a stop to change gears is not ideal for us.

I do love the 180 platform setup, it had great speeds for baling, better hydraulics than most tractors of the era, and the 6 cylinder purrs like a kitten. So the positives almost outweigh the negatives for me. And to an operator who has different preferences, I can certainly see why they'd prefer the 180 over than some other tractors of the same era/HP.

If you're thinking that the frequent stops/starts are hard on the clutch of other tractors, I wouldn't fuss about that too much. I never understood why some folks stop and sit there idling with the clutch held in or crunch gears into reverse during the tying/dumping cycle (at least, not after the outside round of the field is done). For a tractor with a hydraulic shuttle shift, that would make sense. But for an older-school tranny and clutch, that just seems unnecessarily hard on things. What I do: When the tying cycle starts, pull out quickly from the windrow without stopping, make a loop while it's tying such that you're about 10' back from the windrow when the tying cycle is complete, hold the clutch in for a few seconds while you dump the bale, then carry on. No changing gears, no holding the clutch in for long periods, and it doesn't take any more time than doing it any other way. Once I start baling and get past the outside round I never change gears or hold the clutch in for more than 5 or 6 seconds at a time.

Ultimately I don't think I helped you much. The PD of a 180 is robust and would definitely allow you to do what you want to do. Some folks may love it for baling, some folks may hate it. Having baled with other tractors of the same age/HP-range myself, I'd say I'm pretty much indifferent. Maybe a slight preference to tractors with independent PTO, but not enough to cause me to overlook a 180.

One thing you definitely want to keep in mind: Some 180's had mechanical PTO engagement, some were hydraulic. You definitely want the hydraulic PTO for round baling. The mechanical PTO of the 170/175 would I think, be a real pain. That does depend on if your baler requires you to shut off the PTO when dumping. Newer ones like the Deere and Vermeer at our Northern farm don't. The old Vermeer at our Southern farm is early 80's and needs to be shut off to dump.

Edited by DanielW - 6 hours 19 minutes ago at 8:54pm

DanielW wrote: At our Southern farm, I bale with a 180 and 4x5 Vermeer round baler, baling mostly 4x4's because I sell the hay from that farm and that's what my buyers want. We didn't do hay at that farm for years: Most of the hay we do has been and still is done at our Northern farm for our cattle. I thus started out round baling getting used to baling with the tractors at our Northern farm: Primarily a Ford 5000, Ford 6600 and White 2-105. The 5000 and 6600 are very nearly equivalent in HP and age to the 180, so I feel like I can make a fair comparison. While the hydraulic PD of the 180 is very robust and handles the stops and starts just fine, my preference would probably lean slightly toward a more conventional tractor with fully independent PTO. If you get to a slug and want to give the baler a chance to digest, it's (to me) more convenient to just hit the clutch for a second and let it digest. The PD does work OK for this, but it's intuitive and hard-wired into my tractor-driving DNA to just hit the clutch. Even after several years of using the 180, it's still not my preference nor as user-friendly. And the hydraulic PD does sometimes keep trying to move the tractor a little when it's in neutral just by the viscous drag of the fluids churning in there - especially when it's cold. That can be a bit irksome sometimes: Even on flat ground you often have to hold it back with the brakes - being prepared to hit the brakes at the same time as you kick the PD into neutral. But that's admittedly my personal preference and opinion. And ultimately I get along just fine with it. So I certainly wouldn't avoid a 180 (or similar Allis), I just wouldn't go specifically looking for one for that task. It's also sometimes a pain because we have a lot of really steep hills and rocky outcrops: Lots of times you need to switch gears more than the range offered by the PD. On flat land, it wouldn't be an issue. But for us it's a little irksome. Having to bring the roll to a stop to change gears is not ideal for us. I do love the 180 platform setup, it had great speeds for baling, better hydraulics than most tractors of the era, and the 6 cylinder purrs like a kitten. So the positives almost outweigh the negatives for me. And to an operator who has different preferences, I can certainly see why they'd prefer the 180 over than some other tractors of the same era/HP. If you're thinking that the frequent stops/starts are hard on the clutch of other tractors, I wouldn't fuss about that too much. I never understood why some folks stop and sit there idling with the clutch held in or crunch gears into reverse during the tying/dumping cycle (at least, not after the outside round of the field is done). For a tractor with a hydraulic shuttle shift, that would make sense. But for an older-school tranny and clutch, that just seems unnecessarily hard on things. What I do: When the tying cycle starts, pull out quickly from the windrow without stopping, make a loop while it's tying such that you're about 10' back from the windrow when the tying cycle is complete, hold the clutch in for a few seconds while you dump the bale, then carry on. No changing gears, no holding the clutch in for long periods, and it doesn't take any more time than doing it any other way. Once I start baling and get past the outside round I never change gears or hold the clutch in for more than 5 or 6 seconds at a time. Ultimately I don't think I helped you much. The PD of a 180 is robust and would definitely allow you to do what you want to do. Some folks may love it for baling, some folks may hate it. Having baled with other tractors of the same age/HP-range myself, I'd say I'm pretty much indifferent. Maybe a slight preference to tractors with independent PTO, but not enough to cause me to overlook a 180. One thing you definitely want to keep in mind: Some 180's had mechanical PTO engagement, some were hydraulic. You definitely want the hydraulic PTO for round baling. The mechanical PTO of the 170/175 would I think, be a real pain. That does depend on if your baler requires you to shut off the PTO when dumping. Newer ones like the Deere and Vermeer at our Northern farm don't. The old Vermeer at our Southern farm is early 80's and needs to be shut off to dump.