BILL J. - I took my Raytech temp gun to a plow day years ago. I checked three hydros, Bryan McMeen's 169, Wyatt Compton's 169, and my 982. Bryan's 169 ran around 175-180 degrees, Wyatt's around 185-190, and my 982 around 160-165. If I had been able to make more than half a round with my 72 GD, I might have been able to get it up to 65-70 degrees. I broke a roll pin in the driveshaft and retired early that day.
Like Don says, with an intact fan, and no layers of crud on the hydro pump/motor just mowing shouldn't cause a heat problem on a hydro.
I don't really agree with Don about GD's over-heating when plowing. In tough plowing conditions I will run close to wide open. I've plowed in 1st gear and 2nd gear, and as long as you have the power & traction to pull the plow in the given conditions, faster is ALWAYS better. I've plowed behind some slow moving tractors that didn't turn the furrow over enough and large clods of dirt fall back into the furrow. That's not a big deal when the tires running in the furrow are a 11L X 15 and 15.5X38 tractor tires, but when they are a 4.00/4.80X8 & a 23-8.50X12, that's pretty big bump.
Like Don says, with an intact fan, and no layers of crud on the hydro pump/motor just mowing shouldn't cause a heat problem on a hydro.
I don't really agree with Don about GD's over-heating when plowing. In tough plowing conditions I will run close to wide open. I've plowed in 1st gear and 2nd gear, and as long as you have the power & traction to pull the plow in the given conditions, faster is ALWAYS better. I've plowed behind some slow moving tractors that didn't turn the furrow over enough and large clods of dirt fall back into the furrow. That's not a big deal when the tires running in the furrow are a 11L X 15 and 15.5X38 tractor tires, but when they are a 4.00/4.80X8 & a 23-8.50X12, that's pretty big bump.