Tractor Fuel Consumption Calculator

Work out tractor fuel consumption instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Tractor Fuel Consumption Calculator

Diesel use follows the power actually delivered, not the rated power. Multiply rated horsepower by 0.7457 to get kilowatts and by the load factor to get average output, then apply the engine's specific fuel consumption (typically 220-280 g/kWh) and divide by the density of diesel, about 0.835 kg/L.

Formula

Fuel consumption

Power (kW) = hp x 0.7457 x load factor; fuel (L/h) = power x SFC (g/kWh) / 835

Worked example

With the default values below, Tractor Fuel Consumption Calculator returns Fuel Consumption of 7.033. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Rated Engine Powerminimum 1 hp: 45 hp
Load Factoraccepts 5–100 %: 70 %
Specific Fuel Consumptionminimum 100 g/kWh: 250 g/kWh
Hours Of Workminimum 0.1 h: 8 h

Results

Fuel Consumption: 7.033
Total Fuel For The Job: 56.26
Average Power Delivered: 23.49
Fuel Per kWh: 0.2994

Step by step

1Values used
2Fuel consumption
3Fuel Consumption= 7.033
4Total Fuel For The Job= 56.26
5Average Power Delivered= 23.49
6Fuel Per kWh= 0.2994

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What load factor should I assume?

Heavy tillage such as mouldboard ploughing runs 80-90%, secondary cultivation 55-70%, sowing and spraying 35-50% and transport 30-45%.

Is a rule-of-thumb figure good enough?

The old rule of about 0.15 L per hp-hour lands close to this calculation at typical load and SFC, but it hides the effect of load factor, which is the single biggest lever on fuel use.