When your tractor's diesel consumption suddenly increases, it's particularly annoying, especially given the rising fuel prices these days. Consumption of a lot more fuel by your tractor is usually a sign that something is wrong. Here are the most common reasons:

• Blocked Air Filter: It is the main reason. When the filter is full of dust, the engine has a hard time working, and hence it burns more fuel to keep running.

• Fuel Injector Issues: If the injectors are dirty or leaking, they won't spray diesel as a fine mist. Instead, they "dribble" fuel, which doesn't burn efficiently and just goes to waste (resulting in soot).

• Poor Quality Fuel: Sometimes the culprit is just bad, contaminated diesel that doesn't provide the energy your engine expects.

• Tyre Pressure & Ballasting: If the tractor tyres are under-inflated or the tractor is improperly weighted for the implement you're pulling, you'll get excessive "wheel slip." So, you're burning fuel to spin tyres instead of moving forward.

Give your filters a quick check and look at your exhaust colour, it's usually the quickest way to spot the problem!