Kioti CK30/35 or CK3510 decision/price check

[gathumper]

Good afternoon!

New member, but have been reading here of and on for years. I've had my Long 460 for 18 years and it's probable going to be retired and replaced by a new compact diesel with FEL. Currently the Long is out of service and I don't want to put money into a 40-something year old worn out tractor, and I really could use a FEL!

Thanks to all who are kind enough to share their knowledge and experience!

I'm shopping around and have a Kioti dealer about 2 miles from the house. They are also an LS dealer so considering and comparing them, too.

I'm looking at 30-35 hp and trying to stay below 20k. My primary usage until now has been bush hogging, maintaining my driveway, and stacking and feeding 4x4 round bales. With the new tractor I may get a tiller and a grapple later. Will be glad to retire/replace the 3 point mounted scissor spear and hay forks with a set of forks on the FEL.

My dealer has a CK30 in both gear and HST and a CK35 gear available in addition to the newer CK3510.

So other than price, is there a clear reason to choose one over the other? Here are differences I've noted. Let me know if I've missed something important.

power - 30 vs 35 hp - more is always better
transmission - gear vs hydro - no experience myself, proponents on both sides
hst - one pedal vs two pedals
tier 3 vs tier 4 - not sure if this is a big deal or not
different loaders (KL130 vs KL4010) - looks like the 4010 has significantly more capacity

In the LS line I was looking at an XG3037.

I would appreciate any thought on the tractors mentioned above as well as any alternatives to consider.

 

[747driver]

Welcome and you have come to the right site for opinions !

I have a 2013 CK27 HST with FEL. Its a tier 3 which i was looking for. Also a 4 ft woods brush hog and KK 5 ft box blade which the tractor handles fine. You do lose some hp on the pto with a HST. I have a 28 hp engine but the pto is rated at 24 hp.

I prefer the HST as i do alot of loader work and we live in a national forest which makes maneuvering easy. If you are going to do ground engaging work i would say go with the gear but i think you would be better off with the HST.

I like my one rocker pedal for the HST. Very easy to get use to, on long runs i put the cruise control on !

I wanted to stay away from the new Tier 4 final engines as i didn't want the added emissions equipment. Mine is a Tier 3. If the CK30 HST will lift your round bales ok i would lean on going with that model. But you might want to step up to the CK35 with a stronger loader.

Is the FEL on these models have the SSQA attachment ? Meaning you can just take the bucket off and attach other implements like a grapple,pallet forks etc to just the loader ?

I like my Kioti and just had some work done on it and Kioti covered it under the warranty with no hassles !!

Good luck with your search...

 

[ahueter]

Not sure this will help but I just purchased the CK3510hst. I personally prefer the 2 pedal hst and definitely liked the significant increase in the fel capacity. I was looking at the CK2610 but stepped up to the 3510 for just a few more bucks. I wanted more PTO HP for a larger 3pt finish mower, 72", and more fel capacity for round bales if I end up going there. 4 tier will be a bit quieter and I suppose better emissions, although that wasn't a deciding factor for me. As a beginner, I took advice from many on here to go a little bigger than I needed as many many experienced tractor owners recommended that. I will own this thing a long time so I bought what I wanted and didn't penny pinch.

 

[gathumper]

Thanks for your replies!

I think both the CK30 and the CK35 have the same KL130 loader and they both have the same hyd pump and weigh about 3100 lbs so FEL capacity should be the same. The extra 5 HP in the CK35 would help a little with the bush hog and driveway maintenance.

I'm going to go and try them both out this week in the yard at the dealer and see how I like the gear vs hydro and the single vs two pedals on the HST. The dealer has a round bale we can play with so I'll get a good feel for how they will handle it.

They both have the quick attach and the tier three have the extensions on the three point standard. I think that's an option on the 3510.

I'd kinda like to stay with the tier 3, but the tier 4 loader has 1835 lbs loader capacity and 98" max height vs 1155 lbs and 92" on the tier 3.

I still want to get another look at the LS XG3037 and compare the specs on it to the Kioti. Dealer said it had better specs across the board and a separate hyd pump for the loader. He said that's better, but I guess it depends on pump capacity.


Thanks Again!

 

[DK35vince]

I still want to get another look at the LS XG3037 and compare the specs on it to the Kioti. Dealer said it had better specs across the board and a separate hyd pump for the loader. He said that's better, but I guess it depends on pump capacity.

I think most modern CUTS with power steering have the dual pump.
1 section supply's the power steering the other section for the loader, rear remotes, Etc.

 

[gathumper]

Thanks for the reply!

I'm looking at the specs on the LS XG3037 onine now and they list the implement pump (8.2 gpm), steering pump (4.2 gear and 5.2 hst) and total flow (gear 12.4 and hst 13.4) on the spec sheet, but to ME it's unclear if it's really two separate pumps as I was told by the LS dealer or a dual pump with the specs provided for each output?

For comparison:

Kioti CK27-35 are listed as 12.7 gpm.

Kioti CK2610, 3010 and 4010 are 11.7 gpm.


Looking at the PTO HP and loader specs, the LS XG3037 edges out the CK3510.

I hate that the loader specs on the tier 3 CK35 are so low. It makes the CK2610 look interesting with what appears to be a detuned tier 3 CK35 engine (based on the 100.5 CI displacement). PTO HP for the 2610H is 21.5 and compares well to the CK30 HST that's rated at 22.

None of which compares to the 27.6 of the CK35 gear. But I've got to try out the gear and HST nest week and do more research to see which I prefer.

Thanks Again!

 

[ahueter]

Good luck on your purchase! I never knew there was so much to consider when I started shopping but it was a good educational experience for me. The specs and how you feel operating on the tractor are important so obviously you're doing it right. Dealership distance and the dynamic and relationship you have with them is important too. Post pics when you make your purchase. I will be taking possession of my 3510 tmrw!

 

[N2DFire]

I'd kinda like to stay with the tier 3, but the tier 4 loader has 1835 lbs loader capacity and 98" max height vs 1155 lbs and 92" on the tier 3.

Remember those capacities are measured AT the pivot pin. The farther your load gets out from the pin, the less capacity you have (that's why the old curl & lift trick works - because your curling the load back closer to / over the pivot pins).

The next standard measurement point for comparison (if you can find it) is at 24" out from the pins. It is a general rule of thumb that you are reduced to 70% at 24" inches out.

That translates the KL130's 1,155 lbs to 808 lbs at 24" and the KL4010 goes from 1,835 lbs to 1,284 lbs.

We made the mistake of not considering moving round bales when we bought our CK (if we had we might have gone to a DK40) but honestly all the big farms around us roll 5' W X 6' H so unless we got them to do something special for us, we wouldn't be moving them on the FEL with a DK either. Beside we might have a need to move at most a dozen bales a year and zero need to stack them so if it's too much for the FEL (forks or grapple) then a 3pt spear will do for us.

If you are 100% staying w/ the 4x4's the CK35 should do ok (I wouldn't toss that 3pt mover just in case) but as much as I love our CK35 to death I think you'll be happier in the long run with the 3510 & the extra loader capacity.


As for the HST vs Gear - I grew up with noting but gear and so did Dad - it was what we knew so it's what we got. Hindsight - HST might have been nicer for all the loader related tasks but again - if you're already good w/ gears & a clutch - you'll be fine.

Good luck which ever you pick.

 

[IslandTractor]

If you are primarily mowing, I'd say all of the 30 and 35 hp CK units will easily run a six foot mower of any type. Not a huge difference. I'm a fan of HST for mowing and loader work. I've used the single and dual pedal HST and prefer the dual pedal as I don't like my foot trapped in one position.

The real difference between the tractors under discussion is the loader capacity. I had a CK20 with 1070lb lift and it was fine for general duty. I did a lot of land clearing however and when I changed to a DK40se with the KL401 loader and 2760lb lift I realized how important loader strength is to brush clearing and stump removal. Many times more efficient.

1800 lbs of lift would push me towards the CK3510 unless I really was just mowing and doing general chores.

 

[gathumper]

Thanks for all the replies! They have definitely helped me in making a decision (almost!)

I've looked at the LS tractors at two different dealers now and stopped by the other orange tractor dealer on the way home today and looked at/priced an L3301. $2k more for the L3301 and there are several things I like better on the Kioti. Loader capacity on the L3301 is equivalent to the CK35 (about 600 lbs less than the 3510). Overall my gut is telling me the Kioti is still my choice.

At this point I'm decided on the CK3510, just need to decide on the gear vs the hydro and then I should have one here in a day or two. I'm a little sad to give up on the CK35, but I think the loader capacity is a deal breaker. No shuttle on the 3510 gear and no cruise on the hydro. I drove the hydro around the sales lot a bit this afternoon and it's a bit strange to me having never driven one before.

The dealer here orders their 3510s with the "optional" telescopic lower links, rear light and dual remotes and is also including a floor mat, water & anti freeze in the rear tires and delivery.

Price check: Right now we're at about $18.5k (plus tax) on the hydro with all rebates and the extra $500 included.

I'd probably add the Cruise Control if I end up with the Hydro. Not sure what the "Link Pedal" does or if I need it?

Thanks everyone!