My first 6 hours on my 3240

[slan]

Well after buying my new toy I was out of the country for three weeks and work was a zoo when I came back so I didnt have a chance to even work it.
Well I put 6 hours on it this weekend moving wet topsoil around, leveling off a few things, and generally learning how to use it.
I thought that I might have bought a bit too large of a chassis size but it sure is nimble for its size.

I knew the hydro would take some time to get on to and with all the options of the 40 series it did take a while. Once I figured out that the auto throttle should only be used for traveling and not work I was off. I love the stall guard feature which makes this unit worth the extra dollars itself. The Kubota hydro is so precise and easy to use.
One thing I noticed that didnt make sense to me is the HST response setting is taken into consideration with the stall guard feature. If you have your response set to slow the stall guard will not react quickly enough to reduce engine lugging. No big deal, when I am mowing I will just have it set to med or high.

I love my new Kubota and cant wait to get more seat time after it dries up.

I dont have any WOW pictures but just a few of after the dirt moving.
More to come as I start the projects...

[blagg]

Just curious as why the auto throttle should be off? I used it extensivly for loader work, it just used considerably more fuel. I agree with the HST modes, It will accommadate everyone's operating style.

[slan]

When trying to keep a grade and doing fine work it just seems more controlable than using the auto throttle. I may end up using it later as I get more used to it. As you can see from the pictures, I was in pretty tight quarters with some trees.
I am not sure if there is an adjustment for the auto throttle but mine seems to rev up pretty high to get any speed and I dont want to rev it past 2000 for the first 20 hours or so.
I agree for just straight loading work sign me up.....

[cschlaps]

Congratulations!

I've found that I love the auto throttle, and use it in 80-90% of the time. The only time I haven't used it is when the tractor is cold and warming up, and when I'm manuvering in tight quarters.

There is a means of adjusting the auto throttle. Mine was set to engage around 1500rpm, which I've been pleased with. There was some discussion about that adjustment a few months ago...do a search for "auto throttle adjust" and you should find it pretty easily.

Enjoy...you'll be up to 50 hours before you know it!

Chris

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Just traded my B7800 for a L3240HST. Have about 5 hours on the L. The B ran at 1700RPM for most work. Rarely did I increase the rpms. Thought I read on one of the boards to run the L at 2200 so that's what I was doing and in the mode 3. Haven't been to satisfied with it's reactions and thinking I may have made a mistake with my trade. Finally read the operaters manual on the L and it says to run at 2670RPM. Going to try that. Talked to some older tractor owners than me yesterday and they said run it at recommended rpms which is where it's power band is for that particular motor as determined by Kubota. Going to follow Kubotas recommendation and see if I'm not more satisfied. I keep saying that I'm going to start reading manuals first but hard thing because I want to work/play first. Manual also said it had to be in the rabbit speed for the automatic turtle/rabbit to work. Are you saying to set the rpms at 1500 then engage the auto speed lever to use the auto speed?

[cschlaps]

No, it doesn't matter how fast the engine speed is when you engage the auto-throttle - you just don't want to be moving when you engage it.

Mine was set by the dealer so that the hydro would engage once the engine RPM's hit 1500 when pressing forward on the hydro pedal. Some others here have said that their hydro didn't engage until over 2,000 RPM, which would be annoying. If you trace the cables that come off the hydro pedal, one goes to the engine throttle, and the other goes to the hydro controller. I believe that there is an adjustment nut at the engine throttle cable that comes from the hydro pedal, and with some tweaking, you can adjust it to the way you'd like it to operate.

Personally, I do virtually no PTO work, so keeping a constant engine RPM isn't important to me. That's why the auto-throttle works so well for me. I'm also used to operating gear tractors in the past, so the auto-throttle makes the tractor handle very similarly to a gear tractor. When I need more power, I just press harder on the pedal. Very handy when working with the loader, plows, and ground engaging implements.

For break-in of most rotating assemblies, it's often better to vary the RPM so that bearings wear in evenly. The auto-throttle definitely helps with that.

Hopefully that description helps. I think most people have found the auto-throttle to be very useful when it's adjusted properly.

Chris

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Spent a few more hours on my L3240. The auto throttle works good for me when using the fel. It revs itself up to the 2670 rpm with the auto throttle. Also figured out what some were saying about using the cruise control without auto throttle for moving tractor from point to point. It moves without having to rev the motor over 2000 rpm and can use hand instead of foot for forward motion. Mowing is still not up to snuff for me. Keeps slowing down when going up hill while trying to maintain 540 rpm on pto using Auto tjrottle or setting at 2700rpm. My B7800 did not seem to act this way with same mower and running at 1700 rpm. Talked to dealer today and he suggested not pressing pedal to the floor but only half down which he says will cause it to down shift and go better. Will try it when it quits raining. Just did some grass seeding and coming up great so want rain for grass but not for letting me burn more $4.00 a gal diesel fuel.

[cschlaps]

For mowing, I don't think the auto-throttle is appropriate since you're trying to keep a consistent PTO speed. Are you using the auto H+DS (rabbit/turtle) mode, or manually shifting between them? I've found that in auto mode, that the tractor "downshifts" earlier than is necessary. You might be better off leaving it in manual mode and downshifting when necessary.

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I've been leaving it in auto but seems slow to respond to me. Slows to much before shifting itself. So sometimes I go ahead and toggle it down to the low-low (turtle) myself even with it in auto. I leave it there low-low till I get to the top then toggle it back to rabbit when leveled out and coming down hill. Haven't had a chance yet to try letting off on the foot pedal to see what it will do.