Price Check Kioti DK40SE HST

[alancamby]

Yes, despite all the chest thumping by my testosterone poisoned DK40 buddies, a 300lb grapple on a L3800 or CK35 would be a perfect match. Indeed, if budget is tight, the fact that you could get a CK plus grapple for less than the L3800 makes the Kioti a no brainer in my book. I had my current 300lb grapple on my old CK20 for several years and did a huge amount of work with it. If you are not clearing land and lifting square bales rather than large round bales then 1100lbs of lift is perfectly serviceable.

Think through whether you are willing to do your own oil and fluid changes. If so you really just need a good dealer by phone as the UPS guy can bring you supplies and you are very unlikely to need the dealer for much else. My dealer is 300 miles and a ferry trip away. My DK and CK never needed to go back to the dealer. Even warranty issues (seat belt retractor and cracked fuel bowl) were handled by the UPS guy easily. If you have a cell phone and some basic tools the dealer can talk you through lots of issues. And, at least with the DK, there is a superb maintenance manual available for about $80 that no one should be without.

Thanks for the info on the grapple. Good to know that the little CK20 can handle that grapple. Makes me feel better about it on a Ck or L tractor.
I did look up the loader specs for a L2550 in my 1987 Kubota book. The Loader is rated at 880lbs at the loader pins. That would be considered pretty poor by todays standards. I would think that a lot of work could still be done with it. This tractor is very close in physical size to the CK and L3200/L3800.

Kioti does not seem to give much detail on the loader lift specs.
The L3200/L3800 are both rated for 1131lbs at the pins at full height. Kubota goes a little further with their specs to show a lift capacity of 1490lbs at the pivot pins with the loader at 1500mm (59"). I would think that most loader work that I will be doing will not need to be lifted higher then 59". 500mm (20") forward of pins and 1500mm (59") high I can lift 1182lbs.

Is your grapple the Wicked 50"?
EA shows it is for tractors up to 35HP.
Have you bent anything on the grapple with the weight and power of the DK40?

 

[k0ua]

Thanks for the info on the grapple. Good to know that the little CK20 can handle that grapple. Makes me feel better about it on a Ck or L tractor.
I did look up the loader specs for a L2550 in my 1987 Kubota book. The Loader is rated at 880lbs at the loader pins. That would be considered pretty poor by todays standards. I would think that a lot of work could still be done with it. This tractor is very close in physical size to the CK and L3200/L3800.

Kioti does not seem to give much detail on the loader lift specs.
The L3200/L3800 are both rated for 1131lbs at the pins at full height. Kubota goes a little further with their specs to show a lift capacity of 1490lbs at the pivot pins with the loader at 1500mm (59"). I would think that most loader work that I will be doing will not need to be lifted higher then 59". 500mm (20") forward of pins and 1500mm (59") high I can lift 1182lbs.

Is your grapple the Wicked 50"?
EA shows it is for tractors up to 35HP.
Have you bent anything on the grapple with the weight and power of the DK40?

Alan as you can see I have the wicked 50 inch. and it seems to be very tough. It is built with 90,000 psi steel not just the usual A36 mild steel that a lot of grapples are built with. I haven't twisted or bent anything at all. Now I don't have the DK-40, I have the DK35se, a discontinued model, but as I said the weight and size is basically the same within an inch and within 200 lbs weight. Obviously the engine is smaller. By the way both Kubota and Kioti will have some new models out in the spring, I believe the L3800 will be going away, and some new model with tier 4 final specs will be taking its place, and rumor has it that Kioti will have a new 35 to 40 horse class tractor soon also as there is a gap in their lineup. These new tractors are very likely to be more expensive though. Islands, grapple is a Millizoni, 48 inch that is no longer made. He hasn't torn it up yet either! As far as I know.

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks for the info on the grapple. Good to know that the little CK20 can handle that grapple. Makes me feel better about it on a Ck or L tractor.
I did look up the loader specs for a L2550 in my 1987 Kubota book. The Loader is rated at 880lbs at the loader pins. That would be considered pretty poor by todays standards. I would think that a lot of work could still be done with it. This tractor is very close in physical size to the CK and L3200/L3800.

Kioti does not seem to give much detail on the loader lift specs.
The L3200/L3800 are both rated for 1131lbs at the pins at full height. Kubota goes a little further with their specs to show a lift capacity of 1490lbs at the pivot pins with the loader at 1500mm (59"). I would think that most loader work that I will be doing will not need to be lifted higher then 59". 500mm (20") forward of pins and 1500mm (59") high I can lift 1182lbs.

Is your grapple the Wicked 50"?
EA shows it is for tractors up to 35HP.
Have you bent anything on the grapple with the weight and power of the DK40?

Kioti does have pretty full specs on their loaders. For example, I believe (from memory) that the CK35 can lift about 1100-1200lbs at the pivot points. The DK40 lifts a bit more than 2700lbs (which is why we all love it).

My grapple is a Millonzi Light Duty 48" which is supposed to weigh 280lbs per the now defunct manufacturer (They were doing well with many satisfied grapple customers but the owner died four or five years ago). I have beaten the crap out of it first with the CK20 (nary a scratch to the grapple) and with my DK40 (managed to bend the tips of the upper tines when I ripped the boulder below out of the ground, boulder weighed over a ton and was clamped just on the tip of the grapple as I did not know it was a big boulder (iceberg phenomenon)). Only repairs in eight years of land clearing have been to heat and straighten the tips of the upper tines and then reinforcing those tips with gussets. In retrospect the upper tines were really not sufficiently supported at the tips as there was no gusset for the last six inches or so. I pulled the upper arm off the grapple, threw it in my car trunk and had a welding shop do the repair and strengthening for $50. Not bad considering all the abuse I have heaped on that grapple.

I would not hesitate for one minute to use a EA Wicked 50 on the CK35 or L3800. Frankly, it would do fine with a DK40 too but the manufacturer is just rating the grapple conservatively for business reasons.

The key point with grapple use is to never do anything that TWISTS the grapple. Always lift or push with the load as centered as possible. If you do that the grapple is WAY stronger than any CUT FEL.

 

[Coyote machine]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ttachment-pick-logs-out-pile-igland-gr-20.jpg

Above is a picture of my GR-20 Igland log grapple, 354#s, strong as bull, opens to 42" high, 36" wide. It can grab entire trees, huge boulders, and would take an immense amount of force to bend any part of it. In fact, the FEL would bend way before any part of the grapple would.

Here's the thread I pulled the above link from showing the grapple pic. I added expanded metal to create a cage effect so branches and other items could not get to my grille. Refer to page 2 of the thread. The Igland rep for N.A. chimed in and supplied the picture.


http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/299137-attachment-pick-logs-out-pile.html

 

[IslandTractor]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ttachment-pick-logs-out-pile-igland-gr-20.jpg

Above is a picture of my GR-20 Igland log grapple, 354#s, strong as bull, opens to 42" high, 36" wide. It can grab entire trees, huge boulders, and would take an immense amount of force to bend any part of it. In fact, the FEL would bend way before any part of the grapple would.

Here's the thread I pulled the above link from showing the grapple pic. I added expanded metal to create a cage effect so branches and other items could not get to my grille. Refer to page 2 of the thread. The Igland rep for N.A. chimed in and supplied the picture.


http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/299137-attachment-pick-logs-out-pile.html

Of note, that is a special purpose grapple optomized for only one thing, picking up trees and logs. I have no doubt about it's ability to do that but it would be next to useless in clearing brush, picking up firewood or other general purpose grappling duties.

 

[alancamby]

Hey guys,
How are the owners manuals for the Kioti's?

I have the original L2550 and I feel it is a good manual. Some areas I wish there were more information.
Take the hydraulic block were you tie in for fluid power for the loader or other attachments. I think they could have added a little more info to that section. I don' t have the Kubota loader manual, maybe it has the details I was looking for.

Just like Kubota, kioti does not have their manuals available for PDF download.
So is it a good informative manual?
Do you get a parts breakdown/exploded view.
Wiring diagrams?
Is a service manual available?

I might ask my dealer of I can see these items.
I did talk on the phone today with the kioti dealer. He is putting together another DK40 as we speak.
I told him I would like to look at it early next week. Unfortunately the Dk40 I looked at in the lot has a lot of corrosion on all the yellow zinc parts. He thinks that the machine had a good dose of salt spray in transit to his dealership. If you lived around these parts you would understand why so much salt is on the road this year.
I have looked over the second DK that is in the crate and it does not have this corrosion.


Thanks

 

[k0ua]

The operators manual is just that, an operators manual. There are spelling errors, and some evidence of translation from Korean. Lots of pictures Black and white though. The Kubota manual is a little better on the translation and spelling but few pictures, a lot of drawings. The shop manuals for each go into way more detail on diagrams, and procedures The Kioti one is in color. There is also a parts manual for both brands. The loader manual on the Kioti goes into much more detail with parts numbers and diagrams on how it goes together and how to install it. Parts and shop manual for both brands cost money. Though you can see the parts manuals online at various websites. Kubota site for Kubota and MIE site for Kioti.

 

[murphy1244]

The operators manual is just that, an operators manual. There are spelling errors, and some evidence of translation from Korean. Lots of pictures Black and white though. The Kubota manual is a little better on the translation and spelling but few pictures, a lot of drawings. The shop manuals for each go into way more detail on diagrams, and procedures The Kioti one is in color. There is also a parts manual for both brands. The loader manual on the Kioti goes into much more detail with parts numbers and diagrams on how it goes together and how to install it. Parts and shop manual for both brands cost money. Though you can see the parts manuals online at various websites. Kubota site for Kubota and MIE site for Kioti.

The Kioti shop manual is one of the Best ones I've seen. Better than Harley Davidson Manuals and that's saying something.

 

[IslandTractor]

The Kioti shop manual is one of the Best ones I've seen. Better than Harley Davidson Manuals and that's saying something.

I have never seen a HD manual but I am very impressed with the Kioti DK maintenance manual. Best I've seen. They do not assume you have been turning wrenches your whole life and provide an overview of each function but it is also very well written and extremely well illustrated with a combo of photos and diagrams. Excellent and indispensable for the amateur mechanic.

 

[murphy1244]

I have never seen a HD manual but I am very impressed with the Kioti DK maintenance manual. Best I've seen. They do not assume you have been turning wrenches your whole life and provide an overview of each function but it is also very well written and extremely well illustrated with a combo of photos and diagrams. Excellent and indispensable for the amateur mechanic.

And I really like the Tabs! Wish the parts book was as good.