3 Point Hitch Lift Control on Kioti LK35

[KiotiLK35]

I have a 2010 Kioti LK35 which I generally very happy with except there is no control on the speed at which the 3PL (3-point hitch) lifts. There is a dial control under the front of the seat which allows you to vary speed of 3PL drop (or lock out 3PL position) but no control on the speed of 3PL raise. The real issue is that you cannot feather the 3PL lift control to gently raise it (e.g.: with pallet forks on the 3PL). The lift control lever is graduated from 0 to 10 (where 10 is full lift) and I notice that the 3PL does not start to lift until you reach about 6 (out of 10) then it jerks into action. It is pretty much impossible to get it to lift without jerking and I really don't like this either with pallet forks (obvious catapult reasons) or any heavy implement (e.g.: slasher). The tractor is superior in every way to the old (mid 70's) Kubota L2510 we used to have - EXCEPT FOR THIS. With the old Kubota you could feather the 3PL control very delicately and reliably and get a very gentle lift result every time. I am told that this is a feature/symptom of the way the Kioti is plumbed and the fact that it has a very high hydraulic pump output (48 lpm I think) compared to the old Kubota. I understand that the LK series is the low end of the Kioti scale and that is what I chose to buy, however I am hoping there is some cost-effective modification that might be possible to resolve this. I have tried activating the FEL bucket hydraulics at the same some as raising 3PL in the hope that it might divert some of the hydraulic flow from the 3PL (and produce a more gentle result) but it seems you cannot activate the 3PL and FEL hydraulics at the same time. Same applies to the pit of hydraulic remotes on the rear of the tractor. Any ideas?

 

[murphy1244]

I think that is part of your valving like the Kubota l-series jerky hitch. Sounds like it anyway.

 

[J_J]

You should be able to raise the FEL and use the 3pt at the same time for this reason.

If your hyd pump can provide say 12 GPM, and you feather the FEL to only use 6 GPM, then you have the other 6 for the rest of the hyd system.

Another thought might be that where the hose for the 3pt goes into the case for the 3pt, to install a splitter and dump part of the flow to tank.

 

[k0ua]

Perhaps Jeffs repair of the jerky 3pt on the Kubota L series would work for you also. I think he used a needle valve in the power beyond feed going to the 3pt. to slow down the flow

Kubota L3400 - 3PH Action @ 2000 RPM - YouTube

 

[J_J]

That would also slow down the flow for the rest of the hyd sytem.

 

[k0ua]

That would also slow down the flow for the rest of the hyd sytem.

Yeah I see your point. Did he add the needle flow restrictor after the 3pt control valve?

 

[J_J]

You can't add anything after the 3pt, as it dumps to tank.

 

[k0ua]

This is the fix I was looking for that matches the YouTube video.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/221524-l-series-jerky-3ph-jeffs.html

 

[Tx Jim]

That would also slow down the flow for the rest of the hyd sytem.

J_J
How can a needle valve installed in the supply line going to 3 pt slow FEL operation? I was thinking 3 pt is the last hyd function to receive hyd pressure but I could be wrong. It appears to me that pump output would remain the same with or without needle valve. Thanks,Jim

 

[k0ua]

J_J
How can a needle valve installed in the supply line going to 3 pt slow FEL operation? I was thinking 3 pt is the last hyd function to receive hyd pressure but I could be wrong. It appears to me that pump output would remain the same with or without needle valve. Thanks,Jim

I believe it would heat up the fluid as the full pump flow rate always passes thru the FEL control valve and out the power beyond port. If we put a needle valve there it would restrict the flow and heat the fluid badly. I guess technically it would not prevent the FEL from working at full capacity as it is upstream but, in reality the fluid would be smoking and the pump would be burned up looking into that restriction all the time. What Jeff did was put a constant flow valve in line to the 3pt. So he could adjust the flow rate but it dumps the rest of the flow to the tank. He also chamfered the 3pt valve spool to give a bit more hysteresis.