Another Happy Kioti Owner

[John (Toronto)]

Hi folks:

Just a post to introduce myself and my new tractor.

As my posting name indicates, I work in Toronto Canada but spend as much time as I can at my weekend place on Georgian Bay in Lake Huron. I have 5 acres of mixed woodland, waterfront, lawn and wetland and for the last 10 years I've have maintained the property with a 1949 Ford tractor.

Wow, what a step up in the world to the Kioti CK27HST! 4WD, hydrostatic transmission, 3 ranges, power steering, live PTO, responsive KL130 loader with easy to use joystick control, built-in 3PH stays, flexible 3PH connection and brakes that really work!

I've been lurking on this board for a few months. You all helped me to get comfortable with the Kioti brand by reading the last 60 pages of posts. I had the brand loyalty to Ford NH but couldn't justify the price. I found a good dealer in Beards Farm Suppy and had an painless and respectful transaction with Etienne there.

From the old ford, I had a good 6' box blade, older 5' Finish mower, a drag behind V-shaped snowblower (that I'll upgrade this fall). In the deal, I bought the KB2475 backhoe (still improving at mounting) with a Wallenstien thumb and a Wallenstein BX24 chipper (in Kioti Orange). My dealer works a lot with Wallenstein and each fall orders 6-10 chippers in Kioti colors as a special run. Beards' supplied a 2475 backhoe to the factory and Wallenstein modified their standard Kubota thumb design to Kioti, I've used it for both logging and for moving rocks with good success.

My 11yo son, really likes the hydrostatic transmission (easy!) and is always wanting to help with any short (supervised) driving opportunities.

I've had the tractor since late May and I'm already at 56 hours. Did the 50 hour service a week ago and it went easily (thanks for suggestions about tight filters - I bought as long handle pincer type and had an easy time with it).
Quite a bit of lawn to cut and I've chipped 5 box trailers full of cedars and small hardwoods, laid down a new gravel road, dug out some tree stumps and ditches - I've had fun.

Thanks for the great board, I've learned a lot from you guys and look forward to keeping in touch.

Best Regards,
John

 

[Dargo]

Very nice machine and setup!! I can clearly see that you didn't opt to go the 'economy' route. Top class equipment you have there!

 

[TBDonnelly]

Looks like way to much fun going on there! Congratulations on your new acquisition(s) and welcome to 'tractorbynet'. Pictures and more pictures are always welcome.

Don

 

[Dmace]

Very Nice! Welcome to the Pack!

Every time I see pics of the backhoes with these thumbs I get jealous. With all the rocks around my property, I would have one heck of a rock wall feature. That chipper sure is nice too, what size wood can you run through it, 2-3"...?

 

[carpenter383]

Nice lookiin out fit, I bet that old ford tractor is jealous! Welcome to the pack!

 

[Dodgeram]

Like the others before me "Welcome to the Pack!".
Did that BH actually pick up that tree, or is that one of those "Optical Illusions"?.
If it did, I need me one of them "thumb" thingies .
Nice looking set-up.

Tom

 

[VictorW]

Congratulations on the new Kioti. My older, 1948, Ford 8n went to a new owner. I hated to part with it but couldn't use two tractors and the Kioti makes work so much easier.
Your new bh looks designed and built much stronger than my older KB2375. The hst on my CK30hst even has my wife and daughter wanting to help me with projects. If your using a remote to power the bh, remember about leaving the control lever in the off position if the bh is removed or make a short connector hose. Another thread goes well into the subject.
Have fun with the new toys.

 

[John (Toronto)]

Thanks for the kind words of welcome.

Derek: The chipper can go up to 4 inches but honestly when it's chipping near 4" diameter logs, the tractor will start to bog down maybe ~35HP tractor would be better matched to that bigger stuff. However, playing the clutch (my son's job) allows it to chew it up a 15-20' logs in 3-4 steps of ~10 second intervals. But I usually want the 4" stuff for the fireplace. Where the 4" is of value is less trimming of branches before feeding into the thing. I think it is a great machine. I've rented bigger chippers that need constant effort to clear feeder and discharge clogging but this handles everything quickly and makes some nice chips for the landscaping.

Tom: Yes, the BH is picking up the trunk. The bush to the right of the tractor is very thick so I used the BH to reach into the bush and lift and swing the big trunk onto the road. Then I could easily buck the trunk into firewood sections where it can be easily loaded in the FEL to go to the wood pile. Here's more pictures showing the progress from felled to bucked.

 

[dking]

Great tractor John, welcome aboard. I have the same chipper on a DK45 and it will chew up 4" no problem.

The chipper can go up to 4 inches but honestly when it's chipping near 4" diameter logs, the tractor will start to bog down maybe ~35HP tractor would be better matched to that bigger stuff. QUOTE]

 

[LBrown59]

Hi folks:
As my posting name indicates, I work in Toronto Canada but spend as much time as I can at my weekend place
Best Regards,
John

Bet you didn't know that we have a Toronto here in Ohio also.

 

[rcrcomputing]

Nice setup! Interesting, to make the decisions and buy, you did not need to join. But later on became interested in joining.. I don't mean anything other than I find it interesting..

 

[JoelD]

Welcome to the pack and congratulations on a terrific set up.

I also have a thumb and I use it all the time. Nothing better at moving logs and rocks around.

Keep your belt on (son to) and have a great time with your new machine.

Sincerely,
Joel

 

[Dargo]

I'm jealous. Even though my wife claims I'm all thumbs, I don't have one like yours. I'm really curious as to how well you like that chipper. I almost bought the next higher size (I think, it was larger and said it accepted up to 6" in diameter material) with the hydraulic feed for my tractor. Unfortunately, my wife thought we needed to buy her grandparent's farm instead.

 

[John (Toronto)]

Interesting, to make the decisions and buy, you did not need to join. But later on became interested in joining.. I don't mean anything other than I find it interesting..

RCR:
I found it interesting myself that I didn't need to join the discussion until well after making a decision. I doubt that I'm the first or the last. This highlights the fact that some very small percent of people actively particpate in discussions in these forums. The majority are lurkers. Look at this posting, 288 views and 10 unique repliers at this point or ~3.4%. The majority of people read and appreciate but remain silent (let's call them "the silent majority") unless they have something worth adding to the discussion. Nothing wrong with that.

I hope my experience is informative to you or other frequent participants, you may well underestimate the impact or value of your participation. Did you happen to notice that I didn't forget to resize my pictures despite this being my first post?

But really, why join the discussion (to clarify I did immediately join TractorByNet but didn't post 'til now) when I had nothing to contribute but questions. More to the point, what question could I ask that hadn't been asked before. I mentioned that I read deep into the archive as part of my purchasing research. I really felt my questions (how is Kioti with parts, reliability, frequency of defects, what design flaws exist, How well does Mfr response to problems) were answered without having to ask for a personalized answer. In all, the posts were reassuring, not all positive but it never is.

Hope that helps your understanding.

John

 

[JoelD]

RCR:
I found it interesting myself that I didn't need to join the discussion until well after making a decision. I doubt that I'm the first or the last. This highlights the fact that some very small percent of people actively particpate in discussions in these forums. The majority are lurkers. Look at this posting, 288 views and 10 unique repliers at this point or ~3.4%. The majority of people read and appreciate but remain silent (let's call them "the silent majority") unless they have something worth adding to the discussion. Nothing wrong with that.

I hope my experience is informative to you or other frequent participants, you may well underestimate the impact or value of your participation. Did you happen to notice that I didn't forget to resize my pictures despite this being my first post?

But really, why join the discussion (to clarify I did immediately join TractorByNet but didn't post 'til now) when I had nothing to contribute but questions. More to the point, what question could I ask that hadn't been asked before. I mentioned that I read deep into the archive as part of my purchasing research. I really felt my questions (how is Kioti with parts, reliability, frequency of defects, what design flaws exist, How well does Mfr response to problems) were answered without having to ask for a personalized answer. In all, the posts were reassuring, not all positive but it never is.

Hope that helps your understanding.

John

Very good point that there are more "reading" than "writing". For the record, I hope those reading realize that most of us writers really like to write (sometimes regardless of wether or not we understand what it is we are writing ) and look forward to questions.

Readers are always great and much value is gained by the readers, with that said, the more writers the better in my mind, I learn a little something almost everyday on this forum.

Joel

 

[jimmyj]

Welcome John and thanks for sharing (from another Ontarian). Beards is actually only a few minutes from my parents place so it's good to hear of your experience there.

I like the thumb on your BH, if you don't mind, what did it cost?

 

[John (Toronto)]

I like the thumb on your BH, if you don't mind, what did it cost?

Jimmy: Sure I don't mind.

I looked at a couple of thumbs. I contacted Bro-tek who are mentioned on this site and their cost was $430 USD including shipping within US. I think Etienne at Beards asked either $450 or $475 CAD (~$415 USD) for the Wallenstein thumb (it got hidden in the final price of the Tractor/BH purchase). I liked buying local, liked the look of the Wallenstein and it was in Kioti colors!

It's more than I would have expected but it was worth it to me as I just don't have the time to fab something myself.

If you're visiting your parents, I think he still had two in stock from the original 5 he had made.

Regards

 

[Gil Case]

I too like the looks of that thumb. but I have CK20 HST with the 2465 BH. I am sure there is somewhere on this site a post about what kind of thumb I could get for the 2465 if any. I searched, but could not find one. Like the guys in NH, CT is full of big potatoes that come up each year. Squeezing them between the bucket and the arm makes a mess of the paint job and trying to chain them up to get them out of a hole is a PITA. Plus that is a great way to buck up a big tree.