I have a
B3350SU. I admit I am not a heavy user of this tractor and I have had it for 4 years (2016 model) with around 200 hours on it. It is my first Kubota and yes, my dealer did not warn me of the problems, I am guessing he did know but that is water under the bridge now.
Does it do the job if you follow the dealer instructions, yes it does. Most people would feel that the instructions are somewhat foolish, but I can understand why they tell you to do the following. It does work. I cannot summarize everything in one post, but let me help you with some real life info on my specific tractor. (disclaimer: may not be same on all and ones who have not had any ECU upgrades):
1. You need to run the engine at full throttle most of the time. ESPECIALLY if its attempting a regeneration (the light comes on to tell you). This can be annoying at times and could prevent proper use of the tractor (i.e. auger speed tied to engine speed). but 95% of the time its not a problem. Some people feel that is a deal breaker, I do not.
2. If you are not running it full throttle OR you bog it down badly while regenerating, the safety device for overtemp exhaust MIGHT shut it down. Again, not common and took me a long time to figure out that is what is doing, but if that happens, it will not start for about 20 minutes so the exhaust can cool and stop burning (yeah, the computer thinks the DPF is burning too hot). If you are paying attention this should never happen. I happily continue rotary cutting with the light on and as long as the engine keeps up no issue. I was told that you can shorten that time by pulling the battery lead for a couple minutes, but have not had the chance to try. I beat my tractor so bogging it does happen.
3. Parked regen. IMO forget it. I have tired parked regens over and over and unless you want to let it sit there for a very long time at full throttle forget it. Its better to just use the tractor and keep the rpm high.
4. Manually turn off with regen light on (dealer says don't do it). Go ahead. I do it all the time. Sure the dash may flash or beep or do something stupid, but it starts right up anyway. It will restart the regen again anyway, just keep her full throttle.
5. Use more fuel. Maybe, i can't tell nor do I care. It takes so little anyway. My diesel pickup uses way more to regen.
That pretty much covers the DPF regen issues. Now lets talk about the good news:
1. Its pretty well known that the
B3350 has a lot of detractors. In the world of negotiating, that puts you in the drivers seat. You should be able to get one cheap. Maybe really cheap and low hours if you time it right. Its does not take long for an owner to figure out something with the tractor is odd. Many "classic" guys just cannot handle running full throttle so they see the issue more often and therefore give up soon. I was almost that guy too, until i figured it out. The
B3350 will be the cheapest most capable tractor out there soon and never pay anywhere close to another comparable (unless they did a "modification" for you illegally).
2. Mechanically injected (not common rail) 4 cylinder. If you don't know the advantages of a diesel of that design, look it up. It will run reliably for a very long time. And if you make a "modification" you will have an even better machine for cheap.
3. While the "modification" is illegal it will not be readily available on the internet due to the low volume of
B3350's, but with some help and advice it should be possible to remove all of the regen problems noted above. You will need help.
So, that being said, buy what you want. I beat the heck out of mine the few hours I use it and it has plenty of power and drives almost any PTO device I can throw at it (size appropriate). If I come across another
B3350 being sold really cheap, I would buy it and probably use it as a test bed to document a "modification", but since that is illegal, maybe later. I am hoping that having a little more knowledge than the last guy can be my benefit.
If you want to chat more outside of the open forum, send me a PM. If someone reading this has specific experience doing the "modification" noted, also send me a PM I have a question for you.
RGAZ
