Completely new to Kioti

[RidgeHiker]

I bought my DK5010 from S & W in Carson City. Worked with Stan the owner. Experience with him in and after purchase has been xlnt. Since purchase when I have called with questions everyone I spoke to has been great as well. Friendly and knowledgeable.
Very happy with the tractor as well.

 

[_RaT_]

I have had 4 Kubotas. L4850 Ever Clutch shuttle shift, L48 HST, L3830 HST and a L3940 HST. Perhaps my favorite was the L3830, least favorite the L48. The L4850 was a great tractor and by far the most powerful. My old International 454 D was the most powerful. I have had repairs on the L3940, 3 broken front wheel hubs, cracked loader dump hydraulic cylinder brackets and seemingly less powerful than the L3830 I had. I do like the electronic 2 speed shift, very handy in both high and especially medium range. I remove the loader at least twice a week and Kubotas are sweet in that area. I mow currently with a 72" FALC flail mower with hammers as well as a very heavy duty brush mower. It is so heavy I need the loader on to keep the front end down. Mostly looking for value and thus why Kioti has been on my radar. Plan is for a 65" flail and loader for dirt and rock wall building.

Here is my son (right) with a couple neighbors. This is the day I sold my L3830 HST. Moved to a 1 acre home and just did not need it. Now I wish I had kept it! Charlie, kid on the left is now 6'7", left handed pitcher and Jake the one in the middle a top notch snow boarder.

 

[Jay Bee]

I am having very similar thoughts as you. there is so much value in the Kioti compared to the Kubota. My local dealer has a 3610se that I got to play with and i really liked and then i left and played on a L3301 and guess what, i like that too. The price difference between the 3610 and the l3301 were so close the real difference comes down to the added options on the SE compared to the utilitarian build of the L.

I really liked the Kioti though. For the price in Cali you could come to Wisconsin and buy one and still be cheaper.

 

[_RaT_]

I have a CK3510 Hst. It is a great unit, I have the 66" bucket and have the backhoe. I use the tractor for land clearing and digging stumps, ditches etc. I have a woods box scraper 5' and a 6' rake, also a 5' bush hog. Tractor handles all implements easily, run out of traction not power. Kioti is a great tractor and less expensive than JD or Kubota for the same equivalent power and size. Dealerships are not plentiful, but the ones you find are very good.
Just my opinion.

Have you used the PTO? If so, how does it engage. I see a dial that "turns it on". Does it gradually engage or what?

 

[DieselBound]

Have you used the PTO? If so, how does it engage. I see a dial that "turns it on". Does it gradually engage or what?

It's just an ON/OFF switch. Big knob for visibility. Spring-loaded dial actuation. No speed adjustment.

 

[_RaT_]

It's just an ON/OFF switch. Big knob for visibility. Spring-loaded dial actuation. No speed adjustment.

I was not clear, does it go to full on dragging the engine RPM down. With the lever, you can gradually apply PTO clutch pressure to get things like a flail mower up and going. On my Kubota, I depress the clutch (this tractor does not use a pedal clutch) engage the PTO lever and slowly let out the clutch. If I simply dropped the clutch, the giant mass of the flail mower spindle would stall the diesel.

 

[Stan B]

I was not clear, does it go to full on dragging the engine RPM down. With the lever, you can gradually apply PTO clutch pressure to get things like a flail mower up and going. On my Kubota, I depress the clutch (this tractor does not use a pedal clutch) engage the PTO lever and slowly let out the clutch. If I simply dropped the clutch, the giant mass of the flail mower spindle would stall the diesel.

I have a CK3510SE and the PTO engagement switch is pretty much "instant" engagement. I run a ditch/bank flail mower and wood chipper off the PTO. My engagement process is pretty much: reduce RPM to idle, engage the PTO switch, and throttle up to PTO RPM. The RPMs drop a bit when engaging, but I've never stalled it. If I had an issue, I'd probably just raise the RPMs a few hundred over idle and engage there.

Regarding the two flavors of orange, my Kioti dealer is just down the road from a Kubota dealer. I looked at both, but went with Kioti because there was simply more bang for the buck. No regrets. Both dealers also sell & service huge ag equipment, and have been around for a while, so dealer quality was not a consideration for me.

 

[_RaT_]

I have a CK3510SE and the PTO engagement switch is pretty much "instant" engagement. I run a ditch/bank flail mower and wood chipper off the PTO. My engagement process is pretty much: reduce RPM to idle, engage the PTO switch, and throttle up to PTO RPM. The RPMs drop a bit when engaging, but I've never stalled it. If I had an issue, I'd probably just raise the RPMs a few hundred over idle and engage there.

Regarding the two flavors of orange, my Kioti dealer is just down the road from a Kubota dealer. I looked at both, but went with Kioti because there was simply more bang for the buck. No regrets. Both dealers also sell & service huge ag equipment, and have been around for a while, so dealer quality was not a consideration for me.

Those are my thoughts as well. I saw the CK3510 SE HST Friday at my nearest dealer, an Ace Hardware store. It impressed me more in person than the pictures Kioti provides. I got a price on the Kubota LX 2620 that was slightly lower than the CK3510SE HST in a comparable configuration. The Kioti also provides 2 rear remotes along with considerably more beef. I thought the CK 3510 actually seemed smaller seeing it in person than the online brochure and that is what I wanted, smaller for my little residential needs. If I had one concern it would be the location of the brake pedal with the forward HST pedal, pretty close and my size 14 boots wants to activate both. I so wish they had put the brake pedal on the left and allowed for differential braking even though I very rarely use it. I have a quote with front weights but after seeing the loader, I don't know how they could possibly stay on with the loader on.

 

[Stan B]

If I had one concern it would be the location of the brake pedal with the forward HST pedal, pretty close and my size 14 boots wants to activate both. I so wish they had put the brake pedal on the left and allowed for differential braking even though I very rarely use it. I have a quote with front weights but after seeing the loader, I don't know how they could possibly stay on with the loader on.

There is a mod someone on this forum did to add a brake pedal on the left using a factory pedal. I'm sure the mod could be modded to delete the right pedal all together. I can tell you that, while the pedals all seem close, my size 13's don't cause a problem. Perhaps it's just a muscle memory/learning curve thing.

Weights on the front with a loader seems odd. I don't think there would be any room for weights. Maybe they were thinking for when you took the loader off? If anything, you'll want more weight on the rear given the CK loader capacities.

 

[_RaT_]

There is a mod someone on this forum did to add a brake pedal on the left using a factory pedal. I'm sure the mod could be modded to delete the right pedal all together. I can tell you that, while the pedals all seem close, my size 13's don't cause a problem. Perhaps it's just a muscle memory/learning curve thing.

Weights on the front with a loader seems odd. I don't think there would be any room for weights. Maybe they were thinking for when you took the loader off? If anything, you'll want more weight on the rear given the CK loader capacities.

Thanks Stan.
I remove the loader when mowing most of the time. One of my reasons for wanting to look at the Kioti in person was to verify the ease of removing it. It looks very simple, just like Kubota. I suspect you are correct about the pedal issue as well. I had 5 minutes of sitting on it and I suspect getting accustom to it takes a slight adjustment coming from a single Kubota (non boomerang style)