Hi range HST bogging on grade - CK30 (CT230 actually)

[VictorW]

My CK30hst likes at least 5 minutes before she wants to run on average temp days. The engine just isn't happy. I'll give her 10 minutes in the Winter before I snow plow. Even then, the temp gauge has barely moved from cold. If it's not a hot Summer day and I start and take off in a minute or so and ask it to work hard, I can definitely tell it's not ready. Diesel engines like to be warmed up to make their power. Maybe try the same route, as when you noticed the problem, with the engine warm and see if it's still low on power. I don't believe our smaller tractors have the auto timing advance as Spyderlk mentioned his bigger tractor does.

 

[k0ua]

I don't stay in 4wd all the time, if fact I am in 2wd more than 4wd, it is just when going down hill with a load I always switch to 4wd for safety, or when working on slopes. The new Kioti stays in 2wd a lot more than the previous kubota because it is quite a bit heavier, and I can do more in 2wd than the lighter tractor could.

James K0UA

 

[TSO]

You should be happy that you HAVE 3 speeds, with the option of a MID range. My CK20 is only Hi/Lo, and there are times I could really use the MID gear. I'm usually able to stay in Hi for moving around my property, but there are definitely times I need to drop it into Lo, just for traveling. I've heard that Kioti will be adding the 3-range Hydro soon for the Compacts, too bad they didn't already for mine --- My buddy's Kub B2920 (similar size/class) has the 3-speed, and he is able to stay in MID practically all the time.

I think that what the others have said is accurate: the HI is for flat/downhill travel, or whenever it will work without bogging down When that happens, shift down.

---

As for 4wd/2wd use, I keep mine in 4x4 most of the time. I use mine mostly for Loader work work, and I find that the pros outweigh the cons for my use. With that said, on those less-frequent times when I use it for "long-distance" travel, on dry, "flat-enough" surfaces... I keep it in 2wd. UNLESS I'm grading and I need the traction of 4.

Well, I couldn't tell y'a. I normally wait for the tractor to warm up before moving it, but on this occasion I just needed to run next door quick to help out before we were off somewhere else for the day. I started it, waited a minute or so and then started moving in mid range. When I got off my property and onto the road, I put it in high and that's when I noticed the difference. Maybe to oil wasn't up to temp and that was part of my issue, I'm not sure, but going with your theory, the engine would already been using an injection advance and giving me the most power. I do notice more of a rattly sound when cold, but it quickly goes away after a few minutes. I've always attributed it to being cold.

Yeah, mine is very loud and "noisy" for the first few minutes. Seems to stay that way until it's warm and I jump up the RPM's to over 2000. In comparison, my Mid 90's Shibauru 27hp Diesel (in my Ford mower pictured below)... has a much better/smoother sound right out of the gate. Oddly, it has more of an "Industrial" diesel sound, compared to the smooth running sound my Kioti has once warm (if that makes any sense)

 

[kiotiken]

You should be happy that you HAVE 3 speeds...

Maybe, it was one of the things I looked at when comparing various tractors. My JD 955 was only a 2 speed. Now that I have a 3 speed, I think I preferred the 2 speed. As stated earlier, Hi range is pretty much useless and for some tasks such as plowing snow, mid range is too slow.

One of my biggest beefs with Kioti HST transmissions is that reverse is MUCH slower than forward. When you've got a back blade for snow, you really want the opposite, or at least the same speed to reverse for another pass. Hi doesn't work for me in that situation, even though my driveway is paved and downhill, because Hi range doesn't have enough power to reverse back over the mound of snow when I lift the blade.