I feel bad even asking: unknown model Kubota

[boustany]

Here's the story. My brother has a 20ish year old 25 ish horsepower Kubota CUT. I don't know the model number. It has an FEL, also made by Kubota.

Here is the problem: his 3 Point Hitch only 'floats' when hist loader 'floats'. Mine floats all the time i.e. it lifts stuff up, but if you use a blade, the blade floats up from the level you've set it to. This is the way, I believe, nature intended.

This is important to him when snowblowing: if his rear mount blower doesn't float it digs into the ground occasionally. which is not good. It isn't practical for him to float the FEL whilst snowblowing.

I suspect this has been this way all along. For me it would be a major pain in the patoot: imagine boxblading if it only worked with the FEL down! In conversation with him, I discovered it and suggested this was not right. I suggested he post the question on TBN, but I don't think he will, so I did.

Does this ring a bell for anyone? Is a tie in between factory FEL and 3PH a standard feature with older Kubotas? Is something maybe broke or incorrectly connected? Could it be this machine has 'draft control' or something he isn't aware of?

Any suggestion would be appreciated. Maybe I can weadle more information out of him.

 

[rbargeron]

Kubota hydraulics are regular "open center" systems. There's nothing unusual about older ones - they're the same.

With the FEL control valve in the center position, there should be no effect on any other function. The 3ph should raise or lower and remain at whatever level corresponds to the lever position. The 3ph will easily rise above that level if lifted up by external force, but it will settle back down to that same level unless the lever is moved - all as "nature intends".

What this means is that if his snowblower is heavy enough to dig in, it will dig in. It's because of its weight, not because the 3ph is forcing it down. There's no down force at the 3ph.
Running with the FEL in "float" won't help with the digging in either. It'll just drag the bucket.

Draft control is for land plows - it overrides the level control, allowing the 3ph to drop a litle when the front axle drops into a ditch etc, so the plow behind the tractor maintains a constant plowing depth or "draft" - again as nature and some clever tractor engineers long ago intended.

Not too many CUTs being used to plow land these days.
Hope this makes sense. Take care, Dick B