Kioti 551c arrives safely home

[Donegal_TDI]

Got the little tractor home last Wednesday evening, torrential rain in the dark going home, hairy trip but made it safely.
As promised some pictures for you.....

 

[CowwFace]

Hey Donegal,

That looks like it was an adventure! I really like that front bucket .. what are you going to do with it..

Tractor on my friend!

 

[Patches]

That is an awesome looking FEL/grappel, whatever, and a beautiful tractor :thumbsup: How'd that Beemer do towing that beast

 

[Donegal TDI]

That front grab over here in farming circles is called a shear grab or silage block cutter. I have a pit of silage 80 feet by 30 full of compressed fermented grass. The block cutter cuts it into manageable 4 foot blocks to feed to cattle or sheep and takes a lot of hydraulic pressure to cut the block.
The BMW is a 3.0L diesel and pulled the load effortlessly even though the weather was foul. Torrential downpours reduced visibility after night and progress was a bit of a crawl at times. My biggest fear was the weights and measures police as I might have been a tad over, and also my journey took me through a good chunk of Northern Ireland where they tend to be a little more strict about such matters. All's well that ends well and I'm working now on fabricating my quickly detachable rear ballast. Will keep you updated.

 

[dourobob]

Good on ya'

Looks like lots of work ahead.

 

[CowwFace]

That front grab over here in farming circles is called a shear grab or silage block cutter. I have a pit of silage 80 feet by 30 full of compressed fermented grass. The block cutter cuts it into manageable 4 foot blocks to feed to cattle or sheep and takes a lot of hydraulic pressure to cut the block.
The BMW is a 3.0L diesel and pulled the load effortlessly even though the weather was foul. Torrential downpours reduced visibility after night and progress was a bit of a crawl at times. My biggest fear was the weights and measures police as I might have been a tad over, and also my journey took me through a good chunk of Northern Ireland where they tend to be a little more strict about such matters. All's well that ends well and I'm working now on fabricating my quickly detachable rear ballast. Will keep you updated.

Donegal,

Compressed Grass ... that sounds interesting ... do you just dump clippings in on top of other clippings.. or is it actively compressed by a machine? Do you still use Hay of any type.. or is the silage the only thing you feed?

Ok back to work.

 

[CowwFace]

I'm full of questions today... Dongel,

What is the triangle attachmet on your three point? It looks like the top can be un-pined and the thing folds down?

Thanks,

And ... is your Steering wheel on the left / right / middle of that tractor :laughing:

 

[frenchie4x4]

Donagal, Great looking tractor I'm sure you will love it. I love those tires they look like they would work great in the mud and snow. what brand and size are they? That's also a beautiful place you have there. Enjoy
Frenchie

 

[Porkie]

My Dad (101st sreaming Eagles) hospitaled in England after being shot in Cherbourg, France, in WW2 and when able to travel, toured a lot of Ireland and Scotland. He said that they were the most beautiful places that he'd ever seen. My heritage is German on Mom's side and Scott on my Dad's. I would love to tour those areas.

Very, very nice setup you have there! We in the States would have hauled that rig with our turbo-diesel pickups! 350 to over 400 stock horsepower and 600 to 1,000 ft lbs of torque makes hauling very easy!!

Take care! Sam

 

[Donegal_TDI]

1. Silage-I harvest around 40 acres of grass which is mown and chopped up by the harvester which is blown into trailers that cart it to the pit 4-6 tonne at a time. It is spread evenly in the pit to a depth of 10-14 feet, compressed by driving machinery on it after each load, the whole lot is covered with 2 polythene covers and left to ferment. The trick is to keep out the air so only anaerobic bacteria can work on it to drop the ph level below 4, acidic, when the entire clamp will preserve, cows (beef) get this only, younger catlle get this plus concentrates for extra protein.

2. A frame on the rear is a quick detach device for implements. You basically reverse in with the linkage lowered to an A frame with a corresponding profile on the implement which clicks down on top of the one on the tractor.

3. Don't know what make the tires are, they are Asian, will look at the sizes.
They will be needed, I can over emphasise how wet it is here and soil conditions are dodgy at the best of times. Here, tires are everything.

4. I too am German decent way back on my mothers side, and Scottish decent(mercenaries) way back on my fathers side.

5. BMW X5 6 cyl diesel auto produces 220BHP with around 500 lbs/ft of torque

QUESTION: At the top left rear of cab on outside near a bracket there are 2 wires with a connector on it for connecting to a beacon. Any idea where switch can be attached in cab to activate power to this?
Thanks.

 

[IslandTractor]

Glad to see you made it home safely and that the Weights and Measures guys did not nab you.

Nice looking rig. Let's see some photos once you get it dirty.

 

[Mark Connaughton]

Thanks for the photos. I have the earlier version of this tractor from PJ Callan's, the DK50 and it is a great job. Baled small bale haylage with a mini gallignani baler last Summer and it all worked without a hitch.

 

[Donegal_TDI]

PJ Callan is a great old guy, last of the true Entrepreneurs.
As the sole inporter of Kioti into Ireland he is in a great position to pass on a very good deal to the end user.
I've spent the last week preparing this little tractor for work during the winter, and I'm impressed with the quality of everything front to back, and a lot of care and attention has gone into its design and every little detail.
If it turns out to be reliable, it has to be a great value purchase for anyone out there that needs a tractor of this size.
Compared to what is offered by the major manufacturers, and their ludicrous prices
this has to be the best value on the planet.
Compared to what I paid for this,
from the major manufacturers I couldn't buy even a basic tractor without cab without loader without grab
and that was PLUS taxes (VAT)
The time to buy Kioti is probably now
before Bobcat or another global company buys them out.

I put in my cattle yesterday(Sunday).
I filled the Kioti with diesel and it cut its first blocks of silage effortlessly, despite torrential rain, again.
Plenty of hydraulic pressure to do the job.
Now with a FRONT loader, its great to be able to drive around my cattle yard rather than reverse everywhere as I had a rear mounted silage grab on my other tractor before this.
Will show some more pics of this operation soon.
Best wishes.

 

[IslandTractor]

I agree with your points about quality and value with the Kioti tractor. The analogy that is often used here is to compare Kioti to Hyundai or Samsung. I don't know if Hyundai's are imported to Ireland yet but they are cleaning Toyota's clock here in the States. Similarly, the once powerful Sony is on the ropes thanks to LG and Samsung, both Korean companies. The Korean manufacturers have learned from the Japanese and are now beating them at their own game.

 

[Donegal TDI]

Most well to do farmers here use Toyota Land Cruisers, but Hyundai are hot on their heels. Other favourites are the Isuzu Trooper and Mitsubishi Pajero. Land Rover Defenders should in theory be ideal for farmers but are crude and have reliability issues. For some reason Land Rover can not nail down the build quality that the models from the far east offer. This has always been the case, great in concept but poor execution. Jeeps offerings dont appear to be popular here at all. To road tax a 3 Litre 4x4 here in Ireland is Eur1300, and you have to pay that every year + insurance. To go bigger than 3.0 Litre incurs a yearly tax penalty of over Eur 2000+.

 

[IslandTractor]

Interesting. I actually cannot think of any Korean made SUV/AWD vehicle. I think it is a market segment they just are not in at least in the USA.

 

[CowwFace]

Interesting. I actually cannot think of any Korean made SUV/AWD vehicle. I think it is a market segment they just are not in at least in the USA.

Hey Island,

I think Kia is a South Korean Company... I'm not sure if they make any AWD cars.. but they have one that looks alot like a Lexus (I watch too much TV) ...

Tractor on

 

[Hoosier Hay Man]

PJ
I put in my cattle yesterday(Sunday).
I filled the Kioti with diesel and it cut its first blocks of silage effortlessly, despite torrential rain, again.
Plenty of hydraulic pressure to do the job.
Now with a FRONT loader, its great to be able to drive around my cattle yard rather than reverse everywhere as I had a rear mounted silage grab on my other tractor before this.
Will show some more pics of this operation soon.
Best wishes.

What kind of catlle do you have? I agree it is nice having a loader tractor for the chores on the farm. I like the loader. My Kioti has exceeded my expectations. Keep the pictures coming!:thumbsup:

 

[Donegal_TDI]

Cattle type="Salers"
Number=30

A french breed, all brown, white tip on tail.
Known for calving and mothering performance.
Calves fiesty at birth,
no teat they can't find

Must be treated kindly,
known to be a nervous breed.
Personally, have no problems.

Should get more pictures this weekend.

 

[kenstrac]

Kia is owned by Hyundai, Sorento model made in Korea for Europe and Asia available in gas and diesel.
North American Sorento made in GA. available only in gas.
They come in 2WD,4WD,All wheel drive.