New Kubota MX5400HST, Steep Hill, Rotary Cutter. Safety and stall/power questions.

[Peter 315]

Don't use the diff lock when the tire is spinning you will break the gears............only press down when the tires are stopped.......

 

[ericm979]

Also check the tire pressure. It might be high. I let air out until the edges of the bars on the rear tires touch the pavement. That's about 17 psi on my tractor. If you have filled tires it's not quite so simple to check pressure and air down.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Don't use the diff lock when the tire is spinning you will break the gears............only press down when the tires are stopped.......

The operators manual also says "always slow the engine down". As in reduce RPMs? (vs. speed of the tractor).

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Given the irregularities of my field I know it's going to be demanding on my brush hog. In my first couple of hours on it, I was careful to avoid rocks (some of which I'll be working to remove soon), though at some point I hit something that I believe triggered the slip clutch. I thought it was just a mound of dirt, but perhaps not.

Anyway, it isn't that I'm surprised by the beating the blade took in short order (though I am, a bit, because I was careful about rocks), it is the _chip_ taken out of the blade, instead of just a good old fashioned dent. Too much carbon in the steel? Ah well, not really asking, just sharing. The flower is off my new shiny blade. (If you click into the photo, the chip should be evident). This is a Land Pride cutter.



I was running with the 3ph lift setting at about 4 (where 1 is lowest, 8 is highest) so that on level ground the front runners were easily over an inch off the ground (and the blades higher still inside the cutter), trying to be conservative as I get the lay of the land. Of coursed nothing in my field is level.

Or is this type of blade abuse also expected for all the saplings? (Which is pretty much the focus on my activity here, the guy who cut last year left all manner of saplings uncut, so I was going over a lot of 1" stuff with the occasional 2" thing in there. I wouldn't expect saplings to do that.

Heh, I always felt the guys who cut my field were probably not making a lot of money considering the damage the field inflicts on the machinery. It's pretty much a regular thing for them to need a timeout to repair equipment (beyond just shear bolts).

 

[skipperbrown]

That looks like impact damage from hitting rocks to me.

 

[ericm979]

The operators manual also says "always slow the engine down". As in reduce RPMs? (vs. speed of the tractor).

I leave the rpms where they are but put the HST pedals in neutral. Sometimes the diff lock will not want to engage because the gear dogs are hitting each other face on instead of meshing. Then you can very gently give it some HST pedal and gently press down on the lock pedal.

On my Branson and my old Kubota I could see the rear tire lugs past the fenders. That's useful to see if the tires are spinning. Besides the diff lock you can also use the individual wheel brakes to brake the spinning tire. I leave my brakes locked together because I drive on pavement and having them locked means not needing to line my foot up to cover both pedals. But if I'm slipping a lot I will unlock the pedals and brake the spinning side. On the Branson the diff lock pedal is on the right side which makes it difficult to use. And you can apply a brake while the tractor is moving and you're applying HST pedal.

 

[Walter A Townsend]

Update: I spent a couple of hours out there on the hilly field today and running the rotary cutter on the mess from past seasons. It performed flawlessly, and as expected. So whatever happened the other day was most likely operator error.

There is one thing I did differently today, I had it in 4WD (which is the UP position on that lever on my MX5400). I tried all manner of things, no problems whatsoever. Fun fun fun!

I had the same issue with the L3901, trying to back up a hill that was mainly sand, the tires would spin, very slowly, but all the less, spin and they would dig down into the sand. That was even in 4WD! Had to move forward and take a running start to get out of the hole I was in, and some times depress the diff lock to keep all the tires engaging.

Glad to hear you sorted it out, I'm just looking at trading in the L3901HST for a MX5400HST

Walter

 

[CindyCRNA]

I had the same issue with the L3901, trying to back up a hill that was mainly sand, the tires would spin, very slowly, but all the less, spin and they would dig down into the sand. That was even in 4WD! Had to move forward and take a running start to get out of the hole I was in, and some times depress the diff lock to keep all the tires engaging.

Glad to hear you sorted it out, I'm just looking at trading in the L3901HST for a MX5400HST

Walter

Is your 3901 still in the shop for repairs? This is worrying me as I just bought a 3901.

 

[Walter A Townsend]

Is your 3901 still in the shop for repairs? This is worrying me as I just bought a 3901.

So far I am impressed with the dealership. I emailed a pic Sunday night to the rep that I have been dealing with, had an email reply from him first thing Monday morning, followed by a phone call from the service manager and their driver was here by noon to haul the tractor from Nelson back to their shop in Creston. I understand it was pulled apart within a day or so of getting to the shop and when I went to dealership Saturday, it was waiting for new seals to arrive in. Dealer said he has not seen this problem in this model but figures it was a gasket that was torn on initial assembly that finally leaked.

I am sure I did not do anything wrong with the machine but I have been working it really hard since I got it, running 8 to 12 hour days and moved a lot of dirt and rocks, some of which were barely able to be picked up.

Knowing that I am taxing it's capabilities is why I am considering moving up to a larger machine.



This is one of the mid sized pebbles I have moved, there were a few that were even larger, could not get a grip on them between the bucket and the boom on the BH, could not get them into the FEL Bucket, had to use the pallet forks and a pry bar to roll them onto the forks, then barely managed to get them to clear the ground, as I slowly wheeled them out of the hole.

I am on a number of Kubota related forums and FB pages and so far the L series has been a reliable work horse.

I had started looking at smaller machines, and moved my way up as I considered the specs, but did not take my comparison sheet up high enough. Live, learn and pay! with an emphasis on pay!