New to hydrostatic

[outdrmer]

I recently purchased a L 3901 Kubota tractor with the hydrostatic Transmission. Can someone tell me the do's and don'ts on operating the hydrostatic tractor, such as RPM'S, and when to use low, med and high range.

 

[jeff9366]

Have you read your L3901 Operator's Manual?

It is best to learn the do's and don'ts regarding your specific HST transmission from Kubota, the manufacturer, before seeking diverse OPINIONS here.


HST LINK: https://www.google.com/search?clien...tractorbynet.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gws_rd=ssl

 

[davesl708]

You will love HST when you need to do a lot of start/stop or forward/reverse. Going a long way in straight lines not so much.
Medium to high rpms are best for the trans. Pushing harder on the pedal does not increase power but just speed. Backing off the pedal will increase power but be slower.
Use low for pushing/pulling, medium for lighter work or mowing short or thin grass. High for travel on flat ground.

 

[ovrszd]

I'll add this to Dave's excellent advice. Kubota's HST system is very durable. You aren't going to hurt it during the learning process. The tractor will quickly teach you the do's and don'ts.

 

[TripleR]

Yep, using it is your best teacher, you will need to run more RPMs than you may initially find comfortable with if you are use to bigger geared tractors. As mentioned less pedal gives you lower gearing which is often initially confusing.

I run PTO implements at the rated 540 rated RPM, for mine about 2550 and for other stuff, whatever RPM that gives me the best performance.

Any specific concerns you have, someone will know, so just ask.

Enjoy your new tractor.:thumbsup:

 

[oldpilgrim]

gotta disagree:

You will love HST when you need to do a lot of start/stop or forward/reverse. Going a long way in straight lines not so much.

you will love it all the time. Going a long way in straight lines means holding the pedal down while doing it.......sorta like holding the accelerator pedal down while driving a car. I never hear complaints about that.

Just remember not to press the pedal down when you think you need more power, but let up instead. It gets intuitive in no time.

 

[TerryR]

Going a long way in straight lines means holding the pedal down while doing it.......sorta like holding the accelerator pedal down while driving a car. I never hear complaints about that.

Really? Why do you have to hold the pedal down while doing field work? That's what a hand throttle is for. It's just as much a pain when driving a car on the open highway - that's why they have cruise control.

 

[ovrszd]

Really? Why do you have to hold the pedal down while doing field work? That's what a hand throttle is for. It's just as much a pain when driving a car on the open highway

The pilgrim is referring to the HST pedal. If the tractor doesn't have a cruise control system, the operator must hold constant pressure on the HST peddle to achieve movement. Kinda gets old after awhile. On a HST tractor the hand throttle only sets engine rpms, has nothing to do with movement.

 

[txdon]

Really? Why do you have to hold the pedal down while doing field work? That's what a hand throttle is for. It's just as much a pain when driving a car on the open highway

The pilgrim is referring to the HST pedal. If the tractor doesn't have a cruise control system, the operator must hold constant pressure on the HST peddle to achieve movement. Kinda gets old after awhile. On a HST tractor the hand throttle only sets engine rpms, has nothing to do with movement.

It is a "L" so it might have cruise control if it has a lever on the other side of L-M-H. It is actually the mechanical hand lever that controls the pedal.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Having used a hst tractor without 'cruise control' the field during hay season, I can attest to the pedal holding issue. It makes my knee hurt, the hst pedal has a much stronger spring tension than a vehicle accelerator pedal does, thus, knee pain for me. However, hst is great on our bx1800 for yard mowing.

 

[txdon]

Having used a hst tractor without 'cruise control' the field during hay season, I can attest to the pedal holding issue. It makes my knee hurt, the hst pedal has a much stronger spring tension than a vehicle accelerator pedal does, thus, knee pain for me. However, hst is great on our bx1800 for yard mowing.

I agree, sometimes I forget I have cruise and my leg starts getting sore - then I remember.

 

[k0ua]

If you don't have the cruise control lever on the left side of the seat it is worth adding. It is about a 200 dollar option. It was standard on the old L3400 hst. But some models it us an option. Another reason to get it is because Kubota puts the split brakes on the right and you can set the cruise to maintain forward motion and your right foot can now operate the split brakes to brake steer.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I have 'cruise control' on my tractor. It locks the hst pedal where you set it. I never use it, but I can see where it could be helpful in a field.

I have a 'cruise control" on in my '14 Tundra that sets the ground speed to where you set it, by controlling the engine speed. I've never used it except to see that it works.

I guess I grew up in a time where pressing a pedal wasn't something so stressful that it would keep me from buying a car or tractor.

 

[jenkinsph]

Reading these posts makes me appreciate the ehydro transmissions in my 110 and 4520. Pedal pressure is operating an electric rheostat with a light spring to make it return to neutral (up). The electronic cruise is similar to an auto with speed adjustable in 1/10th mph increments.

 

[motownbrowne]

I'm not sure about the 3901, but I think it was an option for the 3800. If you don't have it, as Richard says, it'd be worth the cost to add it. I use mine lots while bush hogging or if I'm driving any distance on the road.

 

[JerryK]

I have cruise on my HST, but only used it a few times to check it out. But I am mostly working the pedals all the time doing stuff. No long one way drives unless I am cruising on a nice day to go get more diesel in a little nearby village. Never had a sore leg problem yet.... But my face hurts once and awhile with all the grinning operating the HST....

 

[TripleR]

Personally, I use cruise control on my car/truck as well as tractors, but my wife never uses it on anything on cars or tractors. I guess it depends on the individual, in addition to maintaining a constant ground speed on long runs, I find it handy in really rough ground as bouncing around makes it hard to maintain constant pressure on the HST pedal which causes an even rougher ride. Pedal pressure on my tractors is really light, so fatigue is not an issue, but it may be on different tractors.

On our geared tractors, sometimes I use the foot throttle and sometimes the hand throttle, depends on what I'm doing, kind of like with my HST.

 

[check]

You will love HST when you need to do a lot of start/stop or forward/reverse. Going a long way in straight lines not so much.
Medium to high rpms are best for the trans. Pushing harder on the pedal does not increase power but just speed. Backing off the pedal will increase power but be slower.
Use low for pushing/pulling, medium for lighter work or mowing short or thin grass. High for travel on flat ground.

This business of lower power when the pedal is depressed further is a real problem when digging into a pile with the FEL. You want to push forward, but if you do push the pedal down, you lose power! So do you just creep very slowly into the pile?

 

[k0ua]

This business of lower power when the pedal is depressed further is a real problem when digging into a pile with the FEL. You want to push forward, but if you do push the pedal down, you lose power! So do you just creep very slowly into the pile?

If you cannot spin your tires and the Hydrostat goes into relief when pushing into the pile you are in to High of a range. In your case with just two ranges to choose from you should be pushing into the pile in LO range. With three ranges most of us can get away with using MED to load and still have enough travel speed available to transport that load some distance.

In general you push into a pile a a low speed with bucket level and on the ground. When you have gone as far as you can go, because the tires are starting to slip, curl and lift at the same time to try to "pry out a chunk" of the material. If you cant pry out any, you can reverse course just a tad to get the lift to move a bit. Remember you are at the bottom of the pile you cannot expect to operate the lift and it to lift the entire pile up but with the curl/lift combo you can pry some out. This is all harder to explain than it is to actually do. It does take practice though.

On a pile of anything that has set for a while, I usually approach the pile with a dumped bucket and rake some material down with the dumped bucket. This loosens the material and lets it fall in the front of the pile. This operation utilizes the weight of the tractor to advantage to rake down this materiel. This makes it easy to scoop up loose material instead of trying to pry out stiff material out of the pile.

 

[jenkinsph]

This business of lower power when the pedal is depressed further is a real problem when digging into a pile with the FEL. You want to push forward, but if you do push the pedal down, you lose power! So do you just creep very slowly into the pile?

When you drive into the pile it will stop the tractor forward motion and at that time you can ease up on the pedal while curling and lifting the bucket. Then press the reverse and back away. Listen to the engine and adjust the loading as needed. Just like operating the bX25 pulling up a slope, if the engine bogs down too much you can ease up on the pedal and the rpm's will increase. A little seat time and it becomes natural imo.