Oil & Fuel new kioti dk45 hst guzzling diesel

[stwyatt]

i've got a new kioti dk45 hst, i've only got 11hrs on it and it has gone through 2 full tanks of diesel. is this normal or is there something i'm doing that might be causing it to use so much fuel? it's probably only been started and used 6-10 times since i got it. i've only used it to smooth a gravel road. i've never had a hst before so i thought i might be doing something to cause it to use so much fuel. finally i'm comparing it to my old kubota l2950gst that seemed to never use as much fuel, and had a smaller tank. any ideas?

 

[contdevelop]

I dont how efficent the 45 horse tractor is supposed to be. I have the ck30 wtih the hydro tranny and I get about 8 hours of work out of the 5 gallon tank.

 

[Go Kioti]

I have a new DK45 SE HST (got it in February). I have 15 hours on it and have used 6 gallons of diesel fuel. It has seemed very fuel efficient to me.

 

[deputyrpa]

I have a DK45 gear, and I just put about 2 hours on it tonight, and the needle hasn't moved from full. I get quite a bit more out of a tank. Your tractors consumption seems excessive and rather suspect.

 

[Nik]

Could the parking brake possibly be engaged causing you more fuel consumption?

 

[Brokermike]

Thats way high my dk40 is much more efficient

 

[IslandTractor]

I also get around 1.5 hrs per gallon with my DK40se, sometimes a bit closer to one gallon per hour but definitely not more than that much fuel per hour of work.

Is it possible that a return line is disconnected? I haven't looked at my Kioti engine fuel system but my experience with marine diesels is that there is always a return fuel line. If that was loose or disconnected you could be dumping fuel on to the ground.

 

[IXLR8]

What rpm's are you running at?
Like others have said, I get about 2 hrs per gal with my CK30, I typically run around 1800rpm, a little less using the BH.

 

[intel]

the best i ever get out of my DK45 is 1.5 hours per gallon it usually gets 1 hour per gallon.

 

[Highbeam]

I dont how efficent the 45 horse tractor is supposed to be. I have the ck30 wtih the hydro tranny and I get about 8 hours of work out of the 5 gallon tank.

The CK30 tank is more than 5 gallons. I believe it is 7. When mowing at full RPM I consume 1 gallon per hour. Much much less consumption when doing easier work and even loader work.

So how many gallons are you actually adding to the DK after that many hours of work? This will allow us to calculate the GPH and compare.

 

[stwyatt]

thanks for the ideas! i'll check the parking brake, return line thing. as far as rpm's, the dealer told me to keep it on that "mark" on the rpm display. obviously, when you start it, it seems way to much--and smoke billows out the exhaust. my old tractor had a stack so i never much noticed if smoked too much. i get the feeling that i don't have the hang of the hydro yet because i lug down the rev up, etc. i've used a tractor on my 10 acres for 12yrs but i don't know much about them(i ruined my kubota l2950) don't know if i should admit that or not. and it may not be using too much fuel, but i bought it new last fall, didn't use it hardly at all for the first 6mo's

 

[Dmace]

The only time I run my tractor at "the mark" is when I am running the snowblower or any other 540 rpm 3pt attachment. That is what the mark is for, it tells you when the rear PTO is at 540rpms. For loader work, I run it at around 2000-2200rpms and for backhoe work 1800rpms. This is of course on a CK20HST so your settings may differ but probably not by much.

 

[stwyatt]

okay, that makes sense--but i will say when i have the rpms down, and press the hst pedal all the way down, it lugs down--in fact, when i'm in high going from one place to another, if i go up a hill(not a steep one) it lugs down really fast, even when i'm on the "mark" also, when you start your tractor, where do you have the rpm's?

 

[Dmace]

okay, that makes sense--but i will say when i have the rpms down, and press the hst pedal all the way down, it lugs down--in fact, when i'm in high going from one place to another, if i go up a hill(not a steep one) it lugs down really fast, even when i'm on the "mark" also, when you start your tractor, where do you have the rpm's?

When I start my engine cold I crack the hand throttle just a little (1/2" maybe) and it idles just above low which is about 1200 rpms. When warm I start it with the throttle all the way down which is around 900rpms if I remember correctly. Also, don't think of the HST pedal as a "gas pedal" like a car but more like a "transmission pedal". The more you press down on the pedal the higher the gear you are in. For example, barely pushing the pedal down enough to move is 1st gear while pushing the pedal all the way to the floor is like 5th gear (more like 500th gear with an infinite ratio transmission like a HST). This is the reason for the bog, try taking off in your car in 5th gear from a stop or climbing a hill in high gear. If you start lugging the motor, then let up on the pedal a little and also travel in 2wd whenever possible. With a new tractor you will notice a big horsepower increase after 50-100 hours of use as the engine breaks in. I know I did!

 

[Gittyup]

HST's when under travel should always be at or near PTO rpms. This has been discussed before here, about providing enough hydraulic pressure for the tranny to work properly.

What the others have said still holds though: more power with less pedal.

But, your fuel consumption combined with lack of power points to something else, like maybe the brakes or something. But, there could be a problem. I'd have the dealer look at it before you break something.

 

[steve0413]

I also have a new (as of April) DK45se HST and have noticed that it consumes a lot of diesel. I haven't checked it as far as gal/hr but can easily tell that it consumes MUCH more than my Mahindra 35 hp and more than I expected. Part of the problem is the small tank (8 gal). That alone makes it seem to use lots of diesel. I have 47 hrs on mine and am expecting (hoping) the fuel economy to improve over the next 50 hrs. I generally run it 1800-2200 rpm depending on what I'm using it for. I have been told to run it at higher rpm as that's best for hst but it's hard to listen to all that fuel being burned.

 

[warhammer]

A DK45SE HST has an 11 gallon tank I believe.

Fuel consumption varies widely with what I am doing.

When I mowed a 25 acre field last year and spent hour after hour at pto speed it went through some diesel.

When I am using the PHD or some other lower rpm job I get a couple of weeks of use out of a tank full.

Warhammer

I also have a new (as of April) DK45se HST and have noticed that it consumes a lot of diesel. I haven't checked it as far as gal/hr but can easily tell that it consumes MUCH more than my Mahindra 35 hp and more than I expected. Part of the problem is the small tank (8 gal). That alone makes it seem to use lots of diesel. I have 47 hrs on mine and am expecting (hoping) the fuel economy to improve over the next 50 hrs. I generally run it 1800-2200 rpm depending on what I'm using it for. I have been told to run it at higher rpm as that's best for hst but it's hard to listen to all that fuel being burned.

 

[Dmace]

Part of the problem is the small tank (8 gal)

According to Kioti the DK45SE HST has a 11.9 gal (45 L) fuel tank.

 

[stwyatt]

thanks for all the ideas, i'm going to call the dealer today.

 

[MotorSeven]

Stwyatt, my DK40se burns a little over a gal per hr. As far as the rpms, I almost always run mine between 2200 & 2400....hyros love rpms. When running own the road from one field to another I put it right on the high rpm line(2500) and minor hills are no trouble in high gear. Don't be shy to use your rpms.
Fuel mileage will improve as the engine breaks in.

RD