Driving a HST

[chuck172]

I've never driven a hydro trans. before. I've had a manual ford 4500TLB, a Ford 8n, a ck35 shuttle. I'm trading the ck35 for a dk40seh. I hope soon. Possibly next week if all goes well.
How much different will driving the hst be? Is there a foot throttle? The brakes will be on the left now I guess. Do you gotta keep the engine revved with the hand throttle? I've heard most people rave about the hydro's.

 

[Jimbrown]

The throttle sets the power level. If you don't need power set it low. If you need power set it high.

The peddle controls speed, up to the power level set by the throttle.

 

[ovrszd]

Congrats on the new tractor purchase!!!

Boy, this subject will get responses!!!!!

This subject is hotly debated here on TBN quite frequently. Sometimes a heated debate will take over a thread that had nothing to do with HST.

I own a 22HP HST tractor, 47HP mechanical shuttle tractor and a 95HP hydraulic shuttle tractor with FEL. The only place I want the HST is mowing and pushing snow, which I do with the 22HP HST tractor. Everywhere else I prefer a shuttle.

My prediction is that you will immediately complain about the 40HP HST tractor not having as much HP as your old 35HP tractor. Possibly to the point that you'll think there's something wrong with it as it'll seem gutless. But you'll get used to it.

Again, congrats on the new tractor!!!

 

[chuck172]

So you do need to rev the engine when say snowplowing, york raking, using the loader.

 

[murphy1244]

I run my dk at least 1800 rpm when doing work.

 

[chuck172]

Thanks ovrszd. The trade is in the works but not final yet. Hopefully next week it will be done. When I bought the shuttle, everybody always raved about the hydro. One thing is for sure, the hst will be easier on the knees.

 

[chuck172]

I run my dk at least 1800 rpm when doing work.

Is there a foot throttle on the dk?

 

[TripleR]

It is going to sound more complicated than it really is, as ovrszd said, you'll get use to it. Your manual will tell you your 540 PTO engine speed, so you'll use that or close to it when running PTO implements, using a scraper, FEL etc, use the RPM and foot treadle to get the desired performance. Remember, less pedal equals lower gearing.

My Grand L, some John Deere and I think some Kioti models have auto throttle setting that ill synchronize your HST pedal and engine RPM. I routinely use both HST and geared tractors and like both types.

 

[ovrszd]

I've never saw an HST with a foot throttle.

Kubota uses a linkage mechanism in their HST+ models. When activated, the farther you push the HST pedal, the faster the engine revs. It was sortta handy on my Brother's 32HP HST Kubota. It was gutless so you had to turn rpms to get anything done anyway. Not sure if Kioti has a feature like that or not??

 

[George2615]

I have owned (or operated) many tractors for over 40 years. Up until 2004 all were gear tractors. In 04 I bought my first HST and never looked back. For the work I do (loader, snow plowing etc.) HST is the way to go. I have a hand throttle, HST pedals control the speed. For most work I set the throttle at 1800 RPM. Not sure if the DK has a foot throttle. If you are trading up, have you not looked or test drove the DK yet to know whether it has a foot throttle? Check it out before you buy. You may not need a foot throttle.

 

[ovrszd]

Sorry, I should have waited. Larry better explained it as to availability.

 

[jimmyj]

The key will be to manage the RPMs HST's like RPM's more than gear. I run mine between 1800 and 2000 (CK30 hst) most of the time. You will love it. Congrats.

 

[nybirdman]

I like mine;HST that is.You will have a foot pedal that controls speed/power,less pedal more power less speed,more pedal less power more speed.Most people get into trouble/need power push down on the pedal but the reverse is true,let up.
I run my Kubota in medium range for 99% of what I do and toggle up and down(HST+),I don't think anyone else has this feature.

 

[k0ua]

Keep in mind some of the posters have different HST systems. Lets talk about the DK40se .

It does not have an autothrottle..Only the hand throttle.. set it about 1800 for most work, a little more when you need more power, a little less when you need to crawl around like doing fine grading of dirt or gravel. Don't let the engine lug, rev it up if you start loading it, but otherwise you can back off of the throttle any time you don't need much power. The brakes are on the left.. That is a wonderful thing when you need to brake steer. You unlock the brakes, apply forward or reverse motion with one of the peddles, and you can steer the tractor with the application of light pressure on one or the other of the split brakes. This is usefull when doing fine grading work, up against buildings and foundations, and also when pushing snow when the the front wheels cant bite in. When anticipating going up a hill, think about which range you need to be in BEFORE you hit the hill, and crank the throttle up and if then the rpm's start to drop, don't press harder on the forward pedal, you should let off of the forward pedal to unload the engine and let the rpm's start to go back up. How much you let off depends on which range you attacked the hill in. If in HI range, (road travel only, and then only when not heavily loaded or handling steep hills) or MED range, (most work is done in Med, if you need a good mix of torque vs speed) or if you are severely loaded, and the hill is very steep, then you may even have to attack it in LO range.. This is max torque, and slowest speed. But if you cannot hold RPM by even backing way way off of the forward pedal, then you have probably chosen the wrong range. REMEMBER HI range is ONLY for road travel and then only when not heavily loaded or pulling something heavy. Unless you live in Kansas or parts of Illinois where the land is flat as a pancake. Where I live, (its all up or all down), HI is about useless unless the bucket is empty and you aren't pulling anything. If you are pulling trees, or pushing something heavy, or want maximum feather control when grading or working next to a building you want LO range every time for the maximum control and finesse. You will enjoy, but have to rethink how you approach and come out of the pile when doing loader work, It is different, but way better than anything you have used before. I can go into more detail if you want later.. but I have rambled enough for now.

 

[Ranchdog]

I bought a new DK45 SEH Last April. It's the first HST unit I've had on the ranch and for a few days I questioned my decision. But give it time; You'll learn to love it. I had it outfitted with a Westendorf brush grabber on the loader for use in the forest land of the ranch. We are under a mandate by the Oregon Dept.of Forestry to clean up all 'understory' (brush, etc.) in the forest to help prevent forest fires. We have a lot of timber and timbered grazing land that needs tending to and this unit is doing great. I am amazed at the work it is doing from skidding to loading logs to piling logging debris and tending burn piles. I made up a belly pan to protect hoses, a front grill guard and a hood guard. The tractor has amazing weight distribution, is agile in awkward places and plenty of power, if you give it ample throttle. On hillsides it's 'tippie' so I'm fabricating a set of 4" wheel extenders for both front and rear wheels. It's a great little tractor for doing 'dirt work' also. Road building, hoe work, trenching and blading. I'm not real impressed with it in the field as it is 'stiff riding'. I have others for hay work. David Brown w/ 8 disc mower, MF265 for rakeing and 60HP Ford w/ creeper gear for bailing, MF35 for ditch bank work and hillside mowing (low ctr. of gravity) The Kioti is satisfactory so far. If I can get 4000 hours of trouble free service out of this one I'll go back for more.

 

[chuck172]

James, you advised me to look into the DK when I was contemplating buying the CK. You got my attention from now on!

 

[k0ua]

James, you advised me to look into the DK when I was contemplating buying the CK. You got my attention from now on!

Well, I am just a guy on the other end of the computer, but I have owned several tractors, and have been down some of these same dusty roads before. I know what it is like to always want to "lift that bigger rock" or something like that. I also see value in owning a more deluxe tractor with deluxe features that many people discount as "bells and whistles" because they do not realize these "bells and whistles" are actual useful and labor saving devices that are worth every penny of the extra money we pay for them. Of course some other folks would not agree with me.

 

[TJP89]

To me HST is almost essential for loader work. Coming off the H with its 5F/1R tranny non synchronized or anything, almost anything would be better, but you would have to be very good with a gear to get the exact positioning and creep I can get with the HST and only a little practice. My operating principle is to set the rpms (usually 2000-2200 rpms) and the range, usually M, and then use the pedal to control speed. There is no foot throttle so rpms pretty much stay constant. Others have already stated how the ranges and rpms work with HST, so I won't repeat it. I find the biggest difference is the level of finesse I now have over tractor movement. Also the fact that when I let up the pedal, the tractor stops. Nicer HSTs have better throttle/transmission connections, but my CK and the DK do not have such linkages. I can't speak to the power difference, but I have never lacked power with the CK.

 

[chuck172]

Does that constant high rpm get to you after a while. That's the part I don't think I'll appreciate.

 

[TripleR]

Does that constant high rpm get to you after a while. That's the part I don't think I'll appreciate.

Not really, I grew up farming and the engine ran at full power most of the time, running my M8540 with a ten foot rotary cutter, I keep it at PTO speeds for hours as a time. If I'm not running PTO stuff, I don't run high RPM's on HST or gears.