Kioti loader actual lift capacity

[PEJ5]

I am very very happy with my Kioti but there are a couple of areas where Kioti (the company) is disappointing. First, they will not post their manuals and documentation as PDFs. It's 2020 already. Second, is the subject of this post...Kioti does not share useful loader lift specs such as a graph of lift capacity 500mm beyond pins. The only thing they quote is at the pins. Who lifts at the pins? How much can my 2660lb capacity loader actually lift?
For Kioti owners it becomes a trial and error thing. Will I actually be able to unload that delivery that is coming this afternoon?!? In my case the answer was no. I was receiving a load of sheetrock and each "lift" was 40 sheets@1800lbs, well below the quoted 2660 at the pins at max height. The truck bed was about 4' high and the top lift was 2' above that (6'/1.8m). I could raise the 1800lbs at 6 feet (and rear tires stayed on the ground), but could not curl the forks to keep the load level. We had to reduce the number of sheets.
To be fair, I will admit and agree that most of the time I have no idea how much the load weighs so it is a case of "let's just try it". With my tractor and forks, I am excited to now be able to rank firewood on pallets so I can move it around and reduce the number of times firewood heats me up . How big a pile can I lift? The IBC tote full of very green maple was not problem. I calculated the load to be 1/3 of a cord and with a useful shared chart (Kioti, if you are reading, it was a PDF ;-), I estimate the load to be 1500lbs. I thought about raising it to 6' and trying to curl, but I did not want firewood on my hood and lap!!
Beyond my rant, is 1800lbs a reasonable maximum at 6 feet for a 2660lb capacity loader. Does anyone else have good examples of hitting the maximum? Here is a photo of my 30 sheets and firewood seasoning in the sun.

 

[Roadworthy]

I do not know much about Kioti. I do not know how much your forks weigh but you need to subtract their weight from the stated 2660 lb lift capacity. Additionally I believe your drywall load would be figured at two feet (or about 61 cm) beyond the back of your fork assembly. Additionally the lift capacity stated is probably assuming your hydraulic system is putting out full pressure. Is it? If you're just a bit low on pressure your lift power will be reduced. I doubt the pressure is adjusted at the factory on each individual tractor.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I think such specs were always at the pins, for everyone. Gives a much more accurate number, for comparison, when different buckets and forks are being used.

 

[oosik]

My M6040 came with very nice lift graphs. One for the high lift setting - one for the heavy lift setting. I can easily determine the lift capacity out to about 36" in front of the pivot pins and up to full lift height. Either in the high lift setting or heavy lift setting.

These graphs are in my Owners Manual for my front loader.

 

[Everhard]

It's really the only useful number actually. Consider that depending on what you're lifting the weight might anywhere from right up close to the pins to many feet away. And that weight spread depending on what you're lifting might not even be an even spread from close to the pins to far away.

Next keep in mind a loader is designed to lift what's in the bucket, which you can curl back with a full load which will help get more of the load close to the pins. So it makes sense when you spec what the loader can lift it's based on the bucket not any other thing we decide to put on the end of the arms!

Basically yes it's a trial and error game - you learn as you go (as you've been doing) what you can lift. The one trick to always keep in mind is if you can curl the load safely especially if it's something that's far away from the pins - curling will quickly bring the load closer to the pins quickly increasing what you can lift and how high you can lift it. Sometimes even curling the load just a little will move the weight the necessary inches closer to the pins making the lift possible.
Trust me, when you've a smaller tractor you get pretty creative when it comes to maxing out what you can lift!

E.

 

[deezler]

Interesting report, PEJ5 / Peter.

Your fork frame probably weighs around 400-500 lbs, right? and the forks themselves carry half their weight out front of the pins, too. So to get 1800 lbs of sheet (center of mass at least 2' out front) lifted to 6 ft sounds pretty acceptable to me.

I'm a bit surprised you couldn't curl it up at all, though. Curl break-out force is usually higher than straight loader lift capacity, but, I guess my tractor kind of does that too. A lot of the time I need to calibrate my desired curl down at ground level, and pre-curl the loader with part of the load weight on the ground, then lift it up to drive around in a more level state. You probably could have done this also. So inside the limited amount of pallet opening for your forks, get as much curl as you can before you are actually lifting the whole load.

The other sketchy thing you can do is to bounce the load in the air with a little jab of loader lift and then tweak the curl while it's partially unloaded. Probably not a good idea with drywall sheets though, lol.

 

[s219]

It's almost always given at the pins or some fixed distance from the pins. You can often do some basic calculation to compensate for distance from the pins, but it will involve a couple assumptions. I do appreciate that Kubota publishes full curves in their manuals, as it helps a lot in determining how the loader behaves at various heights, and it also underscores how ratings can compare as some loaders go higher than others and that needs to be taken into account.

I had an experience unloading some wood from a truck earlier this year. It was a big bundle of pine siding. I knew it was going to be close. I was able to lift it about 3 inches off the bed of the truck but then the loader said "nope" to going any higher or curling. Rather than play games backing away from the truck, we just drove the truck out from under the load, then I was able to drop the load down to where the loader had much more grunt. From there I was able to lift and curl without problems in order to place the bundle of wood on some blocks.

 

[cjoffutt]

With regards to a PDF manual, try these places. They have a few DK series shown, I'm just not sure if yours uses the same manual.

Kioti Tractor User Manuals Download | ManualsLib

 

[Kioti Paul]

Seems like you could have lifted the sheetrock a few inches, then backed away about 3 feet, then SLOWLY lowered the load until the outermost 1 foot of the load was supported by the edge of the truck (or the lower bundles of sheetrock), then curl as you lower further. Of course, I was not there, so there is a lot of speculation on my part!

I am very thankful for my loader being self leveling!

Not to high jack this thread, but is there an advantage to a "non-leveling" loader? It seems counter-intuitive to me why a newer, larger, tractor than my 2008 DK45 wouldn't have self leveling.

 

[Industrial Toys]

A mechanical Self Levelling Loader becomes really ugly and even more clunky. Whole bunch more zerks too and rattles.

 

[Tomtint]

The weight "at the pins" I assume is with no bucket or forks etc. The sheetrock is also laying on its side away from the pins and thus heavier... Maybe a small shelf under the pins and the rock vertical...it may have done it.

 

[Industrial Toys]

ALSO, any machine I ever ran had different lifting capacity based on temperature of oil. So, be safe. Go with the @pin rating and divide by two. It's never nice running equipment at maximum values. Sure, once in a while is fun, to see what she's made of. but not for your normal day to day tasks. What you save in money on a smaller machine, you might pay dearly for later.

 

[PEJ5]

Thanks for the great thoughts and comments so far. To respond in no particular order... The HLA4248 pallet forks weigh 425lbs. The truck was up on the main driveway so my front wheels were elevated and the forks were effectively pointed downward to be level to the load. The act of backing down to level ground caused the load to be angled downward. Had I lowered the load further with that angle, I would have likely lost a few sheets. I did not think to consider resting the fork tips on the deck.
I had assumed that the quoted lift capacity included the bucket so I was just dealing with the weight difference between the bucket and forks. If not, then 1800+425 is approaching the max.
I still have more than 40 sheets in the garage so maybe I'll experiment with 1800lbs closer to the ground and report back.

 

[grsthegreat]

My dk45 handles 30 bags of 60# concrete and pallet without any issues. Can lift and curl. But i have 1,000# ballast box.

I move 100’s of bags every year doing generator pads. I lift them off truck bed and off of a semi.

 

[PEJ5]

Thanks for the great thoughts and comments so far. To respond in no particular order... The HLA4248 pallet forks weigh 425lbs. The truck was up on the main driveway so my front wheels were elevated and the forks were effectively pointed downward to be level to the load. The act of backing down to level ground caused the load to be angled downward. Had I lowered the load further with that angle, I would have likely lost a few sheets. I did not think to consider resting the fork tips on the deck.
I had assumed that the quoted lift capacity included the bucket so I was just dealing with the weight difference between the bucket and forks. If not, then 1800+425 is approaching the max.
I still have more than 40 sheets in the garage so maybe I'll experiment with 1800lbs closer to the ground and report back.

As follow up...Today I experimented lifting sheetrock/drywall. I reviewed the specs on the drywall and it can weigh between 40 and 45 lbs per sheet. It is marketed as easi-lite but I expect that most days it comes off the production line on the heavy side (45lbs). The KL5510 loader is rated at 2660lbs at the pins. The sheets are 4x8 so the load averages 2 feet beyond the pins.

I was able to lift 44 sheets estimated between 1760 + forks (425) = 2185lbs and 1975lbs + forks = 2400lbs. I could not curl that load. I was able to curl 36 sheets - between 1865lb and 2045lb total..2 feet out. I was lifting about 2 feet off the ground at full throttle for max. hydraulic pressure.

I am satisfied that all is working well or at least well enough. I do not plan to work with that kind of load on a very regular basis. I should note that the approx. 1300lb counterweight and 880lbs in the tires kept the rear end on the ground. I did not hit the load dead centre so I did notice one rear tire get light. 1500lb or 1600 lb counterweight may have been a better choice if I was building another counterweight, but 1300 lets me know when I am hitting the limits. Any further analysis will be done from the seat and pucker factor!

 

[WoodDuck]

Might put a pressure gauge on one of your loader hydraulic line ports sometime, and verify your relief valve is set correctly. If your running a good deal below the nominal pressure setting for loader, lift capacity will suffer. Don't be tempted to raise your relief valve pressure above the published set point though; some people try this to increase their machine's lift potential, but mechanical and/or hydraulic failures with the loader usually follow soon thereafter. My Kioti loader is pretty stout, but its no skid loader either. I'm guessing the reason so many places reference the pivot pins in lift data is there are such a huge array of SSQA attachments available, with widely varying weights and geometry that will dramatically affect lifting capacity. I've seen large skid steer rakes and buckets that weigh well over 1000#. After you subtract the weight of something like that from a CTL's lift capacity, it will then only be able to lift a fraction of it's rated capacity. My pallet forks are 60", I can lift lighter things way out there on the ends of the forks, but heavier things I have to get the load in close to the pivot pins to lift. You've got the right idea though; you just have to experiment to find the limits! Cheers!

 

[DieselBound]

My NX5510 lifts 1 ton of feed on a pallet. I think that I've done more than that with retaining blocks on a pallet. Forks weight 290 lbs. Maneuverability really starts to reduce when getting up there in weight.

I regularly haul wire crates of wood from out on the property. Uneven terrain and up to about 1/4mi. Figure with forks, crate and wet wood (Big Leaf Maple) I'm around 1,700 lbs. Rears are ballasted. If I toss on my box blade that gives me another 1,200 lbs of counter weight. I'm perfectly happy with the loader's performance: of course, one can always find a limit!

 

[joefromga]

My NX4510 lifted my 8'x8' handi house barn on my forks. (strapped around). It was pretty maxed out but handled it fine. Just moved it around the yard. View attachment Lil%20013.JPG

 

[Golden Rocket]

I am very very happy with my Kioti but Here is a photo of my 30 sheets and firewood seasoning in the sun.
View attachment 656648View attachment 656649

The rack/pallet on the right (as we look at it), is that homemade - looks like a heavier gauge metal - could be a good use for all the old bed-frame rails I have been collecting!!

 

[PEJ5]

The rack/pallet on the right (as we look at it), is that homemade - looks like a heavier gauge metal - could be a good use for all the old bed-frame rails I have been collecting!!

Actually that is the shipping frame that was around my WC68 6″ PTO Wood Chipper, PTO Wood Chipper | Woodland Mills Canada
I cut off the cross members at the front to allow easy loading. It is smaller than the IBC frame beside it. A bed frame would be plenty strong as well. My next one will be a hardwood pallet with some 2x4 framing.