Kubota Temperature Readings

[JohnT]

It appears that the larger NH's and Kubota's all run cool.

JT

 

[Pks]

For those B series drivers, my B2400 never reads anything but Cold. The needle doesn't seem to move any time of year. I keep the screens and radiator clear of debris. I'm of half a mind to take a multi-meter to the gage and sensor to see if it's alive or dead.

Peter

 

[redhawk]

the needle in the temp gauge of my 7500 has never risen above the top of the "C" in the gauge. i'd be interested to know if this is not good for the HST.

redhawk

 

[PaulB]

redhawk - my 1700 is the 1999 version of your 7500, and reads exactly the same. I would say this is normal for our type of tractor.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>It appears that the larger NH's and Kubota's all run cool.</font color=blue>

I dunno, JD -- it sounds like the Kubota B's show cooler than my L.

I'm also not convinced we're looking at actual temperature readings here. I'm guessing the "real" temperatures may not vary all that much, but the different guages on the different models have different operating ranges.

Not to belittle anybody's temp guage, but I would be less pleased with one that shows the same reading at startup as it does under normal operating conditions. I'm sort of happy that I can clearly see the needle move from cold to warmed up at mid-scale.

How do y'all feel about it?

 

[Bird]

I agree, Harv. It does make me wonder about the accuracy of my gauge. Of course, the needle does come up a little, so I know it isn't stuck.

Bird

 

[gerard]

Harv,
What are you an insomniac?? Posting at 247AM?????? LOL
My guage seems to run a lttle on the hot side compared to all the other posts. Definitely to the right of 12 oclock but I can put my hand on the engine with no problem and the outflow from the radiator where it goes into the engine block is aactually cool to the touch so I think it's probably just a guage calibration issue. If I ever have to have it in for service I'll ask the dealer at that time but for now all seems ok. (Now get some sleep!!!!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>What are you an insomniac?? Posting at 247AM??????</font color=blue>

Gerard -

Just like the temperature guages, some clocks have a different operating range. When yours (or TBN's) says 2:47 a.m., mine is poking along at 11:47 p.m. (the day before, no less). /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I like your hi-tech solution to the problem -- just feel the engine with your hand. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[gerard]

As soon as I hit the enter button it hit me that you were in CA and the server probably wasn't!! Oh well!! mea culpa!!

Re: The high tech temp determining technique - Guess it comes under the K I S S engineering philosophy!!

 

[WVBill]

Well, my late '70's B6100 has that "high-tech temp guage".

I think the manual actually says something like "If you see steam coming from the radiator the engine is too hot".

WVBill

 

[RICK R]

My L2650 gauge goes up half way to a mark on the face of it.

 

[donalddavis]

Harv,
Spent about 3 hours digging out from about 30 inches of snow with my 6 month old B2910. I use a 48 inch snowblower, that I had from an older Kubota. Temp never rose above the bottom line. I was actually wondering about it. Do you think the thermostat is locked open. Mowing for hours in the fall made it barely creep above the bottom line. I does seem to run very well, however.

Don

 

[Harv]

Don -

From the reponses I got on this thread, my conclusion was that there are different temperature guages for different Kubota models, and that many of them behave in the manner you describe.

I don't exactly understand the value of a guage that stays at the bottom of the scale when the tractor is fully warmed up, but a lot of people reported that behavior. I guess if you ever get an actual reading of any kind, you know you're in trouble. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

 

[putty340]

hello Harv, On my new L3000 ,that is the first thing I was watching,I had seen it on a post before I bought the tractor. I have a father that has been a mechanic for 50 yrs,one of the "golden rules" of machines has been to monitor them constantly. The factory gages are probably like car ones-low quality, I plan to put good gages on promptly. My gage has barely ever passed the cold line.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>I plan to put good gages on promptly</font color=blue>

Sounds like a great idea, Eric. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I'll bet a lot of people will be interested in how that goes.

Keep us posted.

 

[markcg2000]

Putty340,
My gauge has simple color bands and does move, but not a lot. How would you know what would be the right kind of gauge to replace with? Aren't the volt/ohm/amp characteristics really critical?

<font color=green>mark</font color=green>

 

[bpence]

This discussion kind of makes me appreciate the true simplicity of the B7100 and the thermo-syphon cooling system. Guages?................B7100s don't have no stinking guages. They have a whistle!!! When the engine gets too hot, the whistle sounds. It's so simple. Takes all the worry about temperatures and guage needle position out of one's thought process. Of course, it's scary as all get out the first time that whistle lets loose.

Bob Pence

 

[WVBill]

My B6100 doesn't even have a whistle. As I recall, the Owner's manual kind of reads like a fortune cookie:

"When steam come from radiator, shut down engine - grasshopper"

 

[Von]

Mine has a temp. sending unit installed into the head but no gauge, just the whistle. I have been thinking of adding a gauge, but have not got around to it. How about the old car gauges that have a fluid bulb that would screw into the head and the line that want to the gauge. as the fluid heats up the gauge would move. I guess it is like a big thermometer, needs no electric power to work. this would do the job. Have to see if I have any left from the 3 Austin Healeys that I cut up for parts. I think MGs were that same thing.

 

[Pks]

Harv,

Your statement is right on the money. My B2400 gage doesn't move much either. But one summer, it moved into the middle of its range over a 2 hour period of heavy mowing in 90 F heat. At that point I removed all the screens around the radiator and flushed the radiator luvers. Once the air flow through the radiator had been restored, the gage stayed parked at the bottom of its range.

I now use the gage as a backup means of determining when the radiator and its associated screens need cleaning. Everything gets cleaned every 10 hours (as viewed on the meter) as a rule of thumb.

On another point with regard to maintenance intervals, who follows the reading on the hour meter? Most of my work is performed at 1850 RPM. On the B2400, this means that the hour meter is running slower (it's set up to accurately measure hours at PTO speed which is around 2650 RPM). I tend to do maintenance at what I call "driver hours"-hours spent in the driver's seat.