L3130 HST

_RaT_ · Jun 16, 2003

Breakin procedure only requires that you not use full RPM. Even 2500 RPM is considered acceptable. For the L3130, you would be better to get the RPM's up then to lug the diesel. As far as using the brakes for steering, you are one of the few that I have heard from that actually would use them. You can easily do it while driving using cruise control. Pressing one brake will not disengage cruise control, pressing both will. I tried it for the heck of it and its the last time I'll probably ever need to. The L3130 is from what I have seen of it a great little tractor. Rat

5030 · Jun 16, 2003

RaT:

It's always been my policy to vary the rpm on a new engine for the first 50 hours to seat the working parts. After that, I tend to run the engine at maximum rated rpm or just a little below that. The 5030 seems to run best about 2300 rpm. Sort of a sweet spot. It's just a seat-of-the pants feeling for me. I've been running the MoCo at that rpm. It equates to about 490-510 pto rpm. The 5030 seems to be right on the high point of it's torque curve there.

I forgot to include that my fuel consumption is better at that rpm than at max rated rpm which tells me that the engine is operating at it's best efficiency.

5030 · Jun 16, 2003

I've added a picture to the above post. It's getting time to give it a bath.

Daryl

Anonymous Poster · Jun 16, 2003

I purchased a new 3130 6 weeks ago, and I now have 50 hours on it. Personally I think it should have more power. The RPMs die cutting the grass and tilling. I guess the real kicker is that it can't maintain speed in high gear climbing a small grade on the open road. Sure it will do work, but for the money, it is very dissapointing. Without a doubt, it is underpowered, or mine is broke.

icat · Jun 16, 2003

Terry,
What size cutter are you running? I have a five foot Bush Hog SQ600 on mine and I've had no issues cutting Huisache trees up to 2 inches in diameter - which is one inch over the rated capacity. Grass up to 3 to 4 foot high I don't even slow down for. All of this is on the same unit - an L3130 HST. I spent two hours this weekend reclaiming several years of neglected pasture from the previous owners and I couldn't be more please with the power of the unit. Heck, I'm not even up to full speed yet on the PTO due to break in concerns. I've been running the PTO at about 480 RPM and it's cutting pasture like it was my lawn at the house.

glennmac · Jun 16, 2003

I have owned two Kubotas, a BX2200 and a B2910, and I agree with Rat's points.

It has never been my understanding that you couldn't run at rated PTO speed for the first 50 hours. That would cripple a tractor's usefulness for 50 hours, and I don't think any manufacturer would want to do that from an engineering or marketing perspective. I just wouldnt go over PTO speed for the first 50 hours. You rarely need to go over that speed anyway, except when road traveling. Most loader work can and probably should be done at about 3/4's PTO speed or so. That is usually buried somewhere in the user manual.

As to brake steering, that's a multiply phony issue in my opinion. It is true that it would be better to have split brakes on the left side. Why Kubota doesn't do that--I can only speculate it is for cost reasons. However, I doubt that very many CUT users need to or want to engage in brake steering. Finally, as to front wheels coming off the ground when digging with the FEL: (1) you aren't going to be in that posture for more that a few seconds; (2) you can engage differential lock to push straight forward: (3) you can brake steer the B2910 and Grand L's with the speed control lever and the split brakes.

As to the overriding issue in this thread--whether the L3130 is underpowered for its weight--that does concern me because I am actively considering upgrading to that model.

_RaT_ · Jun 16, 2003

"As to the overriding issue in this thread--whether the L3130 is underpowered for its weight--that does concern me because I am actively considering upgrading to that model."

Certainly something to consider depending on what your uses are. I was told by two dealers to consider the L3830 simply because after using my L48, they felt I would think the L3130 a little weak. I should think that if your land is not hilly, your grass not wet, mower about 72" or less and you mow regularly, it could be a perfect fit. If the L3130 HST is not strong enough, I can see other manufactuers also having much the same issue. The JD 4310 eHydro for example. While the PTO HP is a little more on the JD 4310, there is no way to tell what the torque value for the two tractors are. Many L3130 HST have not mentioned these concerns and it is perhaps their usage that is the reason. Rat...

Anonymous Poster · Jun 17, 2003

The manual says not to run the engine at max speed for the first 50hrs, it didn't specify a max rpm. I thought that 540pto would equal max engine speed. I just ran out to the garage and fired up my tractor, 2600rpm equals out to 540 pto rpm. I'll mow tomorrow at 540 and see how that goes.
As far as the brakes go, I know you can use the cruise and steering brakes, but the hst pedal is so easy to use I just make a 3 point turn when I need to turn a tighter circle. What I wanted to use the steer brakes for was to cut down my driveway. When I was forcing the bucket down and driving forward the tractor lost all steering. I decided that was probably too hard on the FEL so I dug up the driveway with my backhoe and then smoothed it out with the FEL. A boxblade is not currently in the budget, unfortunately.
Thanks for the tips, this site has really helped me out a lot already.

_RaT_ · Jun 17, 2003

It took me years of practice before I was good enough and understanding enough to use the loader without the front end off the ground. I realized that besides the loss of steering control, I was not accomplishing anymore with the loader by raising it to the point that front wheels no longer made contact. I think my thoughts were to increase the weight by putting all of the tractor front end on the bucket. This became very apparent using a back drag technique with the bucket nearly flat. For the most part today, I have gotten past that point and the front wheels are typically engaged wih the ground. There are a number of times I fill the bucket and use it to help in leveling out an area, it works well.

Max RPM should be about 2700 RPM. I generally mow at about 500 RPM on the PTO which on the L3830 is about 2400 RPM as I recall. The new Intellipanel is great for PTO speed and my trip/hour meter, not to mention an occasional ground speed check to see what my mowing speed is. Rat...

5030 · Jun 17, 2003

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The new Intellipanel is great for PTO speed and my trip/hour meter, not to mention an occasional ground speed check to see what my mowing speed is. Rat... )</font>

RaT scores again. The problem with the "Intellipanel" is that it shows the service reminders and when you rack up hours as fast as I am these last few weeks, it can get annoying. Not that I'd overlook a maintenance. I grease my unit every morning before starting it as well as check all the fluids.

CTyler · Jun 17, 2003

LOL..... I'm at 210+ hours already. I was picking up an oil filter the other day, the salesmans looked suprised I told him the hours. That 400 hour mark is comin fast these days.

grandad · Jun 17, 2003

Hey, Daryl, how many hours are you up to on the 5030 now? Every time I see a post from you, you're doing something different with it, so I'm guessing you are also piling on some serious hours.

Regarding RPM's, I've found pretty much the same thing with my 4610... virtually never need full rated RPM and it seems happy in the 2200-2300 range for most work.

5030 · Jun 17, 2003

Grandad:

Did you check out my round bailing photo's in the photo section? Please excuse the fuzzy ones, my wife Amy took them. I am never critical of her abilities. I told her they were "wonderful". Anyway, I've been working the 5030 at eight hours a day for the last 10 days straight and with the hours I already had on, I'm approaching 270. I'm just wrapping up 1st. cut. Have one more field to go.

The 3710 I traded in on the 5030 had an easy life. I only put 450 hours on it in 4 years. I'm working the 5030 hard and will keep working it hard. I just ordered a Lucknow 7 foot rear mount blower for it. I am getting the hydraulic chute rotator too. I have a Woods SB 60 rear mount that I am either going to trade in or sell outright. I had it on the back of the 3710 but on the 5030 it's not wide enough and when I get in deep snow, I break shear pins.

5030 · Jun 17, 2003

Hey John:

You can't compare Yanmar (John Deere) to Kubota (Kubota). The E-TVCS is a much more efficient engine than the dated Yanmar. I bet the Kubota makes more "real world" power than the Yanmar ever could. Besides, you can't buy Kubota Orange II touch up paint at TSC.

Anonymous Poster · Jun 20, 2003

Reply to Keith concerning impliments,
I use a new woods RD 72 and a new king kutter 72 inch tiller. I'm still working through my view of the 3130. Either the thing is underpowered or it is broke and I have to have it repaired. When I cut my flat lawn that is made of a blue grass / rye mixture, the PTO speed floats from 540 down to 510 or so. When tilling, the RPM's dip below 500 running at 540 when things get sticky. The other gut test when on the open road on cruise traveling at 17 mph, when I hit a slight grade the speed drops to 14mph. When I hit a medium grade the motor choakes and I have to pull back on the hydro position. Again, I'm new to deisel tractors, my old 140 Farmall would kick in the govener and the 60 inch wood belly motor would fly through the grass, and on the open road I could climb a very, very steep grade without slowing down a smidge. I laid down (loaned) $20,000 bucks for the 3130 with the 523 loader, woods mower, and landpride post hole digger. Granted it has more utility than the old farmall, and it is more comfortable and nimble, but overall I feel cheated when I compare the engines, or the ability to fly through grass cutting. I think the 3130 is running a little better as it breaks in, but it stills seems to be underpowered. My question is: Is this performance normal for this model? I wanted to return it for repair, but maybe this is normal. For reference, I run an old 94 Subaru Legacy with a 2.2 engine. Most people consider that combo underpowered, I think it is kind'a zippy. So I am not a power hog. I really think the my 3130 underperforms for it's price and size.
Buying a kubota and retiring my farmall was a huge financial sacrafice on my part, given my income, and this was a one time shot for me. My stance was " What the hell, go first class, this tractor will last me for the rest of my life, and it will be worth the payments". Well, I still have the payments, and my tractor won't climb a grade without losing speed. I feel like I made a mistake by not getting more horsepower. My second question, that is in the same catagory, concerns the 32 HP 4 cylinder motor in the 2910/7800 verses the 3 cylinder 32hp motor in the 3130. They both have 32 HP and they both have the same displacement (90 cubic inches), why does Kubota make both motors? Is the 4 cylindar more powerful that the 3 cylinder? Should I have bought the 2910? Thanks in advance for your comments and concerns. Ter

_RaT_ · Jun 20, 2003

For your needs, I think even the 4 cylinder 4330 might be underpowered and I don't mean this sarcasticly. Using a hydro takes some getting accustom too in order to fully understand it. Its easy to use, but to get full value from it does take practice. You mention going up a grade in high range and slowing down to 14 mph. Now, go try a geared tractor in 8th or 12th or whatever the highest gear is and see what happens. Back off on the hydro pedal as you see the engine RPM drop! Use low or medium at most for mowing. The hydro pedal as I am sure you are aware of, goes from 0 to XX mph depending on the range your in. It's no secret that the L3130 is sporting the smallest engine of the L30's, and is probably underpowered to meet all users needs The L3430 has a tiny bit larger diesel and I mean tiny. I opted for the L3830 which goes another 20 cu in over the L3130. I went that way because of the hills here. There are plenty of times I need to back off on the hydro. If it were a geared tractor, I would be slipping the clutch to achieve what I do with my HST. Prior to purchasing my L3830, I sent out the call to L3130 and L3010 owners to get their opinions, all said, yeah, we slow down, not that big of a deal. The HST drive is going to really take that small diesel to the limit, but its enormous advantages are in my opinion, well worth it. I think from here on out, I will endorse the L3830 and up as having sufficient power or more then sufficient power and delegate the L3130 and L3430 to the rank of under or just OK power that is, if anyone should ask. Rat...

icat · Jun 20, 2003

Terry,
The Woods RD7200 you have is rated for the tractor, so that's not an issue. But I'm not sure that I'd consider a loss of 30 RPM to be a significant power loss while mowing. That seems to me to be an acceptable amount of float for any impliment. Especially on the tiller where I would expect the rpm to change as you encountered different soil conditions within the same plot. Anytime you put a "load" on a moving object you should expect to see a decrease in RPM. Someone was mentioning in another post that his 50 HP Kubota would bog in the "right" situation when cutting. As for my L3130, I run it at 480 RPM and haven't found anything it will not cut. Sure, I see the RPM's drop when I cut down a 2" Huisache tree. But I expect that. The RPM's will also drop if I bottom out on a hill. All of that's normal - I'd expect any tractor short of a bull dozer to do the same.

Here's something else to consider. Using your Subaru Legacy as an example (assuming it has an automatic here) - haven't you ever had to add power or downshift to climb a hill on the highway in order to maintain the same speed? If I run my SUV on cruise control you can definetly feel the speed start to decline on any hill of any measure. The cruise control will downshift to maintain speed. You probably would as well if you're in a stick car and the hill is steep enough. High gear on the Kubota is a lot like overdrive on a car. It's great for flat stretches of road, but it was never intended to be a "working" gear.

By the way. If my memory serves me correct - the top speed on an L3130 is suppose to be 16.9 MPH. If you've got it going 17 plus, then your unit is plenty stout. And I'll add that anyone who can run a tractor at that speed is A LOT BRAVER than me. My "pucker" factor is only good for about 10 MPH. I've got sportscars in the garage when I feel the need for speed - much lower to the ground! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

5030 · Jun 21, 2003

My 5030 is a 4 cylinder. So was my 3710. I had a 4 cylinder in my B2400 (I think that was the model), and a 4 cylinder in the one before that. I acn't remember the model just that it had bi-speed turn and I didn't like it too much. My first Kubota was about 18 years ago and it was I think about 18 horsepower and had a 3 cylinder. They were all hydro's. I remember that the 3 cylinder wasn't too strong. All the others have been 4's and none lacked for power. After this discourse, I can't really say if your unit is in need of some type of adjustment or if your engine (3 cylinder) just dosen't have the suds to do the job. I know I would'nt attempt to do tillage work with the 5030. it's a fine haying tractor, but I'm pretty sure it would'nt handle a 3 bottom plow. I guess that if I was going to do tillage, I'd go up to the "M" series, probably to at least 90 horsepower, but then I'd have to give up my hydro for a shuttle shift and I really like my hydro. For the kind of work I do with the 5030, a standard transmission would be drudgery, besides, I'd go through clutches like water and have a left leg the size of Arnold Schwartznager.

upgw · Jun 22, 2003

Off topic for this thread..., but nice horses. My daughter's favorite. We've got a 14.1h.h little Paint coming in two weeks... Can you post some higher res photos (baler and horses!) in the photos section??

Thanks,
- Patrick W.

Anonymous Poster · Jun 22, 2003

I mowed about 2 acres of waist to chest high pasture yesterday. This grass hadn't been cut since this time last year, it was tall and thick. I've got a 72" rotary cutter that I ran at the lowest possible height setting. I cut at 540 pto rpms and I could cut up to 4mph but at that speed I was getting beat up pretty good with all the bumpy ground out there. I cut mostly at 3mph and the rpms only dropped significantly when the mower was scalping the ground. Did I mention it is a very bumpy pasture? Yes, the mower would slow down some when I ran through the thickest stuff, but I'd just slow down my tractor speed through those sections. Is this decent performance for cutting such tall grass? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I felt the tractor was working pretty much at it's limits yesterday in all that tall grass. When I cut grass that is knee to thigh high I can cut as fast as I can travel comfortably. I cut down some blackberries, and small alders with it and I couldn't be happier with it's brushcutting perfomance! I think If I had more pasture to cut I would buy the 4330 without the backhoe.
I have no complaints with the bh 90 backhoe now that i've got some more time on it . Originally I had trouble when I hit the thick rock and clay layer a few feet down. Now that I am getting some more time operating the backhoe I can dig through this efficiently. I'm glad I bought the 24" bucket, I've found I can really move a lot of dirt in a hurry with it.