LS SAYS A REGEN EVERY 2 HOURS IS NORMAL

[Jrasband]

How many hours do you have on the machine now? That surprises me, I thought Kubota had things sorted out a little better than that. Do you do a lot of idling, or at least very low load operation?

My Kioti is always in the 35-45 hour range between regens, which is not to brag about, but this should be the standard. There is no frickin reason why a DPF should be clogged up after just 10 hours of engine operation.

How do we know what Kubota sets there thresh-hold for soot level? I would be interested to hear from other m7060/m6060 users how often they burn for comparision.

 

[JCoastie]

I have an MT250 with 180hrs.
Since new it has regen every 12 hours like clock work. At first I did let it idle around 1200 rpm and read on here to keep it above 1500 rpm so I now keep the engine above 2000 when idling so far it has regen every 12hrs except this last time it was 14hrs. I normally use the tractor during regen.
I think the engine does not run hot enough because when the regen light comes on it takes several min running at 2500 rpm before the temperature light comes on and then it goes into regen.

Glad I'm not alone in this, I wish mine was consistent like yours, at 12hrs, mine varies from 1 to 29 hours. This is really the only first-hand confirmation of someone else with the MT240 I'ver had with an excessive regen issue.

As far as heating goes, we were thinking the same, and the dealer checked the thermostat, it was fine, so it was not replaced. I'm in coastal Alabama, so the tractor is often breathing hot air with no change in regen frequency.

 

[deezler]

I am at almost 300 hours now on the machine. I do sometimes use it at low RPM, For instance when I am using a post driver. I also prefer to keep my hand throttle set down so that I have more control of the tractor with the foot throttle. I try to keep my rpm over 1500 most of the time though.

Ah, foot throttle. So you perhaps rev the engine up and down a lot? Maybe you've noticed on older diesels or anything without a DPF, that a puff of smoke typically comes out when you rev up. This is the soot that clogs the DPF.

Most of us hobby tractor guys on here have smaller hydrostatic CUTs, which can be held at set rpm no matter what speed or what load/job you are doing - less revving up and down. My Kioti has "linked pedal" that lets you control engine rpm with the hydro pedal, sort of like driving an automatic car. But I quit using it because I feared the extra soot generation would be detrimental to my DPF, long term.

No idea what soot loading criteria Kubota has set, but we have a few factors at play here:

1) Cleanliness of combustion - fuel quality, fuel injection precision, injection timing, and airflow. Obviously starting with nice clean combustion is essential and should be a given. But some manufacturers are better than others. I would put Kubota in the premier category here, they know what they are doing.
2) DPF capacity - A larger DPF unit can absorb more soot before it starts to choke off exhaust flow. But then it will take more fuel, and possibly more time, to burn off in each regen cycle also.
3) DPF soot loading tolerances, and sensor accuracy - need to monitor the DPF properly, and burn it off at just the right time. Too soon and you waste fuel and make people start angry internet forum threads about REGENS EVERY 2 HOURS, lol. Too infrequent, and engine performance will suffer when its clogged, and long term DPF damage is very possible.

 

[shooterdon]

I get about 50 hours between regens on the LS4140. Sometimes longer but rarely fewer hours. I run it at 1600 rpm minimum unless I am warming up (1 minute) or shutting down (2 miinutes) when it runs at idle.

I also use it while it is in regen mode. With about 325 hours, it still runs like new and have no complaints.

I would not be comfortable with 10-12 hr regens as something is not right. Maybe bad fuel? Maybe a sensor? That assumes operating at 1600 rpm or faster and not running for short intermintent periods

 

[tradosaurus]

I wonder how many tractors LS would sell if they publicly claimed regens every 2 hrs?

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I mean TYMs will go routinely past 200 hours for a regen. Why so much variation?

 

[Midniteoyl]

How many hours do you have on the machine now? That surprises me, I thought Kubota had things sorted out a little better than that. Do you do a lot of idling, or at least very low load operation?

My Kioti is always in the 35-45 hour range between regens, which is not to brag about, but this should be the standard. There is no frickin reason why a DPF should be clogged up after just 10 hours of engine operation.

Ya, mine has been about ~50hrs. When its not mowing, its idled down with Linked Pedal on.

I'm starting to wonder if these tractors with ~10hrs regens are running too rich..?

 

[GS650GL]

There is no way that 2 hours is normal. There is probably something wrong with the DPF. The older models with Shibaura engines would regen every 4 hours, and now that the company that made EGR valves for LS tier 4 engines has stopped making them, the new stage 5 engines with Kamtech EGR valves might regen as low as 6 hours. But 2 hours on this machine means something is wrong. The list of things that have already been replaced narrows it down to the DPF.

 

[Bavarian]

Ya, mine has been about ~50hrs. When its not mowing, its idled down with Linked Pedal on.

I'm starting to wonder if these tractors with ~10hrs regens are running too rich..?

There is no "rich" in a diesel as it is in gas engines. The only thing that could interfere with the air/fuel mixture is restricted air flow.

Many times the quality of fuel was mentioned. Even when dyed fuel might be labeled as "DPF compliant". It's one more thing the system has to deal with.

Last but not least, so called diesel additives.
My personal opinion, don't put that s... in the tank.
Check the sticker at your filler neck. It sure says Diesel. I'd keep it with that. As pure as possible.

 

[TimberFarm]

My 573 has only regen once. That was in the 50 hr range. I have to admit I let it do more idling in those first 50 hrs.
After that regen I make a point not to let it idle while I am doing other stuff.
I am approaching 100hrs and am wondering if this is going to regen when I hit that. Then I might think it has a timer on it.