Position Control...help me undersand

generalbegg · Mar 19, 2015

Hey all,

I'm wondering if someone can fill me in on what I might be missing in regard to position control? I have a CS2410 that my dealer told me has "position control" which will be helpful when running my box blade. Unless I am missing something what I have is a 3pt control lever that raises and lowers the 3pt hitch and has a neutral or "float" position in the middle. Once a height is selected that is great, but getting it back to that same spot seems to be an "art" and not a "science". What am I missing? Do I just need more time on this machine to get better at it, or is there a feature that I'm just not understanding?

Thanks!

s219 · Mar 19, 2015

Your dealer is wrong -- what you describe is not position control, it's a double-acting valve that has up and down positions. The middle I'd just call "off". On some tractors, the down position will have some sort of detent that acts like a hydraulic float.

With a position control valve, you'd have a numerical scale on the lever, so you could be able to put the height at the same place at any time, and the system will maintain that height for you.

Both systems are essentially "float" if you lower your implement all the way, as the 3-pt doesn't provide downforce. So with an implement resting on the ground it will ride the contour of the ground under the influence of gravity.

Most box blade work I do is with the box all the way down and floating. I have position control on my L3200, but it's not really beneficial for that sort of box blade work. A standard system would work just as well.

generalbegg · Mar 19, 2015

Thank you for that response. I've read through my manual and I think you are correct about the down position on my tractor. If I slightly press down the implement will lower and if I let up the lever will default back to the middle location and the implement will stay at that level. However, if I press the 3 point lever ALL the way down it will stay in that position. Up until this point it hasn't be known to me if that is ok for me to operate with the lever in that position since it doesn't cover that in my manual. An example of this would be my loader. It has float mode which I activate by moving the position control up all the way. If anyone has any input on if my 3 point control lever all the way down is indeed float mode for my 3 point and that it is ok for me to operate as such would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to read my manual again when I get home, but I don't remember "float" mode being called out. Another thing I just thought of is the fact that the control lever for the MMM does have numbers on it to represent the cutting height of the grass. I guess I've never touched it since I don't have a deck installed. Could this be the position control my dealer was talking about? Does moving the position of the MMM also move the 3 point hitch? I'm going to have to investigate that when I get home.

KennyG · Mar 19, 2015

Mower deck settings are typically not position control. They are just a stop that limits how low the deck will drop. More or less the same effect but a much different system.

ovrszd · Mar 19, 2015

"Position Control" uses a mechanical linkage system to monitor the 3pt arms, which is linked to the 3pt lever lift mechanism. Every time the 3pt lever is placed in a certain location the 3pt arms will return to the same height. The lever has a resistance feel to it and can smoothly moved from completely down to completely up. Anywhere in between if you let go of the lever it will stay in that "position" AND the 3pt arms will also return to that same "position". As someone mentioned earlier, your 3pt lever will have a guide alongside of it with numbers, starting with a low number at the bottom, high number at the top. If using a 3pt brush cutter for example, and the perfect cut height is at say, number 4, every time you return the lever to number 4 the cutter will be at the perfect height.

Position control is wayyyyyyyy better for 3pt control when doing ground contact work such as a BB or rear angle blade.

k0ua · Mar 19, 2015

Kioti website literature and Tractor Data.com both say position control. But the way you described it, did not sound like it.

ritcheyvs · Mar 19, 2015

According to the service manual, the CS2410 3-point lift is supposed to function as described by the OP:

In other words, it is a rate control (like a loader), not a normal position control. So it seems the CS 3-point hitch is unlike any other 3-point I ever saw.

k0ua · Mar 20, 2015

ritcheyvs said:
According to the service manual, the CS2410 3-point lift is supposed to function as described by the OP:
View attachment 417309
In other words, it is a rate control (like a loader), not a normal position control. So it seems the CS 3-point hitch is unlike any other 3-point I ever saw.

yeah, that sure doesn't look like a position control.. Truth in advertising?.. hmmm.

Amvcane · Mar 20, 2015

Would that setup be considered Inching control? The lift arms will move about 1/4" with each bump of the lever and continuous with a full throw?

ovrszd · Mar 21, 2015

Yes. That is what John Deere proudly calls 1/4" valving. Meaning if you bump the lever into the raise or lower position and back to neutral as fast as you can you will achieve approximately 1/4" of 3pt arm movement. I've come to master it, as well as can be expected, on my JD2210. It is definitely not Position Control. It also requires some "seat" time to get proficient at it's use. There is nothing built into this system to return the implement to the same height each time. It's a shot in the dark at best. Beats the heck outta no 3pt at all though!!!!