I own a U55-4 Kubota Excavator and recently sold my first compact tractor and replaced it with a Kubota LX3310. Having read many forum threads here and elsewhere and watching a number of YouTube videos there seems to be a lot of avoidance around more than 26HP (the cut-off for diesel regen). I wanted more PTO hp so the LX3310 is 31hp engine and 27hp at the PTO. I haven't found the U55 regen a big deal. I haven't run the LX3310 long enough for a regen cycle but here is my initial impression: 1) a four cylinder engine runs smoother than a 3 cylinder. Like comparing my V8 truck to a V6 truck. 2) I keep my tractor in a 600 sq ft barn. Starting my former 3 cylinder 23hp tractor would fill the barn with black diesel soot. Not so with the 31hp engine with DPF. 3) I can run this tractor in midrange gear up my mountain roads with no trouble or bogging down on the HST transmission. I had to run in low gear with my former tractor. 4) The extra PTO power is great for running my BearCat Chipper. Doesn't bog down. 4) I can grade uphill no problem as long as I have traction. 5) The tractor runs cleaner. I'm not breathing exhaust fumes that can choke me in the wrong wind direction. So, while I get that my DPF system has more expensive parts and required maintenance, I see only upside here in my situation. I'd be interested in thoughts from others on this topic and their perspectives. Thanks. Note pic: Get a new tractor and get the girls! Just kidding. My son's girlfriends.
I appreciate emissions apparatus for what they are. Where I, and probably most other folks, find issue is when a sensor is out of range, it derates and shuts you down. In the beginning, there were a lot of people treating symptoms vs root causes. This put a lot of mom-n-pops out of business. Even now, regular maintenance is a huge expense. Most DPF require cleaning between 4 & 4.5k hours. You either have downtime waiting for a service to clean yours or you pay significantly higher costs for reman exchange where you may receive a compromised DPF. At the end of the day, they have their place. Just don't appreciate how it was implemented.
Hey funwithfuel: Thanks for the response and education. I have very limited experience with DPF. My excavator which I've run about 1000 hrs cutting trails in hilly terrain has only DPF cycled 4 times that I can remember. I can still work during the cycle...but if I didn't have my thumb activated, I'd have to wait until after the cycle (maybe 15 minutes) to do so--and that was aggravating. I wonder if the DPF technology is evolving where it isn't a mechanical nightmare any more on newer machines. I suspect on bigger equipment it's also a very different ballgame. Again, thanks. A
It is a whole different engine between 25+ hp DPF and sub 25 HP non DPF. The DPF engine is full of electronics and garbage while the non DPF engine should be most/all mechanical. Electronics require a dealer of questionable competence to work on sometimes, mechanical anybody can work on it.
I hear you Vogt. I guess one makes trades. If you want the hp then you step into a more complicated mechanical world. I'm hoping my dealer continues to be a good one. During my purchase I had hydraulics added to the rear in order to control a box scraper with curl and side to side angle; and 3rd function added to the front for a grapple. After about 2.5 hrs of run time I blew the seals on the hydraulic valve block on the rear hydraulics--fluid showering everywhere. It turned out that when the mechanic added the rear hydraulics the valve block wasn't torqued sufficiently and blew while I was grading. The good news is that I got an apology from the dealer and a mobile mechanic was on site to remedy the situation in about 2 hrs. I'll keep my fingers crossed on the DPF function.
We had a brand new Kubota KX-040 with dpf (no def, under threshold hp). The machine sat on an elevated pad feeding loose pay onto a double screen deck wash plant (1/4 yard bucket). Feed rate of 25 yards/h. Problem was…the machine was never worked hard enough in this application. Re-gen’s were every 20-25 hours. By the time we sold the machine re-gens were as often as every 8-10 hours (fall/early winter operation worse) We ended up selling machine at 700h. Really liked the Kubota ; smooth/powerful/fast hydraulics. Just became concerned about possible de-rate issues; the remote location of the mine site means a 10 h round trip for a mechanic with a laptop… Currently running a pre-emission (2011) Deere 50d. Much better suited to our operation.
I am not sure how bobcat it doing it, but they are selling their stuff without the regen/def stuff. My neighbor bought a new Excavator and CTL this year, and neither have the regen/def stuff. . They do have a DOC. Below is a thread that is a bit old, but talks to this subject. New Bobcats, No DPF, no DEF and a bobcat diesel engine. Thoughts and experiences? I am about to pull the trigger on a new machine, comparing a cat 262D, 242D and Bobcat 630 & 650. I'm leaning toward the 630 and like that they don't have a DPF or DEF to deal with but am leary on a whole new engine design without knowing it's been put to the test. Does anyone have any good... HeavyEquipmentForums
Not sure if it's relevant or not, but I have a 09 F350 with the dreaded 6.4 with the DPF system on it at work. For years each time the screen on the dash told me it was cleaning the filter, if I was in a slower mph area I would pull it down into 3rd gear. If I was in a higher mph zone I would put it in tow/haul mode. It's fully loaded with junk and I run it hard. I have never had any clogging issues with the filter. In fact, after a regen now I will get a check engine light for a little while, and then it goes away. It is a regen fault and then it clears itself. I also noticed I get black smoke out of the tailpipe when I floor it. I did some research and from what I can learn, this means the DPF filter is burnt out. Great I say, it runs like a top, lots of power, 153,000 miles. Moral of my story; Run it like you stole it, and you will not have a clogged exhaust filter.
There are certain tricks that they are doing on under 50 HP engines to squeak by without DPF. In fact I thought Kubota was one of them. Isuzu also. Just a highly efficient DOC. Did we get it right, this one actually uses DPF+SCR?