Cat vs Kubota

[BCG]

Make sure you have good insurance on it because if you run a mulcher on the Kubota very much it’s going to end up hot and toasty meaning burning to the ground and I’m being dead serious. Been thr and done that lol

I only run it 2-3 hours at a go, it's all my body will handle. Then I blow off all the debris and dust with the big air compressor and grease the head. I don't run stuff in the heat of the day in general either, that's my nap time.

I do have insurance on it though.

 

[searcyfarms]

i just ran a cat 299 D3 for 8 days straight about 10 to 12 hours a day and outside of hills/slopes bogging it down some it would freeze you out in the cab - very little dust in cab i was surprised

 

[searcyfarms]

I only run it 2-3 hours at a go, it's all my body will handle. Then I blow off all the debris and dust with the big air compressor and grease the head. I don't run stuff in the heat of the day in general either, that's my nap time.

I do have insurance on it though.

ok so I have two full says of running a 2018 SVL95-2s with 7ft Jenkins https://jenkinsironandsteel.com/products/super-duty-mower - 55degree temps yest 65 today, only ran it about an hour last fall when it was about 80 and it was all I could do to keep cool in it with AC on high and I was sweating so I didnt run it any more.

so past two days - my review is this, like someone already said - runs hotter and you have to watch your work speed to keep it cool even in these mild temps - I even cleaned out everything today before starting in case there was some extra debris or cooling obstruction. I did not like the noisy cab/hydro noise compared to the cat. The seat is not comfortable for riding all day. The A/C was marginal today just not good airflow, it felt cool but not much air moving even on high. Not sure who thought about how to put in fuel but its not good trying to fill it with cans - have to lift loader arms to get good access. Makes some loud klunks/bangs in front end when turning mowing - i think maybe it was binding the tracks due to the load on the front end but didnt experience that with the cat.

all in all i would not buy an orange one, havent been in one of the new LARGE bobcat units or the BIG deere either, i know they both have smaller cabs but it would be interesting to see how they are for quiet/comfort/cooling of machine and operator.

 

[James Sorochan]

Whats the difference in price between the two units?

 

[searcyfarms]

Whats the difference in price between the two units?

roughly 20K for a cat vs kubota near as i can tell, not sure what the deere or bobcats run - if I am going to spend 8 to 10 hours/day in one, deal with fueling, rough ride, noisy and possible issues with klunking/turning with tracks, running warm now so have to cut down on job pace on a 65 degree day, and not be comfortably cool in the cab on hot day, price wouldnt even come into play especially if you are trying to make a living with the machine, i dont care what color it is if it cant do the job w/out issues then I wouldnt want it - i would like to see a bobcat and deere and use them and get prices for them, I was told for forestry/land clearing/etc....dont go with a takeuchi, they are better for just dirt work. I have ran a couple taks for dirt work and demolition and got along ok with those units i rented but I was not doing mulching/clearing/mowing.

 

[James Sorochan]

I agree. When its your bread and butter machine you need to be comfortable. Have you considered the Case machines? I found the pilot controls to be the best of the bunch. That was over 10 years ago so things may have changed.

 

[searcyfarms]

I agree. When its your bread and butter machine you need to be comfortable. Have you considered the Case machines? I found the pilot controls to be the best of the bunch. That was over 10 years ago so things may have changed.

no i have not, i was advised to stay away from their last body style big machine but I heard they were coming out with a new big unit so will have to check on that - some of these new attachments use some serious high flow also I will have to do some spec checking on them.

 

[KSSS]

The CASE 450B makes 39.5 gpm at 3450 psi with the Extreme high flow it makes 35 gpm at 4K psi
The 620B (the newest big machine) makes 41.6 gpm at 3450 psi and the Extreme version of that makes 41.6 gpm at 4100 psi.

They have just started building the 620B recently, probably wouldn't find one to demo until Spring. I have a 450B and run a Diamond cutter and a mulcher. I don't have the Extreme high flow, but it runs my attachments well at the standard high flow rate.

 

[searcyfarms]

The CASE 450B makes 39.5 gpm at 3450 psi with the Extreme high flow it makes 35 gpm at 4K psi
The 620B (the newest big machine) makes 41.6 gpm at 3450 psi and the Extreme version of that makes 41.6 gpm at 4100 psi.

They have just started building the 620B recently, probably wouldn't find one to demo until Spring. I have a 450B and run a Diamond cutter and a mulcher. I don't have the Extreme high flow, but it runs my attachments well at the standard high flow rate.

I would be interesting in seeing how quiet, cool it runs, comfort etc......sounds nice thanks for sharing I will have to check them out!!

 

[Jonas302]

Cat has an auto reversing fan that works quite well if its available on other brands I dont know the hvac system is impressive on our 279d

 

[searcyfarms]

Cat has an auto reversing fan that works quite well if its available on other brands I dont know the hvac system is impressive on our 279d

yes the 299 had the reversing fan, the kubota did not have one it was belt driven off the waterpump - i believe some others do

 

[CM1995]

Cat has an auto reversing fan that works quite well if its available on other brands I dont know the hvac system is impressive on our 279d

The reversing fan is fantastic at keeping the rad cool. Both our 279D's have the option. Usually it kicks in right after throttling up and heading across a job site, fan revs up and pushes the dust out - looks like a mini steam locomotive for a minute.

The A/C is pretty damn nice as well and that's coming from the semi-tropical Southeastern US.

 

[OTG AuGres]

Cat has an auto reversing fan that works quite well if its available on other brands I dont know the hvac system is impressive on our 279d

My Bobcat T595 has one too. Very useful, especially when using my brush cutter/mower. The A/C on mine is impressive too….it will freeze you out on the hottest days.

 

[zeroo]

Man, my svl75 only has 98 hours but i ran it on very hot days and the ac was pretty good, the placement sucks with the vents at your knee, it made my knee numb. BUT there is a cab filter sealing issue that needs to be addressed with foam or your machine will be sucking in major dust and fail. The recirculate filters are a joke and i barely open them.

 

[zeroo]

Man, my svl75 only has 98 hours but i ran it on very hot days and the ac was pretty good, the placement sucks with the vents at your knee, it made my knee numb. BUT there is a cab filter sealing issue that needs to be addressed with foam or your machine will be sucking in major dust and fail. The recirculate filters are a joke and i barely open them.

I meant to add this through edit but there doesn’t seem to be an edit button…but the svl’s hvac is probably a worse design than most but what exacerbates it is the outside filter leaks significantly around it seal. The hard rubber gasket just doesn’t provide a seal. As I posted in another thread there is actually a part number on the kubota part diagram that shows a foam seal on the housing. It does not come with it installed. I used regular foam tape after I noticed dust in the filter housing my first couple of hours of running. After foam tape there was none. I ordered the foam tape from kubota and sure enough its just the right amount to go around filter housing. With an already weak hvac system constantly sucking dust from right above the track is no good. As far as the box leaking inside, as long as you keep your filter clean and dont run with the door open there is still not a dust issue. You can monitor that from looking in the recirculate filter opening(which those filters are a joke). There is good positive pressure because i did a smoke test and it really blows out of a cracked window. So all this extra time to keep a par hvac system healthy is probably not worth it to people who put 1000 hours a year on but if you buy one I’d think about doing it. I’ve sent this stuff on to kubota through reps so we will see if they address it. I did redo the filter on my kx040 to incorporate the same filter as the svl uses. Those thin filters they use for in cabs are a joke.

 

[BCG]

ok so I have two full says of running a 2018 SVL95-2s with 7ft Jenkins https://jenkinsironandsteel.com/products/super-duty-mower - 55degree temps yest 65 today, only ran it about an hour last fall when it was about 80 and it was all I could do to keep cool in it with AC on high and I was sweating so I didnt run it any more.

so past two days - my review is this, like someone already said - runs hotter and you have to watch your work speed to keep it cool even in these mild temps - I even cleaned out everything today before starting in case there was some extra debris or cooling obstruction. I did not like the noisy cab/hydro noise compared to the cat. The seat is not comfortable for riding all day. The A/C was marginal today just not good airflow, it felt cool but not much air moving even on high. Not sure who thought about how to put in fuel but its not good trying to fill it with cans - have to lift loader arms to get good access. Makes some loud klunks/bangs in front end when turning mowing - i think maybe it was binding the tracks due to the load on the front end but didnt experience that with the cat.

all in all i would not buy an orange one, havent been in one of the new LARGE bobcat units or the BIG deere either, i know they both have smaller cabs but it would be interesting to see how they are for quiet/comfort/cooling of machine and operator.

The evaporator coil probably needs to be cleaned on your AC. The only way to do it correctly is to take the seat out and open up the unit behind the seat, it takes me about 4 hours not to recover the system, remove the seat, remove the AC unit, clean the evaporator with a hose and air compressor, reassemble and recharge. The system isn't designed well as far as keeping dirt out and it will just cake onto the damp evap coil. After cleaning it, I can keep the cab comfortable when it's 100 degrees out.