# Happy with your Kubota Lowboy Generator?



## Dutchy491 (Sep 18, 2019)

Hi all, I’m looking at either the GL7000 or 11000 for a future new backup generator. My preference is for the 7000 as we can get by at my home with a Honda em5000. My question is for those that have a Lowboy. How pleased are you with it, how reliable is it, any common problems/issues, and would you buy again? I have diesel available at my small farm and my other consideration would be a small 3pt hitch generator. The downside being that the tractor is not available while running a generator. Thanks for your thoughts, Dutchy


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

yea 3 point might be a hard choice if you have a winter snow event and want to do snow...

but if it is a summer chore tractor it is a great idea.
just make sure the brakes are real good...

there are some real good prime mover 3 point setups now days.
make sure to grease the live shaft and couplings with your good grease.

oh yea how many gallons per hour on the diesel tractor at 1800 pto speed?


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## JJ Ranch (Apr 23, 2021)

I looked at those Kubotas and I think they were all 3600 rpm, my requirement was an 1800 rpm diesel so I have a 3 cylinder Perkins driving a MeccAlte head (from Aurora Generators.)


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## exmar (Jun 29, 2015)

Make sure you have something to set the frequency (tractor RPM) if you go with 3 Pt. hitch. Tractor RPM gauge isn't accurate enough. Neighbor has a dairy and had one of those for use at the milking parlor during outages. He'd just upgraded to a very expensive made in Europe (60 Hz version) milking system when an outage occurred. Seems the milking system was very sensitive to frequency and he though he had it right based on tractor RPM but didn't. Expensive OOPS!


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## BobS (Aug 26, 2020)

I have the GL11000 as a backup to a Isuzu 20KW prime generator. The GL11000 is a prime, liquid cool 3600 rpm generator. I put heavy duty wheels on it so it is a very heavy portable generator. The fuel consumption is a little higher that a good 1800 rpm but it is many hundreds of pounds lighter and many thousands of dollars cheaper. It is much quieter than my GX390 or GX620 generators. The generator response to load variations is excellent. I run it twice a month with loads from 3KW to 10.5KW with no issues. There is no flickering of any of my LED lights or sensitive UPS's. What about any negatives? Most Kubota dealers know nothing about them. The AVR does not like large loads from inverter (at least mine) ACs (Total 7 Tons). The inverters AC when on high cause the voltage to drop more than I would like but it does handle it. The fuel tank is only 7.4 gallons that lasts approx. 9 to 12 hours at my average load. The generator and engine is designed for 3,600 and is supposed to have a life expectancy of 10,000 to 20,000+ hours. The engine is a proven design used in many other heavy duty equipment. The unit is very easy to maintain. In addition, the unit can be upgraded for auto start and hooked up to ATS as a standby unit.


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## Dutchy491 (Sep 18, 2019)

Bob, it sounds like you are very self sufficient at your location or in your business. I really like my 2 Honda generators but a strong small diesel unit would be nice to have as well. We live in a small tight knit community and having a portable genset makes it possible to assist our neighbourhood homesteads in an emergency. Thus looking for a Lowboy or Yamaha diesel genset. Thanks for sharing, Dutchy


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## Matt88-8 (Dec 27, 2018)

Kubota 3600rpm diesels are about as reliable as reliable gets.
I don't have one of the generators, but have a bit of experience with the engines. No real complaints. Service intervals are hilariously long compared to any air cooled units

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk


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## BobS (Aug 26, 2020)

Dutchy491 said:


> Bob, it sounds like you are very self sufficient at your location or in your business. I really like my 2 Honda generators but a strong small diesel unit would be nice to have as well. We live in a small tight knit community and having a portable genset makes it possible to assist our neighbourhood homesteads in an emergency. Thus looking for a Lowboy or Yamaha diesel genset. Thanks for sharing, Dutchy


I tried to be as self sufficient as possible. Over the last 25+ years I have lost power multiple times from a week to two weeks due to storms in South Florida. My water is from a well so no power, no water. I was originally setup to use gasoline or propane but propane at times was extremely expensive and needed to pay for a "priority contract" that had no guarantee of a reasonable delivery time. I have many 100lb propane tanks that are now used for my barbecue but can be used on my old 13KW tri-fuel. I went to diesel because with pri-d and biobor JR biocide, the fuel can last up to a decade (I rotate it) so I am able to keep a 3 week supply at all times. When I use gasoline, I use 20 gallons a day and I don't like having that much gasoline around. In addition, I would look at the GL7000. The fuel consumption is excellent and is very heavy duty. It is a 3,600 rpm liquid cool prime generator. It cost slightly more than most an air cool diesel. PM me if you want where and what I paid for the GL11000.


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## JJ Ranch (Apr 23, 2021)

Matt88-8 said:


> Kubota 3600rpm diesels are about as reliable as reliable gets.
> I don't have one of the generators, but have a bit of experience with the engines. No real complaints. Service intervals are hilariously long compared to any air cooled units
> 
> Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk


My old Kubota L2900 tractor engine (about 30 hp and three cylinders) was _extremely _reliable. Never did anything to it except for occasional (and I mean very occasional) routine maintenance. Sold it with 500 hours on the clock and 15 years old.


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## pipe (Jun 27, 2021)

BobS said:


> ..I use 20 gallons a day and I don't like having that much gasoline around. ..


The use-per-day is/was huge. For comparison, we also have a private well and we run that pump along with swimming pool pump, 4 tons of heatpump cooling, 3 refrigerators, hot water and much more on less than 6 gallons of E0 per day. The key is energy efficient pumps,compressors,motors-all 240v inverters and a single honda generator running at about 2300 rpm speed 24hr/day


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## Matt88-8 (Dec 27, 2018)

JJ Ranch said:


> My old Kubota L2900 tractor engine (about 30 hp and three cylinders) was _extremely _reliable. Never did anything to it except for occasional (and I mean very occasional) routine maintenance. Sold it with 500 hours on the clock and 15 years old.


Carrier uses them to power their refrigerated trailer units. We change the oil every other year. (Normally about 2k hrs)
I've seen lots with 20k hrs on them still pulling away. Top notch engines.

I worked for a summer with kubota Canada's R&D and worked with the guy doing warranty teardowns.
Long story short, they don't like starter fluid and being run without oil. Other than that, pretty much no issues. I've still got a piston on my shelf with a shattered ring from someone adding waaaaay to much starting fluid..

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk


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## BobS (Aug 26, 2020)

pipe said:


> The use-per-day is/was huge. For comparison, we also have a private well and we run that pump along with swimming pool pump, 4 tons of heatpump cooling, 3 refrigerators, hot water and much more on less than 6 gallons of E0 per day. The key is energy efficient pumps,compressors,motors-all 240v inverters and a single honda generator running at about 2300 rpm speed 24hr/day


We are off topic but I agree that efficiency is very important especially when on a generator for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, due to medical conditions of relatives that would use my house in an emergency I can't reduce my usage. I use IoTaWatt to monitor the electric circuits and have very high to ultra high efficiency appliances / lights. When I was able to lower my energy usage, I used 8 to 10 gallons a day. I would use the gx390 generator during the day and a wheelhouse 5500 at night. This would make a good topic on how to reduce energy usage during an emergency.


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## corbinrozmus (9 mo ago)

After 4 months of operation, this device failed, and I'm just shocked by this model. I don't know what I was doing wrong, but in theory, I didn't do anything that could affect this car so much. Although thanks to this breakdown, I found the site https://www.machinerydealer.co.uk/ from which I am now buying all the equipment that I need at very good prices. So I treat it as something better for me and my household. Of course, I would like to avoid monetary losses, but now there is nothing to do.


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## BobS (Aug 26, 2020)

corbinrozmus said:


> this device failed after 4 months of operation, I'm just shocked by this model


What is the make and model? What kind of failure?


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## Dutchy491 (Sep 18, 2019)

That’s what warranty is for…. Unless there was reckless abuse, but anything mechanical could disintegrate prematurely for unknown reasons.


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