Chinese built Kubota engines, are they the same, will all parts fit etc

[100 td]

Looking at a Chinese built genset which appears to have a Chinese made Kubota engine in it, probably under licence, does anyone know if all the specs are the same? (I know quality and tolerances may be less but as long asall parts fit from Kubota)

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I don't think that the Kubota engine would be Chinese built, it should be Japanese built and then supplied to china to put the gen set.

 

[100 td]

Looks like it to me, many engines are made in China under licence. In a lot of cases they will get access to older model engines.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Thanks for the info, I have not seen any of those here, USA has some strange laws on engine imports.

 

[GEP]

The last time i was at a Kubota Dealer they had a lot of products ( not engine ) on and near the counter made in China. I would not put anything past Kubota, there answer will be cheaper labor just like some of the American manufactures say

 

[100 td]

Generators especially, and many other products made in China (cars, trucks, machinery) use Chinese manufactured engines under licence. As previously mentioned, they usually have the older model engines, but not always. In gensets they use Cummins, Perkins, Kubota and others under licence, and when they are advertised "sometimes" it's difficult to tell if it's an OEM or a Chinese version. In the following the OEM is easy, but the non OEM is easily missed, if the advertisement is on it's own.
As in this listing, I think the Perkins engine will be Chinese built

Perkins series
*UK brand, International famous options *High emission standard-EU II-IIIA, EPA Tier 2-4 * Wide Power capacity range-9KVA-2250KVA***65292; covers all ordinary power requirements from home use to power generation station.

And in this listing the engine is OEM

Deutz series
Swedish brand, whole engine all origin from Europe. *Emission standard-EU II, EUIII both standard series for different market. *Range 65KVA-550KVA, perfect performance on power continuous output, emission control, fuel consumption cost, vibration etc. Strong load capability for surge power, good for equipment like Crane tower etc.

In the Chinese engine genset, the specs just state it's a Kubota, but the tags on the engine do not say made in Japan.

On other gensets sent from the same factory, but different model designations and brand name, for the engine they state "Japanese brand, whole engine all origin from Japan." So they sell different machines which are very similar, but some have OEM engines, some have Chinese made engines under licence. The same sort of thing goes for the alternators.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

I just went through all this research looking for a back-up generator for my well. Virtually all of the larger capacity generators sold in the US have Chinese engines and most have Chinese alternators. The good news is, many US companies are specifying the quality level of the internal components.

I ended up choosing a Westinghouse. I would never have considered an off-brand but my wife found these were top-rated for 2014 and 2015 in their class. Before I ordered, I called the head tech guy at Westinghouse and asked about their engine sourcing and quality. They specify forged crank and other critical parts. Because of this pickiness on specifying high quality parts, these motors not only operate reliably but for many years, unlike the earlier motors that would detonate after a few hours of operation.

My generator has run reliably over the year I have owned it. It has a three year warranty and I have been unable to find one incident online where somebody's motor suffered some kind of structural failure. The fit and finish is exceptional.

Perhaps the Chinese are where the Japanese were in the late 70's or early 80's.

Ray

 

[100 td]

The problem with Chinese engines is the sourcing of their metals, they get whatever they can on the day so to speak, and this lot of recycled steel is different to the next and has different amounts of boron etc in it which makes it more brittle etc. Same goes for their aluminium, and of course their rubber hoses, they don't know how to make rubber that lasts, or carbon brushes. If the factory is a Japanese or US factory (in China) with stringent controls, then all should be good, but like anything, things go wrong, and it's more likely to happen in China with the sourcing of materials.

A few years ago, Toyota replaced 30,000+ engine/transmission assemblies in the US in the 5.7 litre V8, due to the incorrect metallurgy in the camshafts which were snapping. These engines were built in their US factory AFAIK.

I recently bought an Aldi inverter generator, it was the best finished Chinese engine I have seen, castings were perfect, no air bubbles/impurities to be seen, frame welding and painting and finish great, carby finish perfect. How the rubber hose go, we will have to wait and see.

China also make Honda engines, for what markets I am unsure, but they get grey imported into Australia and have their serial numbers removed. Would I trust one, well like lots of Chinese copies, you weigh up the price verses your use and the chance it will explode! Some engines are copies, some are copies of copies, for home use a few hours a year they will probably last, but the rubber parts will perish in a couple of years generally.

With the bigger Cummins/Perkins/Kubota or other copies, you would hope their controls are a little better, but as mentioned previously, the same factory sells with OEM engines or with Chinese licence engines, so they know there is a difference!

 

[100 td]

I ended up choosing a Westinghouse........... The fit and finish is exceptional.
Ray

Any idea what brand or copy it is?
And is this a diesel or petrol?