Adjusting a tiller

[Walkin Horse]

I borrowed my nieghbors tiller and hooked it up to my cat 2 tractor. I can't get it to dig over 2 or 3". I have adjusted the top link in and out but it won't sit down and dig. It looks like it's sitting on the skid shoes and may not go any deeper. Or is the tractor too big to let it ride right.

 

[b73]

The skids should adjust as well.

 

[Walkin Horse]

They appear to be in the last hole. Like there is no more adjustment. I dropped the top link down one hole on the tractor also.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Will your 3 point arms go low enough???

The top of the tiller should be level to the ground.

SR

 

[TomSeller]

I borrowed my nieghbors tiller and hooked it up to my cat 2 tractor. I can't get it to dig over 2 or 3". I have adjusted the top link in and out but it won't sit down and dig. It looks like it's sitting on the skid shoes and may not go any deeper. Or is the tractor too big to let it ride right.

How deep do you expect the tiller to dig? The skid shoes are going to perform the limiting depth.

 

[Rustywreck]

Are you using it on un-broken ground? It's been a while since I used my tiller on un-broken ground, but as I recall the second and third passes were deeper - the skids sink into the softer, tilled soil.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I plowed this ground about 5 weeks ago. I disced the next week. My nieghbor was down one day and said he had bought a used one and I could use it. So I thought I would run it thru one time. I really didn't know what to expect for depth. Somebody told me he had one that cut down 9". I may just run the disc thru it again next week before I plant and call it done.

 

[PHPaul]

How worn are the tines?


With new(ish) tines, my old Howard will do about 8 inches in loose soil.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I just took it back and showed the nieghbor what it was doing. The only thing we can figure is it's too small for my tractor. He's going to hook it to his and do it when it stops raining. Thanks for the help.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I really have not measured the depth that mine will dig, however the slower you go the deeper it will dig. L range in 1st gear on my tractor is a bit fast for deep digging, but if I dog in the creeper gear and put it in L4 it really creeps a maybe 1/4 mile per hour and it will dig in and powder the soil very well in just one pass.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I had it in L1. By the time I throttled up I am moving pretty fast. With the skid shoes and the skirt on the side I don't see how it could go but so deep. It's not like a walk behind where you can bury it to the hub. No manual to look at and I've never seen one run.

 

[jenkinsph]

If you were using the NH workmaster 55 the 1st gear speed is 1.76 mph, that is pretty fast for a small diameter tiller. Was this a 4 tine/rotor or 6 tine/rotor model?

 

[dpb800]

I use a 6 ft king kutter and it will only go a few inches deep on untilled soil but will go deeper on additional passes. I can get it 8 to 10" deep in 3 passes. The skids need to sink in the soft tilled soil in order for it to till deeper.

 

[Walkin Horse]

If you were using the NH workmaster 55 the 1st gear speed is 1.76 mph, that is pretty fast for a small diameter tiller. Was this a 4 tine/rotor or 6 tine/rotor model?

It is a 6' TSC 4 tine. I looked at the specs and it said 40 hp max. I don't know if that matters other than tearing it up. I had already plowed this so it wasn't like its new ground.

 

[jenkinsph]

I had a 4 tine tiller (Howard) and the max depth even with several passes was about 6 inches. The Deere 673 I have now has larger diameter rotors with 6 tines and approaches 8 inch depth in two passes. The travel speeds vary depending on the soil and moisture content but on my second pass I can usually run about 1.4 to 2.0 mph. If I pull it too fast it will climb up instead of tilling to full depth.

In your case with the smaller rotor diameter and the higher travel speed I suspect it is climbing instead of digging to full depth. To test this theory put the tractor in neutral and till a few feet while using the brakes to slow the tractor down. Creep along a few feet then see how deep it tills.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I took it back before it rained to get it off of my tractor. He said he would run it on his tractor this week. It was a cheap lesson learned before I went and bought one myself. I will probably just stick with my disc and put money in a rear tine to cultivate with.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I took it back before it rained to get it off of my tractor. He said he would run it on his tractor this week. It was a cheap lesson learned before I went and bought one myself. I will probably just stick with my disc and put money in a rear tine to cultivate with.

Now you know why i don't like those poorly designed tillers... NOT all tillers are created equal!!

SR

 

[Walkin Horse]

Now you know why i don't like those poorly designed tillers... NOT all tillers are created equal!!

SR

What makes a well designed tiller. Just in case I run across a deal. I would have been pissed if I had spent the $400 for this one and it didn't work.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

What makes a well designed tiller. Just in case I run across a deal. I would have been pissed if I had spent the $400 for this one and it didn't work.

New(er) Kuhn, Maschio or Howard, especially if it's not one of their bottom of the line models.

For me, my Howard replaced my moldboard plow and disc... I have customers that sell both of those tools right after they hired me to do some tillage for them with one of my Howards.

There IS a learning curve to using a tiller "properly", but once you do, it's a great tool!

SR

 

[Walkin Horse]

It looks like a 400B in 70" would be just rite for my tractor. What does one of those run in price. I noticed they had 8" listed as the depth for the really big ones. They didn't list a depth for the smaller ones.