Another tiller question - LP 60" Reverse

[tractorshopper]

Finally used my tiller yesterday. Ran it for a hour and a half or less. Got a rock stuck once and had to free it up (not many rocks at all on this area that used to be cultivated regularly, just some freak thing where the rock wedged between a tine and the housing). It stopped the tractor. Then bogged down once with some minor root stuff wrapped in the tines. Depressed clutch and disengaged the PTO before it bogged down too much, lifted the 3PH, and cleaned the stuff out. Then later in the softer dirt, it kind of piled up huge piles inside of it (even though I had the tail flap lifted all the way to allow stuff to exit easily) and it started smoking on the slip clutch, but the tiller was still turning though without as much force as best I could tell. I stopped it from running. Waited a while for it to cool down and stop smoking and tried again. Didn't even get another 100 feet before it happened again. Depth was on factory setting. I didn't make any adjustments at all before use except remove the kick stand once attached to the tractor.

All I tilled was an area maybe the size of half to 3/4 a football field or less than that. This tiller is brand spanking new and I'm not sure if there is an adjustment issue or what or if once the clutch cools down it will be fine from now on, or if I need to be taking it to my dealer and be concerned about the longevity of it.

I've used my friend's old tiller before on a much larger area and never had anything like this happen before. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little concerned because of how much these things cost and only one use so far. I'd expect this thing to last a lifetime and be able to run for many hours on end if I was a farmer instead of a gardener/food plotter. Am I expecting too much? Should I be concerned enough to take it to my dealer to look at? Does it need to be cooled down every so often or something?

 

[KennyV]

The clutch will Only generate heat while it is slipping... If it slips a little it will make a little heat, that heat will add up and start smoking...
In normal use it should Not slip at all. Should make No heat.
Sounds like you need to evenly adjust the clutch bolts... This should Not be a take to the dealer job, It's easy, fast & needs to be done at least once at the start of each season. You can back off all the bolts at the end of the year. Take care of the clutch, don't let it rust together, keep it adjusted so it runs cool & it will last you a lifetime.

In loose soil You need to control the depth using your 3pt position control to keep it from wanting to bury itself. KennyV