Tiller Another Tiller Thread

Arcane · Nov 15, 2005

I'm looking for tiller advice, and I've searched the old threads but haven't found anything on point.

I've got a Deere 4115, which has 19hp at the pto. My land is rocks and sandy loam, mostly rocks. The rocks are rounded granite fieldstones, from baseball to beachball size. The photo shows a wall (one of many) that former owners and farmers made of them. I am anticipating that initially I'll be stopping to pull rocks out of the tines every few feet. And one of the places I'll be tilling is alongside the stone walls to pull out the roots of the vines that grow back faster than I would have believed.

I cannot reverse the pto direction on this tractor. Are there any tillers with reverse gears so that I can back the wrong size rock out of the tines?

Brand recommendations? I have a Green and Orange dealers nearby, but I'm willing to go further afield. I think I'm looking for an all-gear, slip clutch tiller. Right?

rambler · Nov 15, 2005

I'm not so familiar with rocks getting stuck in the tines, or a need for reverse. However, the tiller is going to jump & jar around behind you like you wouldn't believe.....

IMHO

--->Paul

2nstonge · Nov 15, 2005

Arcane,

Not sure you need a reverse gear tiller but I'm sure there'll be other opinions. I'm in southern VT, my soil is mostly rocks and clay - and lots of stone walls like your picture. I went with a CCM gear tiller; MR-145. I have a 4110 (17pto HP) and this set-up worked great. Power wasn't a problem and the 49" width covers my tracks. The biggest thing is just learning to use the tiller properly. On virgin soil I go slow, low RPM, and only 2-3" deep, depending on the rocks content and make-up of the soil it would take 1-2 more passes to get the full depth I wanted - higher RPM and more depth with each pass. Slip clutch worked great (you'll hear it when it catches something!) and for extremely rocky areas I would quickly walk the patch I just tilled to pull any monsters that were lurking. Hit a few of those and the tiller will give your tractor a ride!

I almost went with a Kuhn tiller, local dealer, built like a tank, but ~$700 more (even after shipping) than the CCM. Also checked out the JD tillers but they were ~$1k more than CCM.

-Norm

pilonidal · Nov 15, 2005

The best tiller for our type of soil is a counter rotating one. The purpose being to lift up and throw the rocks out from underneath. A regular tiller will come down on top of the rocks as you move forward and the tiller will jump all over the place and you will get no where fast.
I have a regular 55 inch kioti tiller with a slip clutch that I have loosened up considerably. It tears up the ground, but any rock jammed in it will stop the tiller without killing the tractor, a ck20 hst. Not the most safety conscious thing to do but I took the dirt/rock guard off it and I use it while backing up with the tractor. After the initial teeth rattling plunge into the ground of a few inches I back the tractor into the work so the tiller will lift up and throw the rocks out in front of the tiller as I move in reverse. It works so much better and faster in reverse. The rocks fly out instead of getting jammed in between the tines and the housing. It takes a little time to get the hang of backing the tractor with the tiller, it will tend to want to dig to China. I keep the tractor rpms at around 1000 and creep along. Seems most of the rocks are near the surface. After one pass in reverse to break the surface and clear the rocks I drop it down and go forward with no problems finishing the till. Counter rotating tillers cost more than a regular tiller. The regular tiller used initially in reverse works for me. I didn't plan it that way when I bought it, but the rocks made me change my plan of attack.

RonR · Nov 15, 2005

The skid shoes on my Bush Hog tiller are really only set for forward motion. The front is bent up, but the back is not.

Mine is chain drive with slip clutch. If the slip clutch doesn't slip, I'd rather the chain break than some gears breaking. Hopefully, after the slip clutch, the chain is the weak link in my system......

I've lodged rocks in mine; if the RPMs aren't up significantly, it will kill the engine before the clutch slips.

Were I doing a lot of rocks, I'd find a way to mount a pry bar on the tiller--get a rock wedged and it will take some prying to get it out. The other thing I think I'd do if I had a lot of rocks, and I might build something anyway--is a tool bar with ripper teeth on it. Prior to tilling, I'd go over the ground several times with that and try to dislodge/remove all the rocks I could before turning my tiller loose on it.

ron

2nstonge · Nov 15, 2005

Interesting technique, I'll give a shot next spring. I've not had any real problems going forward but in really rocky soil the backwards maneuver might be quicker - tho' I do get a real pain in the neck when doing alot of reverse work.

-Norm

73jeep · Nov 15, 2005

Wonder how Landpride's Reverse Tillers would do? They have added new "reverse-till" sizes in their line-up, and have videos of them in action on their website. See Here!

Arcane · Nov 16, 2005

Thanks everyone. This discussion is just what I was hoping I would get. I'll look at the suggested tillers. Meanwhile, here's a photo of my current rockpile.

bandit67 · Nov 16, 2005

You're gonna need a much bigger tractor & tiller to throw those rocks while tilling in reverse! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

kensfarm · Nov 16, 2005

If I'm tilling.. I'm picking up rocks and throwing them into the FEL. I get a rock caught once in a while.. I engage the PTO on/off a couple times.. most times it'll drop out.

Arcane · Nov 16, 2005

Should I be using a box blade or a subsoiler before running the tiller through?

jeepers94 · Nov 16, 2005

I always boxblade in a area that has not been tilled before.I actually pulled up a car door once.That might have been a bit of a problem with the tiller.I am in the market for a new tiller.I was looking at Woods,but the Land Pride RTR tillers look good.Anybody have one,or know about what they cost?

kensfarm · Nov 17, 2005

"And one of the places I'll be tilling is alongside the stone walls to pull out the roots of the vines that grow back faster than I would have believed. "

It will def. make tilling easier.. especially on un-broken ground. When tilling w/ lots of roots.. check your tines.. they love to wrap around them... long grass too.. bushhog first if needed.

flusher · Nov 20, 2005

Or a middle buster.

I plan to use my pre-owned Yanmar RS1200 tiller (48" wide) to landscape my new home in a few months after the rain softens the ground. I'll plow the ground with my B7510HST/KK middle buster before attempting to rototill. I have sections of my parcel with rocks the size of small potatoes.

Plan to weld extensions onto the tiller 3ph to accommodate a slip clutch since there's no shear pin on the tiller and I don't want to rely on the tiller drive chain breaking before my PTO gears are damaged.

HomeBrew2 · Nov 22, 2005

I'm in the same situation as you with the 1200. I got a slip clutch from AgriSupply for ~$65 to use on the tiller. It's an amazing 7" diameter!!! ... which is impossible to fit on the tiller due to the sheet metal below the shaft. I'll probably try to get a pto extension but could use my quick-connect O/R clutch (on the tiller end) to pick up the distance needed. Is your slip clutch a more reasonable size?

flusher · Nov 22, 2005

Looked at TSC's $98 slip clutch. It's about 7" dia also. Looks like I'll have to cut more sheet metal off my tiller. I already cut off about 2" off the rear sheet metal cover since it was torn and bent around the edges.

HayDR · Nov 23, 2005

Most tillers 60" and below use a 6"-6.75" outside diameter clutch. Most tillers come from Europe. In Europe they just do not use clutches as the norm on tillers 60" and below. So when these tillers were first designed to be used without a clutch they did not allow enough room for a standard clutch hence smaller clutches were needed. Add-on ratchet-pawl style clutches are available in the $85-100 range.