Tiller buying a 3ph tiller

[heehaw]

i am thinking about buying a 3ph rototiller, i can buy a used 4ft one for $700, i think its a land pride or something like that, it has been used very little, and looks almost good as new, but i want a 5 or maybe even a 6ft tiller. is it worth whatever the extra cost is going to be to get a ft or 2 wider tiller?
heehaw

 

[HayDR]

You will find much information concerning many different brands of 3 pt tillers on TBN. Just do a search on tillers. It is best to match the tiller to your needs and size of the tractor the tiller is going to be used on. Just because a 20 HP tractor can pick up a 82" 1200 Lbs tiller does not mean it has enough PTO HP to turn it in the soil. Most MFG have a recommended HP range of operation. It is a good idea to follow that recommendation. The next question is do you want chain drive or Gear drive side transmissions? There are no chains to break or chain adjusters to break or be readjusted in a Gear Drive Tiller.

 

[PineRidge]

Look they painted that tiller just for the Christmas season. What no garland? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[heehaw]

i have a 50hp kubota, so it should handle anything i can afford, the idea for a wider tiller is to till out the tire tracks, plus fewer passes. they are putting in a TSC here now, but it will be several months before its open, and i need to buy something, even if its not a tiller, before jan...
heehaw

 

[9_Mile]

Re: Buying a 3ph tiller- What will it be used for?

What sort of soil conditions and how much / how fast? I think that will affect your choice of how heavy duty and how wide.
If you have that's not too tough and been tilled before, a lighter duty, wider tiller should be OK. I agree with following manufacturers' power recommedations - both minimum and maximum PTO HP. Wouldn't bother with an inexpensive light or "standard" duty tiller for anything less than perfect, easy soil in a smaller area. If the Landpride you're looking at is beefy, and is rated for your tractor's PTO HP, it's probably a good deal if you don't mind the size

We're breaking new ground in clayey soil with a fair number of small & medium sized cobbles; tillling in strips in some places, full beds in other places. Not a huge amount of tilling at any one time. We bought a heavy duty 50" side Befco T50 side shift unit for toughness and flexiblilty. Cost $2400 and should last 30 years or more. This was the best built heavy duty narrow tiller we could find in our part of eastern New York. I still managed to bend up one tine on a rock even though I was taking it easy.
I'm running a Kubota L4630, about your size. Two slow passes and plenty of rock picking and we've got new planting beds ready for amendments and the first year's crops.

Let us know what you're going to be working on. Good luck.

 

[sweettractors]

I think a lot of TBN posters would agree that the First Choice is hard to beat for quality, value and parts availability after the sale--48-56-60-74 inch in stock and inexpensive delivery with free lift gate for easy offloading and no sales tax--Ken Sweet
Sweet Farm Equipment Co. *2003 Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year*

 

[ScottAR]

With 50hp, you should be able to handle a 6ft. tiller. I have a 5ft behind my 33hp 1050 and it pulls it through heavy clay. It's a full load but the tractor doesn't lug.

 

[HayDR]

heehaw,
A MR190 - 72" Gear Drive tiller is $1,250 (70 HP Transmission)
We have the Free Lift Gate service available to your location
<font color="blue">Carter & Carter Machinery- Gear Drive Tiller Headquarters</font>

 

[heehaw]

i "think" i would prefer the heavy duty model, for the price difference, just looking at the difference in the weight, it has to be made a lot heavier..the local co-op sells an agri???
brand tiller, they are suppose to be getting me a price for a 70 inch heavy duty one...the main thing i have in mind, other than tilling an occasional garden, is to till up where i feed hay..it takes a long time for grass to come back at those locations, and i thought if i tilled it and put some grass seed on it, the results would be a lot better...
any idea what the shipping charges would be from where you folks are located??
heehaw

 

[ScottAR]

Gonna find a lot of baler twine but anything else would find it too...

 

[heehaw]

your probably right about finding the twine. i try to get the biggest majority of it off before i put the hay out, but always miss some. i'd rather cut it out of a tiller than a brush hog..
heehaw

 

[newaukum]

I would recommend the Howard line of tillers. I did quite a bit of research when I bought my tiller and decided on the Howard for a few reasons. Mainly most of the farmers in my area are using them, and almost all of the rental yards use them. I felt that if they stand up the the abuse of the rental yards, they will handle what I throw at it. Also parts are readly available at my local John Deere Dealer if it becomes necessary. I think that you would be happy with the 4 foot for small work, I rented a 4 foot one for a while, but it is very nice to have the tracks covered with a larger one. If you can justify it, buy the larger one. Dan

 

[ScottAR]

It's not too bad... Just get a hook knife for vinyl flooring and go at it. (I've tilled hay residue before /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

 

[heehaw]

new one on me, never heard of a howard brand, but i will try an internet search and see what i can find..
thanks
heehaw