Tiller BX2350 and tiller, how big?

[santacruzer]

Hey Guys,

I'm really confused about what size of roto tiller I should get for my Kubota BX2350.

Because of the fact that I have only 23hp does that necessarily confine me to a tiller around 48"? A 48" will barely cover the wheel tracks. Seems to me I've read that some guys go over 48" to say 60" with smaller tractors.

I realize that a tiller takes a lot of power to operate but I lose traction when doing a lot of jobs way before I lose power. I'm on flat ground with pretty good soil. Also, I don't want to buy Chinese.

Anyone have any experience with matching a BX with a "non BX rated tiller".

Appreciate your comments.

Thanks, Paul

 

[bigtiller]

Depending on the type of ground you might get a 60" to work for you but I think you would be much happier with a 54". It won't push the tractor as hard in tuff spots and the ground speed can be a little faster.

 

[radioman]

Hi, since i have a BX24 and it should be almost the same as your BX, the owner manaul says the max size is 40". I am currently using a bushhog 40 incher and it works good. the bush hog has a uclamp syle to adjust the location of the 3 pt connection and i have it almost offset to one side so the new tilled side covers the tire track on one side. when i make the next row i till up the other tire tracks so there are no tracks left behind. Since my garden is not huge, the smaller size tiller wasnt a factor since i enjoy the seat time and it sure beats doing it by walk behind. i suspect the BX's can handle up to the 50 inch tillers in good soil with a slip clutch installed without a problem. i dont even run my tiller at rated pto speed since it does a good job without working hard hence is why i think you can get by on a 50 inch tiller on BX at full rated pto speed just fine. If you do go bigger, DO you really want to have all that extra weight in the back unless you have the FEL on loaded with something for counter balance ? just my 2 cents

 

[yankeerider]

The 48" KKII gear drive tiller is offset to cover the right rear tire track.

 

[bx23barry]

I have a 50" tiller on my bx23 and have never had a power or lift problem. Covers the tracks fine too. Only problem with the tiller is the tines keep wearing out.

 

[santacruzer]

Thanks for the replies! One thing I heard today was the possibility that a tiller that is run off to the side to cover tire tracks is putting undo pressure u- joints etc. I don't know that this is a factor but it does make sense that it might throw things off kilter a bit with all the pressure on one side of the tractor.

Sounds like a tiller leaning to smaller side, 48", 40" (or there abouts) might be the safest way to go.

Thanks, Paul

 

[yankeerider]

...the possibility that a tiller that is run off to the side to cover tire tracks is putting undo pressure u- joints etc. I don't know that this is a factor but it does make sense that it might throw things off kilter a bit with all the pressure on one side of the tractor....

Makes no sense to me.The PTO driveline is set up so the gearbox is on the centerline of the tractor, so no side to side angularity issues. Any loading fore and aft is transferred through the 3 point arms, and perhaps there is more tension on the arm on the offset side. So what? No different than using a back blade that is angled and has more material on one side than the other. But I would assume a tiller requires less tractive effort than a back blade because the forward rotating tines are driving it forward.

The only obviously unbalanced force I can see is the weight of the tiller when it is being transported puts more weight on one side of the tractor than the other. (In use, the weight of the tiller is on the ground, not the tractor, if the skids are on the ground.) That's no different than what happens when you traverse a hill with a tractor alone.

 

[flusher]

Hey Guys,

I'm really confused about what size of roto tiller I should get for my Kubota BX2350.

Because of the fact that I have only 23hp does that necessarily confine me to a tiller around 48"? A 48" will barely cover the wheel tracks. Seems to me I've read that some guys go over 48" to say 60" with smaller tractors.

I realize that a tiller takes a lot of power to operate but I lose traction when doing a lot of jobs way before I lose power. I'm on flat ground with pretty good soil. Also, I don't want to buy Chinese.

Anyone have any experience with matching a BX with a "non BX rated tiller".

Appreciate your comments.


Thanks, Paul

Easy solution if wheel tracks are a problem: hook a 60" wide drag onto the 48" rototiller. You can get a store-bought chain harrow or build a cheap one yourself that will do the job.

My Kubota B7510HST had about 48" tracks and I use a pre-owned $300 Yanmar RS-1200 rototiller (48" wide)

My tiller barely covered the wheel tracks, but you can see from this photo that the tracks barely show up if at all. And I wasn't towing a drag behind the rotiller for this particular job.

After tilling, I did tow a tire drag behind my riding mower (it has turf tires, while the 7510HST has ag tires) to level and smooth the tilled area

followed by a water-filled roller

followed by a home-made carpet drag

It helps a lot to plow the ground before rototilling. I use a $140 KK middle buster. Saves wear and tear on the rototiller. You can till faster through plowed ground so the time tradeoff for plowing/rototilling vs only rototilling is a wash.

I had to add a slip clutch since that RS-1200 had neither a slip clutch or shear pins. Got a short pto drive and a slip clutch from TSC, cut the drive as short as I could. Had to add an extender onto the tiller so the slip clutch would not rub on the sheet metal (the shiny thing between the tiller and the slip clutch in the ploto).

Found that the lower lift arms (26" long) on the 7510HST were too short. Had to use the 35" long arms from my 1964 MF-135. No problem getting the parts to fit and the 3pt had no problem lifting the rototiller on the longer arms.

Hope this helps.

 

[LBrown59]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1*I have a 48'' KK on my BX1500 .
2*It extends out 1.5 " past each back wheel.No off-setting required love that fact.
Maybe ya need to look at more that one brand of tiller .
If a 48'' is wider than the back wheels of my BX1500 it ought to be wider than the rear wheels of the BX2350.
3*It's not just the power . A wider heavier tiller puts more strain/stress on the tractor just lifting and hauling it around withe out even using the tiller to till. I would not go over a 50'' wide tiller. 4*It's
not just
The balance factor.
It's also the extra wear
tear and strain on the tractor from
lifting and carrying the wider heaver tiller .

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L B

 

[jcpwrsprt]

48" KKII No problems. I would not recommend anything bigger than a 50" IMO