Tiller Did anyone ever regret getting the bigger tiller?

KennedyDiesel · Apr 27, 2005

I'd say more a matter of how fast you want to get the job done, and how open or tight the quarters are.
I run a 50" tiller behind my little 22HP 455 and scratch my head when people worry about having enough power to run a wider tiller.

Maybe if I added 500# to my tiller to get it to sink better, it may be an issue, but the way it is, I have removed the shoes to let it sink better in our heavy soil, and it still rarely works the engine...

bdog · Apr 27, 2005

Good point. I do not run out of HP. The problem I have is the tiller starts hopping around if I try to go too deep at first. Not sure if a smaller tiller would help or not.

Bob_Skurka · Apr 27, 2005

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Good point. I do not run out of HP. The problem I have is the tiller starts hopping around if I try to go too deep at first. Not sure if a smaller tiller would help or not. </font>

Could be a couple issues there. You travel speed might be too high to let it stay down. It might also be a weight issue with the tiller. Or a combination of both. Mine doesn't hop around once it goes down. I've got hard clay and find that it will bounce a bit as I ease it down but then it digs right in and stays down. Seems that most of the reports I see about bouncing tillers comes from people with gear tractors, I'm not going to get into the gear/hst debate, but some gear tractors don't have a slow enough gear for tilling. But the think I would try if I was you is to slow the ground speed down a bit and see if the tiller still hops around.

hudr · Apr 27, 2005

I'm with you Bob... I think the hop is probably from ground speed being too high. Like some of the others have said, I am satisfied if my implement (disc, tiller, shredder, etc.) will cover my tracks. I would rather not work my tractor hard 100% of the time. On the ground speed track... any of you guys with 'back in the day' tractor experience... do y'all notice 1st gear seems higher across the board today? I remember those 2 cyl JDs could easily be outwalked in 1st 2nd and most times 3rd. And they only had 6 forward gears.. no Hi/Lo range.
Oh, back to the post... I would only worry about covering my tracks. And the smaller tiller would probably be more versatile by its nature of fitting inot tighter areas. We have a 12'7' disc that is great for large acreage but who wants a 50 acre household garden?