Tiller forward or reverse tine tiller??

[gregp1083]

I found someone to sell me a tiller. Now I need to decide if I should go with a forward or reverse tine tiller. My soil conditions are mostly soil, gravel and sand. Very little rocks. By rocks I mean anything bigger than a softball. I am using a New Holland Hydrostatic drive TC24DA and a 52" tiller.

 

[oosik]

Well, I've had a Troy Bilt reverse tine tiller. It did a good job of opening up plots that had never broken before. Never had a forward rotating tiller. Literature generally indicates - reverse tine is better for opening new plots & forward is better for areas that have previously been broken.

I know that the 'ol Troy would tear up the soil and prepare a seed bed just fine. It could be a real handful when tilling an unbroken field but certainly wouldn't be as difficult being a 3-point implement.

 

[mddorange]

Gregp1083, a forward tiller is for protection from big roots and rocks as it will go over them without breaking anything. Reverse times will dig deeper but can cause problems by bogging down the tractor or breaking something if it gets caught. With your type soil you should be fine with either.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

In all the years I've been doing custom tilling, probably a couple thousand acres, I've NEVER, not once, wished I had a reverse rotating tine tiller behind my tractor!

SR

 

[gregp1083]

Thank you for your thoughts. It sounds like your far an away more experienced than most at the tilling trade. The reverse tiller would have to be ordered while the forward tine is in stock. Sounds like a forward tiller will break soil also with the added protection of a random rock or root.

In all the years I've been doing custom tilling, probably a couple thousand acres, I've NEVER, not once, wished I had a reverse rotating tine tiller behind my tractor!

SR

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I agree with Sawyer Rob. I have a forward tiller and I use it commercially. There are a few times that I want a reverse tiller and when I do, I just run mine in reverse. And, a reverse tiller is usually a LOT more expensive.

 

[jenkinsph]

I found someone to sell me a tiller. Now I need to decide if I should go with a forward or reverse tine tiller. My soil conditions are mostly soil, gravel and sand. Very little rocks. By rocks I mean anything bigger than a softball. I am using a New Holland Hydrostatic drive TC24DA and a 52" tiller.

I think you will find the forward tine tiller in this size to be all you will want to handle. Essentially the tiller will be pushing the tractor forward so your hydro transmission losses will be minimal. That leave you with the maximum pto output available to turn the tiller. You will need all the pto power you can get.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I do everything from small gardens with my small tiller, to larger fields with my bigger tiller,

To get the RIGHT tilth, it's really about learning HOW to get it! NOT, to just keep going over and over your garden spot...

Most guys waaaaaay "over till" their soil and ruin the soil structure!

SR

 

[bigtiller]

I agree with the others, forward is the only way for you. You will want more HP if you get the reverse rotation tiller.

 

[mapper]

I have soil that is fairly compacted below about 6". If I use my forward rotating tiller to break new ground it will only get down through that first 6" and tend bang off of the compacted layer. I find it much more effective to plow new ground first, then tilling is smooth as silk. I don't think a reverse rotation tiller would be much more effective and would probably beat the heck out of the tractor on the occasional rocks embedded in the hard soil layer.