gear vs. hydro for pulling tiller

eee · Dec 19, 2004

Thats all folks...............

Dargo · Dec 19, 2004

Yup, last word from me. I personally like both. I just picked what I thought would work best for me for what I need. I'm fairly adaptable, but I see no particular problems with gears; only a few advantages for hydro. But...you do pay more for those advantages as you mentioned. My grandfather said that he would never go with a car with an automatic transmission. He said that standard shift works just fine, and they have worked fine for decades. He was so hard headed about his belief in transmissions that it wasn't until he had his left knee replaced that he finally said that he would reluctantly go with a "junk" automatic transmission car. Since he is in his upper 90's, he figured that even a junk automatic transmission would likely last him long enough. I'm not quite that stuck in my ways. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif As the consensus agrees, a guy should buy what they like; there isn't really a "wrong" choice here.

BillyP · Dec 19, 2004

What kind of HP lose can I expect with a hydro at the pto. 

From everything I've read, from the manufacturers, you'll lose anywhere from 5 to 10% net PTO HP going from gear to hydro.

johnday · Dec 19, 2004

Moon; Thanks, I'm cooking as I speak, and I used white onions. Man, that ham smells good too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

keeney · Dec 19, 2004

The load on the transmission probably also depends on the tiller rotation direction. I don't know very much about tillers, but I do knwo that some spin forward and some spin the other way.

I would assume that the reverse-spinning type need to be pulled somewhat.

My experience using a trencher on a hydro machine is that its tempting to pull to much with the transmission and not just let the cutting action of the implement do the work. Maybe this is the same on a tiller?

With a gear tractor, assuming one with a low enough gera, it may be easier to set the speed appropriately and not be constantly pushing it faster than the process can efficiently go.

- Rick

JerryG · Dec 19, 2004

Nope..you cannot go from reverse to forward on a geared tractor as fast as you can a hydro.
That's funny, because I think that I can move my power shuttle lever with my hand as fast as you can move you floor control with your foot. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Tractors4u · Dec 19, 2004

( That's funny, because I think that I can move my power shuttle lever with my hand as fast as you can move you floor control with your foot. )

Ditto that Jerry. On my JD 4310 I can set the speed at which my shuttle shift shifts. I usually have it set on the slow shift though. I can be in reverse, through the lever just before I need the shift, turn the steering wheel while it is shifting. IN that one second or less it takes to shift, I have made a full lock to lock turn and it is shifting when I need it to. Kind of like a predictive shift.

computer_guy · Dec 19, 2004

I have operated both and like them equally... but my favorite means of propulsion for the plow is the little lady.
I have attached a picture of the ol' girl in action.
She is smooth and her pullin power is really improved since her hysterectomy. Just two cents from a proud dirt worker.

Dargo · Dec 19, 2004

keeney, Cruise control. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Moon · Dec 19, 2004

I guess that is what my wife uses also (white onions) I don't know the diff in white vs yellow.
I know two of my wife's recipies, one is grilled cheese, the other is the one you asked for. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
They are the perfect sidedish for ham.
I hope you like them!

Moon of Ohio

johnday · Dec 19, 2004

Moon; They were great! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gifNext time come on over! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

BTW, how does she do grilled cheese? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Moon · Dec 20, 2004

Hey Johnday,
Glad the scallops were to your liking. I even like them warmed up the second time around.
As for the grilled cheese. I never liked grilled cheese sandwiches. Something about the school lunches and the way they fixed them. But after getting married the wife was making them one day and I tried one. It was much better than any I had ever had. Her secret. She puts Miracle Whip on em. I suppose mayo would do, but with miracle whip they are mucho better than regular ones. So, to make em, when you put on the cheese add some MW, then cook as usual. Give em a try if you like mayo.

later on,
Moon of Ohio

ps. I like hydro. I've used gear on my old 8N, and a Mitsubushi tractor. I like hydro better overall. To the original poster, thats all this is, just the preferece of one over the other. Try em out and see which you like better. You really can't go wrong. Just choose the one you like best. I'm sure either will do the job.

JerryG · Dec 20, 2004

I have operated both and like them equally... but my favorite means of propulsion for the plow is the little lady. 
But, the question is does she have steer brakes? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

bandit67 · Dec 20, 2004

I did a bunch of tilling yesterday, as the ground has dried out since the last snowstorm. I have an area of what was sparse weeds in heavy packed clay, almost like concrete because the neighbors used to park in that area, that I want to plant grass on next spring. I wanted to get the top 6" tilled up and broken up to aerate the dirt, and allow precip to make it's way in over the winter, so in spring, it'll be easier to till in the organic stuff for lawn prep.

Anyway, that stuff was hard as a rock, and I ended up having to run the tractor at creep speed so that the ground wouldn't stall the motor. It was real easy to just barely touch the hydro pedal to go as slow as I needed to get the job done. I know that with past gear tractors that I've used, I could not go as slow as I was able to yesterday. So my vote is for the hydro - it's also awesome for loader work, clearing snow, and mowing. I too really like the 2 pedal hydro setup better than the single trundle pedal.

Soundguy · Dec 20, 2004

( He said he would strongly recommend a hydro for tiller work cause it is easer to go real slow. better that a gear. that you would be riding the clutch a lot. would wear it out over time. )

Methinks the dealer simply wanted to stear you into a HST unit vs a gear unit.

It is pretty much 'wrote' that you don't use a clutch to slow down.. you use it to cushion-slip-engage something. That is you use it to get moving.. or to get an implement spinning. Your transmission and throttle is what you use to control your speed. If your tractor's lowest gear at rated pto speed is too fast for tilling.. that tractor is not suitable for the task.. For instance.. the old ford N series.. 1st gear was way to fast for rototilling unless you had a howard or everet aux tranny to slow down the rear axle vs the pto.

Soundguy

Soundguy · Dec 20, 2004

( How many forefathers had pto either? )

Um.. Quite common from the 30's and up..

Soundguy

Bob_Skurka · Dec 20, 2004

If your tractor's lowest gear at rated pto speed is too fast for tilling.. that tractor is not suitable for the task.. 

Soundguy, that is exactly my experience with an old Oliver and an old Ford, 1st was simply too fast for tilling up my hard clay. On the other hand, using the B2910 or the TC24, both with hydro trannies, allow me to keep the pto speed up and the ground speed down. I think that many CUT gear tractors have 1st set too high for proper tilling.

JerryG · Dec 20, 2004

I think that many CUT gear tractors have 1st set too high for proper tilling.
That is right. It is as with any kind of equipment, you must spec the equipment for what you want to do. Also, as you move up in equipment they have more speeds in non-hydro models. The main thing that the poster needs to do is make sure that each piece of equipment fits together correctly and that he finds a good dealer.

CMunger · Dec 20, 2004

Some compact tractors have a shiftable PTO, you can shift the speed of the PTO to 1000 without changing the shaft, so in other words shift the PTO into 1000 and your tiller is able to reach operating speed at a lower RPM, and thus at a lower ground speed.
Chuck M.

Dargo · Dec 20, 2004

If you were lacking power to pull the tiller in first gear because it moved to fast, wouldn't lowering the RPM to get 540 on a 1000 PTO be counter productive. You would have even less power then (because of less RPM) when PTO power is what you were lacking in the first place. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif