King Kutter 5 Foot Tiller Clogging Issue

[wirlybird]

I am running a 5 foot King Kutter tiller behind my JD 3038E.
Recently did a large till job. The area is does evey year. The owner cuts the grass down before I till.

Issue is that at the ends of the tiller, grass and dirt are getting wound around the main axel tube between the outer most tines and the edge of the tiller where the bearings are. See circled area in picture.
It's not an issue with the more inner tines.
When it does this the grasses get wound around so tight that they get everything very hot from rubbing while the tiller is running.
It also puts a big drag on the tractor PTO from the friction the grasses create.

Anyone have this issue and know how to reduce or eliminate it?
My first guess is that the grass is starting to hang up or tangle on the bolt heads for the tines and it just escalates from there.
Once it is all clogged up the grasses are very hard to remove!

What you see in the picture was only about 15 minutes of tilling at the end of the job.
There is build up on the other tines towards the middle, but it is just on the tines and not wrapping around.
It only does this at the ends.

 

[bigtiller]

That actually happens quite often.
The problem is, the grass is to long and green.
Next time, let the cut grass decompose for a few days or more if it was cut when it was really tall.

For now, a linoleum knife will help to cut and remove the grass.

 

[wirlybird]

That actually happens quite often.
The problem is, the grass is to long and green.
Next time, let the cut grass decompose for a few days or more if it was cut when it was really tall.

For now, a linoleum knife will help to cut and remove the grass.

View attachment 3795746

Yes, it was recently cut as we have had so much rain we had to let the ground dry enough for the equipment to not make ruts!
I'll get one of those knives.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Tell them to mow 3 weeks before you till, then again about 2-3 days before you till ...

 

[wirlybird]

Tell them to mow 3 weeks before you till, then again about 2-3 days before you till ...

Would be nice but as I said with all the rain we have had it just wasn't possible to mow without rutting up the whole area.
We were lucky to get it to dry enough to get it tilled on schedule.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I understand it was wet, but the answer really is, have it short and brown. Glyphosate it week or two ahead of time. Or mow. Or if weather doesn’t cooperate, deal with the wrapping.

Oddly enough. I till under 5’ tall green buckwheat, and I don’t have wrapping issues. Maybe the stalks, even though green, are more brittle? Fixin to do that next week in fact.

 

[California]

a linoleum knife will help to cut and remove the grass.

View attachment 3795746

I have a linoleum knife driven into a piece of conduit, to reach in from either side.

Using pliers to tug on a stem allows a lot more force.

 

[California]

I learned that blackberries in a tiller are worse than grass. Much tougher, plus thorns.

If you have the patience for a longwinded post ...

Rototilling? I learned it's essential to mow first.

I have a tight spot between fence and lane that's a row of apple trees choked by Himalayan blackberry jungle. Every year I mow there, to make access to the trees for pruning then again for harvest. I mostly have to back in around each tree, there's no room to maneuver. This year I had the...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[zzvyb6]

Sharpen the blades ! Grass isn't being cut, just pulled out by the roots. Also try backing into the furrow instead of going forward. This increases the cutting velocity a bit and gives the cut stuff another chomp. My tiller won't do it if I leave the back door completely down. If you happen to get plastic baler twine wrapped up in it, a propane wee burner takes care of business quickly.

 

[California]

Is that good practice, to sharpen rototiller blades? I asked about this here several years ago and everyone said no.