Tiller Reverse or Forward Tine Tiller ?

jbrumberg · May 14, 2008

I live in the NE with rocky, heavy, clay based soil. I use/used my tillers to break virgin sod as well as create and maintain garden areas. I have only owned forward rotation tillers (Woods T42, CCM M-160), but I put some "thought" into the CCM purchase as it related to forward vs. reverse rotation tillers:

Foward Rotation- bounce you forward over immovable objects , throw rocks away from tiller, "push"/"paddlewheel" you forward through heavy material, "works" in tractor's direction.

Reverse Rotation- pulverizes soil finer, mixes soil better, would probably work much better in established gardens.
I will add: works against tractor.

I "theorized" that the Reverse Rotation tillers would tend to jamb on bigger rocks as they tend to be thrown up and forward causing the rocks to jam up in the tiller housing and would not bounce (but jam) when "interacting" with immovable objects.

With your PTO HP I would go with a forward rotation tiller.

Jay

madhatter · May 14, 2008

Thanks for everyones advice, now I REALLY don't know what to do !

Both sides have + / -'s problem with buying a tiller, can't really take it back if you are un happy ! I don't expect my roots will be any larger than 2". And who knows about rocks, most are under the dirt so you won't know till you till.

With small roots... does the tiller just bury them or spit them out ????

Rara Avis · May 14, 2008

Buy one of each...

If your soil is not completely rockbound go with the reverse tine tiller...it takes fewer cycles for that completely pulverized soil...

As long as you have excellent ear protection, you won't hear the stones rattling around in the tiller...BUT you will feel it...

jinjimbob · May 15, 2008

I used the reverse tiller today on soil that had never been tilled.

It only too 10 minutes to jam it, with a small section of branch, 5 inches thick, 2 foot long. The clutch slipped for a second and before I had chance to do anything, the engine died. I will see how to get that branch out in a day or so.

Question, when tilling with a Kubota B2320, what position should the rear pto lower/raise lever be in, the middle or at the bottom? If I have it at the middle, the tiller raises up. Just learning the ropes.

EastTexFrank · May 16, 2008

I run a Kuhn 52" forward tine tiller behind my B2400. For me, the reverse tine tillers are the way to go if you are buying a walk behind because they won't beat you to death to the same extent. If you are putting it behind a tractor then a forward tine tiller isn't going to throw or drag you around. It'll handle rocks better and to be honest, I've never seen that much difference in the so called quality of the "seed bed preperation" between the two, at least not on my ground. I'd get the forward tine tiller and save a few bucks.

I put the PTO lever all the way down into the float position and let the skids on the tiller control the depth of the tines.

Rara Avis · May 16, 2008

jinjimbob said:
I used the reverse tiller today on soil that had never been tilled.

It only too 10 minutes to jam it, with a small section of branch, 5 inches thick, 2 foot long. The clutch slipped for a second and before I had chance to do anything, the engine died. I will see how to get that branch out in a day or so.

Question, when tilling with a Kubota B2320, what position should the rear pto lower/raise lever be in, the middle or at the bottom? If I have it at the middle, the tiller raises up. Just learning the ropes.

23HP is that engine or PTO?

Also, never ever tilled soil...you might want to take it a little slower...like start with a proposed depth of 4 inches and then go back for another pass...

madhatter · May 18, 2008

Bought a LandPride RTA1050. $1700.00 which is a good price in Canada. I think the forward tilling is more suitable for my conditions of roots and a few rocks.... we will see. Thanks to all who gave advice !

madhatter · Jun 6, 2008

Just to let everone know, I received my tiller ( although it came Kabota orange, oh well, matches the Massey forward/reverse handles which are orange lol ... and the dealer gave me 200 bucks off ! )

anyway.... my fears are settled, the tiller is very tough and strong. Tilled a patch that I removed trees from, kept the tiller sheild high, and it either spit out the root or just chewed it up. Rocks are the same, it just spit is out the back, can't imagine if it was a reverse tine. I know the reverse tine has it's place, but in my yard, normal tine tilling is the best. On another note, the Landpride 1050 seems very strong, I requested a shear bolt as I think a slip clutch does work, BUT has to be maintained or it can take out our tractor or tiller, a bolt will always break and is minor to replace. Although, for what have have tilled thus far, I have yet to break the bolt.

The only drawback I had, was the pto shaft, I had to cut it ( 6 inches total ! ) and taking off the shield and putting it back on is very confusing and a pain. But over all VERY happy with the tiller and the job it does ! So to all that have fears of a reverse tine with roots/rocks, go with a forward tiller. If you HAVE to reverse till, take it easy and go in reverse seems to do the same job, although the manual says not to.