Rototiller, self powered Hydro or mechanical

[cmkh3]

I am looking at a garden tractor size of unit to primarily mow and till.

For the tilling what are the thoughts on self powered units versus Hydraulic versus mechanical?

Basically I am trying to figure out if the self powered units are heavy enough in comparison to the tractor to get the job done.

Thanks

Chris

 

[bontai_Joe]

Without knowing what possible model tractor you are considering, it is impossible for me to recommend anything. There are too many variables to consider. As an example, if you are looking at a Kubota tractor, I'd recommend a mechanical driven tiller, but if you were considering a Craftsman GT5000 I'd possibly recommend a self powered tow behind unit, and an Ingersoll 4000 series tractor is only available with the hydraulic tiller (I believe).

 

[cmkh3]

OOPS sorry I forgot that piece of the puzzle.

Currently in contention we have the following;
Sears GT 5000
Cub Cadet 2521

The Sears model would if I am not mistaken require a tow behind unit
The Cub Cadet 2521 has a hydraulic tiller whereby the hydraulic pump for the tiller is powered by the tractors mid PTO pulley necessitating deck removal.

The initial cost difference (tractor and tiller) appears to be $2k+/- 3% (political polls usually vary by +/- 3% so /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

Chris

 

[PBinWA]

I have a GT5000 and had a rear tiller. I sold the rear tiller last summer. It was a beast to use and probably not worth the money I spent on it.

Even with weighted AG tread tires the tiller is too heavy for the GT5000 to really handle on anything other than flat ground. If you have any hills inclines or hard packed soil then you will be spending a lot of time creeping back and forth over the soil.

You will also need to get the eletric lift kit for the GT5000 which can be hard to find through Sears. I had to get the repair guy to come to my house and special order the parts. Lifting the tiller with the manual lever arm was very tiring and it is something that you have to do a lot if your terrain is not tiller friendly.

The guy that bought my tiller said that Sears was not selling the rear tiller anymore but maybe that was just a temporary thing.

I'm not sure any of these garden tractors are really big enough to handle a tiller of useful size.

If you are planning to just till the same flat square plot once or twice a year then these rear mounted garden tractor tillers will probably work OK. If you were planning to cultivate unused ground into new garden then they will be a lot more work.

I also found that the rear mounted tiller was hard to navigate around with the garden tractor in tight spaces (neighbors garden spot).

I have a real CUT now and will rent a PTO tiller for most of what I need to do. I might buy a small walk behind tiller for the garden but even that is something that might be best left for a rental walk behind.

Not a fan of the Craftsman GT5000 with tiller set up.

Not sure the Cub set up would be worth the additional money either. At that price you should see if you can just buy a CUT with a mid mount mower and a real PTO.

 

[bontai_Joe]

I've no personal experience with either model, you mentioned. But if it was my choice between the two you mentioned, I'd go with the Cub for the dealer support, easier installation of the tiller and a slightly more durable setup. How ever, as mentioned above, a good walk behind tiller is much more manuverable in doing flower beds, working inside fenced areas, etc. I've owned a Troy-Bilt 7 HP Horse model for over 20 years and it is an awesome machine. Yep. it is slower than a tractor mounted unit, but it can do things a tractor mounted unit can't and most of the things a tractor mounted unit can, just slower.