Tractor Sizing Tiller size for CC 7304 (7264)

[jma]

I have a question that someone can likely help with. I have a fairly new cub cadet 7304 compact turbo diesel (30hp with 26 hp pto and turf tires - the same as the 7264 with the turbo). The machine runs fairly well, but my 5 foot box blade (that I used on another tractor) is a bit much for that machine for anything other than moving loose topsoil. I am now interested in buying a 3 point rototiller for this machine. I would like to get the largest tiller that will work on my machine in order to till a large garden and grass plot. I've been looking at a 50 to 56" wide tiller that has 6 blades on each flange (most tillers have 4) by either Land Pride or Kuhn. The machine itself is 50" wide. I've run a 36" wide tiller with absolutely no problem and plenty of horse-power and traction to spare. The tiller's manufacturer claims that a minimum of 24 HP PTO will work. My question is should I believe the minimum HP ratings and assume that a fairly large tiller will work on this smaller machine?

Any advice is welcomed, particularly by those who have run large tillers and either not had a problem or by those who have determined what is too much for a machine of this size.

Thanks in advance.

Jeff

 

[cobra]

i have the 7300 and the tiller u want should run just fine on yours. Are your tires filled for extra weight when pulling the box blade, i have turf tires on mine also and am looking at getting a box blade to rip up drive ways and such for leveling and i am looking into filling my tires with beetjuice

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Jeff, I have a Kubota B2910, which is a 30hp tractor about 25/26hp at the PTO and use a Land Pride RTA1550 50" tiller. I would say that you could go a bit larger. Tilling and hp seems to depend on soil conditions. I read a lot of posts where people drop a big tiller on a small tractor and claim it works great, they just have to make several passes to get down to full depth. I think they miss the point, a properly sized tiller will get down to full depth on the first pass, thereby a smaller tiller may actually be faster at finishing the job than a larger tiller. If I was you, I would look at something in the 50 to 54"" size and know that you will probably have enough power to do the job in one pass and you will be as wide as the rear tire tracks.

I picked my 50" because it has an offset feature that allows me to shift the tiller about a foot to the side. I am more interested in tilling for new flower beds than for a produce garden, the offset feature lets me get the tiller right next to a wall, along a fence, etc while still keeping the tractor far enough away from it to steer.