Tiller Tillers for CUTs

[soulasphil]

I'm looking at a new tiller for a JD3520 ( 30 PTO hp).
Deere recommends 655 (55'' commercial duty) or 665 (65" commercial duty).
I wouldn't use it too intensively since I only have about 3 acres to maintain, but I'm fed up with the walk behind tiller and the effort it implies.
65" would be nice to cover the tractor tracks, but wouldn't it be too hard on the small engine?
The tractor is a Deere, but the tiller needn't be. Any other suggestions?
Glad if you could share your experience, especially if you have pictures !

 

[keyser soze]

I would go with the King Kutter Gear Drive Tiller. You can go to their website to find a local dealer. You'll find that it's probably less expensive than most other tillers while being better or at the very least as good as tillers from bush hog, woods, land pride, john deere etc.

The King Kutter tiller also features 6 tines per flange standard. Many of the other ones only have 4 tines per flange which don't do as good of a job mixing and chopping up the soil.

Check out King Kutter Incorporated for more info... I think the one you should look at is the TG-72. A 6' wide tiller.

 

[soulasphil]

Thank you keyser soze, the KingKutter tillers seem to be real good :
gear driven, heavy duty, 6 tines per flange, slip clutch included, etc.
the 6 foot TG72 seems too much for the tractor though : 35-50 hp required
I would have to be content with the 5 foot TG60 still requiring 25-40 hp

 

[Reg]

Thank you keyser soze, the KingKutter tillers seem to be real good :
gear driven, heavy duty, 6 tines per flange, slip clutch included, etc.
the 6 foot TG72 seems too much for the tractor though : 35-50 hp required
I would have to be content with the 5 foot TG60 still requiring 25-40 hp

Not clear (to ME).
I'll second keyser soze's suggestion, go for the 6ft one.

Sure, it might take 35 PTO HP to get the MAX work out of it that it can do and the upper limit is to keep you from trashing it with 100 HP.
Are you ripping up hard clay ?, sand ?, what ?

I have a 6ft KKII behind a (supposedly) 42 HP tractor.
I forget what the PTO power is, but I run it on the 1,000 RPM PTO output gear at UNDER 54% of the 2600 or so suggested engine speed for 540 RPM from the 540 output shaft.
At 1200~1300 I suspect that it is putting out WAY under 20 HP at the PTO.
At the lower revs and higher gear you might expect it to "lug", but it doesn't.
What it DOES do in the higher gear at lower revs is to stall early when I "discover" stuff, i.e. way before damage happens.
Unless you have a "productivity" issue there is nothing wrong with tilling slow and shallow with low HP, then making another pass, or two.
You get a better seed bed anyway.

One more thing on the KKII, it is a "spiral" rotor, so the cutters come into the soil sort of one by one, not every 60 degrees of rotor.
It is also forward rotation, so the tendency is for it to aid the tractor in going forwards if/when it hits really hard stuff, i.e. it can "climb" and push the tractor on cement paths (-:
I think mine has 9 flanges; so every 360/54 degrees a blade touches down, quite smooth.

PS I have mostly "Sandy Loam", but have tilled up 35 year old heavily compacted lawns with no problem.

 

[hockeyhead]

A properly adjusted slip clutch is what will protect your PTO drivelive from locking up your tiller on some unknown feature under the earth. Stalling your tractor with a PTO driven implement is not good for the tractor. KKII tillers do come with a slip clutch, but you will need to adjust it to your conditions so it will stay engaged as you till to your desired conditions but slip when it makes contact with harder objects. Directions to adjust the slip clutch are in the manual, and were available on their or this site.

 

[Stimw]

Smaller tillers that I have seen can be offset to cover the tire track. I just bought a used 4' tiller and I cover my tire track very well.
This tiller is supposed to be run at 540 PTO RPM. My tractor, Branson 3510 has tractor RPM about 2600 RPM to get 540 PTO. I have been running the tractor at 2000 RPM and the tiller still does a great job.
In the tilled dirt pic I was tilling toward the camera. Looking to the left you can't see a tire track.

 

[DK35vince]

Thank you keyser soze, the KingKutter tillers seem to be real good :
gear driven, heavy duty, 6 tines per flange, slip clutch included, etc.
the 6 foot TG72 seems too much for the tractor though : 35-50 hp required
I would have to be content with the 5 foot TG60 still requiring 25-40 hp

I run a 6' King Kutter II tiller on my 35 HP tractor with No problem..

 

[IslandTractor]

I also have a 6ft King Kutter on my 40hp tractor. PTO is about 30. No trouble at all even in previously unplowed root infested fields. It is nice to completely cover the tracks even though offset does work.

 

[soulasphil]

Thank you every one. I had noticed the 4 footers could be offset, the pictures show you can do a real good job that way, but if the tractor can manage a 6 footer, I'd rather have that. The earth is sandy here on the seaside and I intended to make several passes anyway. The PTO is 540 rpm. As for stalling the tractor, I often do it with the rotary cutter going through high grass and so far it doesn't seem to cause dammage to the transmission.

 

[DieselAddiction]

Check out McCormick tillers also if you can.(built by taylor pittsburgh..same as KK brand). Gear driven 6 blades/flange. I know I can get one for same price/cheaper than KKII and it has a lot better finish then the KK. I am sure the Green paint will add a bit to the price, not sure haven't priced Jd tiller.

 

[soulasphil]

I have difficulty finding McCormick tillers, are they rebranded Tayler tillers ?

 

[Reg]

I have nothing against the idea of an off-set 4ft tiller, having never used one.
What I don't (yet) understand is what happens on subsequent passes.
Do the tractor's right wheels run in fluffed soil with the left wheels on hard pack ?
{Sort of like plowing}
Do you in fact run circular plowing patterns, e.g. clockwise and widening, counter-clockwise from the outer edges in to middle ?

Seems having the tractor wheels on same/similar soil for every pass makes things simpler/easier.

Yes, slip clutches do in fact work, but the tractor is still likely to stall if it is running at low power and the driven implement jams.
I don't seem to have a fragile tractor, but I doubt that stalling at 1200/1300 RPM is any worse for it than running at 2600 and "powering through" a slipping clutch with a stalled implement on it.

Diesel Addiction;
Thanks for the tip on McCormick, I'll check into them for other ground engaging toyze.
Gee, I wonder if they do a Harley Rake look_alike....
I agree KK paint isn't at all good, but heck this is farm machinery, so WHAT if I have to slop some highway yellow on it with a 4 inch brush every few years ?
(-:

 

[Stimw]

Since I just got my 4'er last weekend I'm no expert at using it. If you look at the pic, to the far left I made three passes side by side and I put the skid in the skid trench that was left by the last pass. It seemed to work well doing it this way on ground that I have been working.
I have basicly 4 planting seasons here. What I like about the 4'er is I will be able to go in between old crops and till for new. I still have a few cabbage and brussel sprouts from the winter plant.

 

[shakin]

look carefully not all 4' offset the same amount each brand is different. depending on tires a 4' may or may not cover. been through this and then most 5' wot offset at all. so here comes my beating i found and bought a delmorino 168 68" tiller and i run it behind my 24 pto hp tractor. i do not run it at peak rpms because i do not have creep gear and when tilling i am moving too fast. i bought it off a guy who ran it on a 25 hp tractor he sold it because removing the subframe for the hoe was a pita and tilling wasn't worth it. i have not had any issues spinning this tiller i have broke ground, tilled in manure. and accidently broke apart chunks of ledge. i personally feel that i am not hurting my tractor with this tiller it dosent even think about lugging. and this was the only way i could find to cover my tire tracks without getting into a new commercial unit like a land pride or such.

 

[Reg]

Interesting Sigma tiller that has adjustable off-set;
YouTube - How to - Rotary Tiller for 3point Hitch, PTO Drive

 

[soulasphil]

For my 3520, my John Deere dealer recommends KUHN cultirotor EL 53 - 155. With 1.52 meters, it is wider than the tractor but can be offset if need be. It weighs 295 kg and needs 21 to 28 HP on the PTO, which is fine with my 30. It uses a chain transmission rather than gears.

 

[The Tractor Guy 22]

A 655 will cover the tire tracks on a 3320 or 3520 or 3720. With the R-1, R-3, or R-4 tires, as long as the rims are NOT flipped around to wide stance. A 655 has a cut width of 55 inches plus skid shoes on either side = 62 inch width.

The only time you will see tire tracks is when turning. If your property requires a lot of maneuvering then the 665 will cover the tracks no matter what. A 665 plus skid shoes on either side will come out to a 72 inch width.

The John deere commercial tillers are the best out there. I've hit concrete, rebar, wood, car parts, and pretty much everything else without one problem.

In Pic-3320 R-4's, 655 Tiller

 

[wny770]

I have a Woods GT tiller that is BOMB PROOF.... Just a suggestion.

 

[Don87]

My BIL is using a 72 inch King Kutter on his JD790.

But this thread is a year and a half old.

 

[toolbox5]

i use an older jd 660 on my 3120 22pto hp and don't have any problems ,just go slower if the ground gets too hard