run away bcs tiller problem

[farmerTom]

I'm so worried about tilling the ground when it's to wet because the farmer I spent I year with kept saying how much you can damage the soil if you till it when it's too wet. His whole test was if the soil can be squished into a ball and doesnt easily fall apart when tapping then it's too wet to work. Maybe a little moisture wouldn't hurt tho.

-Tom

 

[aczlan]

What he is talking about is probably related to compaction and getting stuck, neither of which is a problem in your case. Your problem is that the soil is too dry and baked together to till well. Try setting up a sprinkler to hit a 2 pass width piece of ground and soak it. Once you have it broken up, then future tillings will go much easier.

Aaron Z

 

[oldballs]

Your BCS tiller looks pretty hefty to me, especially compared to the front tine 8 HP Craftsman tiller that I've used since 1973. Thus here are some other pointers besides the above on breaking new ground......

On first pass set the drag stake deep enough to hold it back..........Use low gear.........set the engine speed not too fast.........With those helfty handles, you should be able to lean down to get some easy weight applied. ..... a BCS user or the manual might give more hints. ... my.... 0.02 c Cheers, Mike

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey oldballs,

You give good advice - for running a slow RPM front-tine tiller. There is not drag stake on a rear tine tiller unless you make one as oldmech explains.

The tiller Tom is using has a tine speed of 290 RPM. The ratio of drive wheel revolutions to tine revolutions is 20 to 1 in 1st gear. On a rear tine tiller, the purpose of the drive wheels is not to propel the tractor forward, but to HOLD BACK the tiller. If Tom leans down on the handles, his tines will take over for the drive wheels and it will be like he lit a rocket on the tail of the tractor. If he wants to get more "dig" from a rear tine tiller, he needs to add weight, not down pressure.

Tom,

Aczlan has it right. Tilling in ultra-dry conditions is difficult because the ground becomes concrete. It's hard on the operator, hard on the soil, and hard on the machinery. This is true with ANY soil and any machinery. If my farm ground is too dry, I can't get my 5-16 plow I pull behind my 125 hp JD 4430 to penetrate the soil. You are right that too-wet conditions are also brutal on soil structure and I wouldn't recommend tilling then, either. A good rule of thumb on when the ground is fit is to take a handful of it and make a ball. Toss the ball from hand to hand. If the ball stays intact, your ground is too wet. If the ball breaks apart in the first couple throws, it's ready to go. If you can't dig the ball out of the ground by hand, it's too dry.

 

[farmerTom]

Thanks for all the tips,

I ended up setting up some sprinklers and ran them for an hour or so. Going to see how the ground is tomorrow and hopefully it will be able to till, I'll try the throwing the ball test.

So much to learn and so many plants to plant I just want to be done with this tilling nonsense.

-Tom

 

[Bentleg]

Hey farmerTom, good luck with your garden projects. I hope you have the flap for the rear of the tiller back on there. You might be holding back and slip under there.

 

[TomSeller]

I have had them both run forward on hard ground as well as kick the rear up and stand on it's nose after hitting a rock. Don't lean into these things unless you are looking to have some dental work done. Or maybe a nose job.

 

[billibob]

Hello everyone,

I picked up a used bcs 720 w/ a 20in tiller. The tines were completely worn down and wouldn't bite into the ground at all so I just installed a replacement set. Now it's actually biting into the ground but I'm having issues of it basically popping a wheel and running away on the tines instead of the wheels.

I was wondering if that was a common issue with really compacted soil or if I installed the new tillers wrong.

Thanks,
-Tom

I don't know what a bcs tiller is. I have a Troy Bilt rear tine FRT Tuffy tiller (their smallest tiller) and it constantly ran away on the tines. After much experimentation with weights, holding it back by hand, etc. I bolted a piece of perforated angle iron to the bottom of the depth lever that touches the ground. About a foot or so from the bolt point I bolted the angle iron to a board 8 inches wide by about 18 inches long. By standing on this board with one foot I was able to stop the runaway and let it dig in to its max depth. I then step off the board, let the tiller move forward a bit, and repeat process. When making a turn to come back the other way I tilt the tiller forward to lift the board up, and make the turn, being careful to have the board clear of the tines before engaging them again. Your tiller may be too big for this. I don't know and can't make recommendations other than to say this is how I solved my problem.