Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M?

   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M? #1  

pclausen

Veteran Member
Joined
May 9, 2008
Messages
1,472
Location
Nelson County, VA
Tractor
JD 5085M, Ford 1700, JD GT235
So I stumbled across this on cl today:

tiller1.JPG


Specs and price:

tiller2.JPG


My tractor is 85hp (70hp PTO) and I got my rears set all the way out, so the outside edge to outside edge is 86".

Do you think I'll kill this tiller with my tractor? I got ground to till that have stumps and large roots just below the surface. But I also have areas that "should" have been cleared of all that via a root rate on a dozer. Once I get everything done the first year, I think I'll be fine going forward, except for the few inches my tires still stick out from the tilled area. I figured I'll just cut into the previous row slightly and probably be ok.

I called up the guy and he seemed like a straight talker. Tiller works great and is real smooth. Might need a tine or two replaced soon, but is otherwise in perfect mechanical shape according to him.

Seems like a good price for a commercial grade Maschio. At first I thought it was a B205, which I definitely would have jumped on. But the H205, even thought it is chain drive and not gear drive, appears to be a pretty stout unit. A B230 would be perfect for my tractor, but at this price, this might be close enough!

What do you guys think?
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M? #2  
That should be the same as the Deere 681 tiller and if like my 673 tiller should have a slip clutch. If you have the epto option I think it would be a good match. The price is good if it is in good shape I would buy it in a heartbeat if closer to me. While it would be better to have some overlap a 90" tiller would cost a heck of alot more money. I would deal with the tire tracks and not worry too much.
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M? #3  
I have one of these tillers and also have a JD5520 that is comperable HP to yours. It is too much HP for the tiller to run at 540 RPM but the price is good enough on the tiller to buy it anyway. If you happen to have the E-PTO feature that allows the tractor to run at a lower speed but same 540 PTO speed it would be perfect but if not you will have to run at a slower tractor RPM or you will chew the tiller up. The tiller people tell me more tillers are ruined by too much HP. The slower tiller speed would give less than fully satisfactory results but I have done it and it's OK.

My H205 six ft gets pulled by a 45-50 HP Kubota L4300 and it's a near perfect combo. I could use a little more HP but it works well enough as is.

Go buy that tiller if in good shape and pick up a secondary tractor to use with it.
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Yep, I do have E-PTO feature, which I use for most everything but my ***** grinder. The actual outside edge of the lugs on my R1 tires are probably more like 82", so I don't think the track width will be that big a deal.

I was looking at these 2 tilers, which I could get at the prices shown:

Bush Hog RTH88
Cat 2
65-80 PTO HP
Tilling width 88"
Tilling depth 7"
Overall Width 91"
Weight 964 lbs
Price $4,999

Woods SGT88
Cat 2
40-70 PTO HP
Tilling Width 84"
Tilling depth 8.25"
Weight 998 lbs
Price $5,650

The H205 is about 150-200 lbs lighter and rated at 10-20 hp less, but the price is right and the tilling width is only a few inches less.

I'll probably go ahead and pick it up!

I was also looking at the King Cutter II, but this looks like a much stouter tiller for less money! And the KK is cat 1 only. I'd have to use bushings.
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
That should be the same as the Deere 681 tiller and if like my 673 tiller should have a slip clutch
Yes, it does have a slip clutch.

So I can get spare parts from my Deere dealer? Great!

My dealer quoted me $4395 for the 681, and $6,585 for the Frontier TR2293. :shocked: Too much for what I need it for.
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M? #6  
Looks like a great deal! They are a quality implement and worth the money! I'd be very cautious about the stumps and roots, though. Got a subsoiler or ripper? A few passes through the area with a stout ripper could save that rototiller..

AKfish
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I'm going to call him this morning to firm up the deal!

What's a good source for replacement tines?

Running in E-PTO will also reduce ground speed. Which is great since I don't have a creeper gear.

I have a 16-3 tip up plow (JD45), so I'll run that through the stump and root area first. I'd rather mess that up than my new tiller.
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M? #8  
Just check the condition of the Maschio and see how much use or abuse that it has. I can't see if the tines are worn but the wear should be compatible with the soil type. You would have more wear in an abrasive soil and less in clay. There should be little to no chunks out of the tines indicating contact aggressive with metal. The adjustment screw for the chain (sticks out of the gear case cover) originally stuck out maybe 2 inches and should have adjustment left. Is the side cover gasket leaking?What kind of tractor and HP did he use it with? What kind of guy is he and how does that reveal how he treats his equipment?

If you do have an interest and go to look at it and want more info, you can PM me. Typing is tedious. Also, if nice and you don't want it, I could use a backup tiller and a road trip. Maybe not in that order.

You are golden with the EPTO. I can't remember the RPM for that but you can go to a power curve chart of the tractor and it will give a graph that I think will show 50 HP at 550 EPTO speed. So you're good to go. To cover your tracks you just slide it over to cover one track and always put the covered track on one side. I did it for years and it works great.

Again, the tiller needs to be in good order so check it out. By the way, you can mail order parts easier and for less than JD. Incidentally, on some of these you check the side cover oil by removing the fill plug and inserting a wire until it contacks the oil and then checking the level that way. There is no check hole. Typical Italian and I understand completely.
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks for the tips!

Just got off the phone with the seller. He's a typical older southern farmer guy with a heavy southern accent. He's doing a lot of work for hire these days and just doesn't use the tiller anymore. He got it used from neighbor about 5 years ago. He's seems like a very straight up guy.

Are there any chunks missing from any of the tines? No. About 6-8 are worn down to the point that they should be replaced. But none a bent or otherwise damaged.

How far does the adjustment screw stick out? The adjustment screw has plenty of length left. He didn't recall how much, but never really messed with it. (not sure if that is good or bad)

Is the side cover gasket leaking? No, no leaks at all anywhere.

What kind of tractor was it used on? An older 55HP PTO one.

If the weather is dry, he plans to have it hooked up to his tractor for me to try it out, to make sure everything is as advertised.

So assuming everything works out and everything he said on the phone is correct (I have no reason to think otherwise), I'll be the proud owner of a Maschio tiller this weekend!
 
   / Maschio H205 - too light duty for JD 5085M? #10  
Bring an adjustable wrench and a big screwdriver to screw that chain adjustment screw in. You make it snug and then back off one to two turns. See how much is left. Check for "slop" in the overall driveline. Good luck----it sounds like he might take less so bone up on horse trading.
 
 
 
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