Tiller Tiller Depth Control ?

   / Tiller Depth Control ? #1  

DaveM

Silver Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2001
Messages
223
Location
Tioga county, NY
Tractor
Kubota B2710/LA402 FEL, R4's
Hi All,

I got the tiller, Bush Hog RTS50 and boxblade, Bush Hog BX600 yesterday! The plan is to get a truck load of FREE compost today, courtesy of Cornell U., and prepare a garden plot tomorrow. I'm still waiting for the 60" bucket w/ detachable toothbar and chain hooks to come in but with luck I might see that stuff next week. The bucket is in transit.

The tiller was delivered with the skid shoes adjusted to the deepest till position. When I mentioned to the dealer that maybe it would sit on the garage floor a bit steadier with the skids set at their shallowest position he said they never know what setting the customer would prefer. Then after I looked it over a bit more I realized it would still sit on it's tines no matter what postion the skids were in. For some reason (or no reason /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif!) this made me wonder if depth control could be accomplished by just using the tractor's 3 pt. position control. Then I could just leave the skids where they are and not need tools to adjust the depth for second or third passes. Of course the manual says use the skids. Am I missing something?

Thanks Gang- Dave
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ? #2  
Hi Dave,

Haven't bought a tiller yet, but have thought lots about it! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. Here's my take, which can be corrected by those who know what they are talking about! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

If you use your 3ph as the depth controller the actual tilling will follow the movement of your tractor not the ground. If your tractor moves up or down so will the 3ph and thus the tiller. You could end up with 2" tilled in some spots and 7" in others. If you use the skids and put the 3ph in float, the tiller will ride on the skids...on the ground...tilling the same depth the whole way along.

As I said though, this is just my thinking....

Kevin
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Hi Kevin,

Well, your take sure makes sense to me! I had considered that the tiller could still float UP but failed to realize the benefit of being able to float DOWN when the tractor's rear end went up, Though the garden plot will be on level ground I'll still have plenty of little bumps... most likely caused by all the rocks I'm sure to find! If I add enough compost I'm hoping to tip the rock to soil ratio in favor of the soil. We'll see /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

Thanks for the brain jump start!

Dave
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ? #4  
Dave...

Definitely use the tiller depth control. I had a Kubota tiller on my B7100 and if you don't use your depth control you'll have uneven tillage for sure. Also, if you set your depth to the shallowest position and wedge a couple of small pieces of 2x4 under the front edges, the tiller will still sit partially on the tines but will have a lot less tendency to roll or wobble on the concrete floor.

FarmerBob
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Bob- Thanks for your input. I'll definitely use the tiller's skids for depth control and I like the 2x4 idea too. Wish I had the indoor space to store all my implements. Just put the tiller in the garage last night so I could look at it a bit after dark. Later this summer I'll be shopping for a large storage shed, the pre-made type they deliver by truck and winch, that I hope to squeeze-in the tractor w/ FEL and rear blade attached plus anything else that fits. This way our car and truck can live in the garage during the winter months and the tractor will be covered yet ready to remove snow. In the next year or two we plan to build a detached 3 car garage for all our toys... 'er tools /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif and a shop.

Dave
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ? #6  
"Tools"... "Toys"... Isn't it funny how they both start with "T"? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Sounds to me like you'll need a crane to bring in that new pre-built storage shed /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. I'm going to pour a concrete pad and erect a pre-fab steel carport cover on the backside of my 10-acre tract to keep my implements under. They won't be fully enclosed, but at least they'll be under cover and I can back in from any side and drop the implement. As for "Nehi", my L2600 'bota, she'll have a nice garage of her own /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.

FarmerBob
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ? #7  
Hi Dave,

You've probably already considered it, but . . . you can extend the 2 x 4 idea further and build a simple 2 x 4 frame with four caster wheels for your tiller. That is what I did, because I am extremely limited on space in my garage. The tiller skids and park stand sit on the wood frame and the tines are free - also makes it easy to rotate the tines if you are doing anything with the PTO shaft or slip clutch, etc. During mowing season, I keep the tiller (on the roll-around frame) in between the loader arms.

Rob
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Hi Rob,

Yes, and I've been reading and looking at the photos posted in another current thread about rolling stands. Love the idea but it's not going to work for us untill we get another garage /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif. Should've seen it this past winter... small car, medium truck, Toro riding mower, push mower, H-D FLST, 14' work bench, etc. and that's just what was on the floor. Every sq. ft. of wall space had something hanging on it and I squeezed a BMW motorcycle in the "wood shop"! I got the tractor about 3 weeks before our last snow but it promptly kicked the truck out and moved-in... and that's where it'll sleep until I get a storage shed /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

Dave
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
<font color=blue>
"Tools"... "Toys"... Isn't it funny how they both start with "T"? <font color=blue>

<font color=black>I kinda think it's funny but I'm not so sure my wife does /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. Actually, she's a very good sport about it all. She's been impressed with the tractor's capabilities AND she likes motorcycles!

I really haven't looked into these sheds much yet. But they're often advertised in free papers around here and there's a few places nearby that have them on display. Some of them are very large and some of them even look pretty nice. I'm talking about the type built with pressure treated lumber and have shingled roofs. How they get them on-site, I really don't know. The trick will be to find one long enough and that has a door at least 7' high.

I like your carport idea. When I design the garage I'll keep in mind that someday I'll want or need to add an awning of some type to park implements under. Until then I hope /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif to have room IN the garage for their storage.

Dave
 
   / Tiller Depth Control ? #10  
For $640 they have a kit that you put up anywhere that is all steel constructed. Goes up in about three hours. It's basically a 12' x 24' carport. I put one up last year for my horse trailer. I went and enclosed it and made it a little bigger but the basic one is the $640 price.

18-35034-TRACTO~1.GIF
 
 
 
Top