Tiller Another Tiller Thread

[Arcane]

I'm looking for tiller advice, and I've searched the old threads but haven't found anything on point.

I've got a Deere 4115, which has 19hp at the pto. My land is rocks and sandy loam, mostly rocks. The rocks are rounded granite fieldstones, from baseball to beachball size. The photo shows a wall (one of many) that former owners and farmers made of them. I am anticipating that initially I'll be stopping to pull rocks out of the tines every few feet. And one of the places I'll be tilling is alongside the stone walls to pull out the roots of the vines that grow back faster than I would have believed.

I cannot reverse the pto direction on this tractor. Are there any tillers with reverse gears so that I can back the wrong size rock out of the tines?

Brand recommendations? I have a Green and Orange dealers nearby, but I'm willing to go further afield. I think I'm looking for an all-gear, slip clutch tiller. Right?

 

[rambler]

I'm not so familiar with rocks getting stuck in the tines, or a need for reverse. However, the tiller is going to jump & jar around behind you like you wouldn't believe.....

IMHO

--->Paul

 

[2nstonge]

Arcane,

Not sure you need a reverse gear tiller but I'm sure there'll be other opinions. I'm in southern VT, my soil is mostly rocks and clay - and lots of stone walls like your picture. I went with a CCM gear tiller; MR-145. I have a 4110 (17pto HP) and this set-up worked great. Power wasn't a problem and the 49" width covers my tracks. The biggest thing is just learning to use the tiller properly. On virgin soil I go slow, low RPM, and only 2-3" deep, depending on the rocks content and make-up of the soil it would take 1-2 more passes to get the full depth I wanted - higher RPM and more depth with each pass. Slip clutch worked great (you'll hear it when it catches something!) and for extremely rocky areas I would quickly walk the patch I just tilled to pull any monsters that were lurking. Hit a few of those and the tiller will give your tractor a ride!

I almost went with a Kuhn tiller, local dealer, built like a tank, but ~$700 more (even after shipping) than the CCM. Also checked out the JD tillers but they were ~$1k more than CCM.

-Norm

 

[pilonidal]

The best tiller for our type of soil is a counter rotating one. The purpose being to lift up and throw the rocks out from underneath. A regular tiller will come down on top of the rocks as you move forward and the tiller will jump all over the place and you will get no where fast.
I have a regular 55 inch kioti tiller with a slip clutch that I have loosened up considerably. It tears up the ground, but any rock jammed in it will stop the tiller without killing the tractor, a ck20 hst. Not the most safety conscious thing to do but I took the dirt/rock guard off it and I use it while backing up with the tractor. After the initial teeth rattling plunge into the ground of a few inches I back the tractor into the work so the tiller will lift up and throw the rocks out in front of the tiller as I move in reverse. It works so much better and faster in reverse. The rocks fly out instead of getting jammed in between the tines and the housing. It takes a little time to get the hang of backing the tractor with the tiller, it will tend to want to dig to China. I keep the tractor rpms at around 1000 and creep along. Seems most of the rocks are near the surface. After one pass in reverse to break the surface and clear the rocks I drop it down and go forward with no problems finishing the till. Counter rotating tillers cost more than a regular tiller. The regular tiller used initially in reverse works for me. I didn't plan it that way when I bought it, but the rocks made me change my plan of attack.

 

[RonR]

The skid shoes on my Bush Hog tiller are really only set for forward motion. The front is bent up, but the back is not.

Mine is chain drive with slip clutch. If the slip clutch doesn't slip, I'd rather the chain break than some gears breaking. Hopefully, after the slip clutch, the chain is the weak link in my system......

I've lodged rocks in mine; if the RPMs aren't up significantly, it will kill the engine before the clutch slips.

Were I doing a lot of rocks, I'd find a way to mount a pry bar on the tiller--get a rock wedged and it will take some prying to get it out. The other thing I think I'd do if I had a lot of rocks, and I might build something anyway--is a tool bar with ripper teeth on it. Prior to tilling, I'd go over the ground several times with that and try to dislodge/remove all the rocks I could before turning my tiller loose on it.

ron

 

[2nstonge]

Interesting technique, I'll give a shot next spring. I've not had any real problems going forward but in really rocky soil the backwards maneuver might be quicker - tho' I do get a real pain in the neck when doing alot of reverse work.

-Norm

 

[73jeep]

Wonder how Landpride's Reverse Tillers would do? They have added new "reverse-till" sizes in their line-up, and have videos of them in action on their website. See Here!

 

[Arcane]

Thanks everyone. This discussion is just what I was hoping I would get. I'll look at the suggested tillers. Meanwhile, here's a photo of my current rockpile.

 

[bandit67]

You're gonna need a much bigger tractor & tiller to throw those rocks while tilling in reverse! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[kensfarm]

If I'm tilling.. I'm picking up rocks and throwing them into the FEL. I get a rock caught once in a while.. I engage the PTO on/off a couple times.. most times it'll drop out.