Tiller Tractor Speed For Running Tiller

[Hzgray]

I was wondering what the optimum speed for running a roto tiller should be. The slowest speed on a JD 5105 at operating RPM is ~1.8 mph from what I've read. I am looking at buying a 5105 (among others) but I need to be able to till an acre or so. Thanks.
Bill

 

[cp1969]

An acre seems like a lot of tilling.

I run it at rated PTO rpm unless in ground that is very loose.

 

[Hzgray]

I was afraid that the actual speed of the tractor might be too high to efficiently till (1.8mph).

 

[beenthere]

Seems what you are tilling will dictate most regards the ground speed you can operate at. I like the HST for the tiller and one can match the ground speed to the ground being worked. Sometimes real slow and sometimes a bit faster than the slowest one can go in a gear tractor.

 

[rambler]

That seems to be a very fast low gear for a modern tractor, are you sure you looked at the charts right? Doesn't seem right. How many speeds does it have?

--->Paul

 

[Hzgray]

It is 8x4. The reason I even thought about this is that in the reviews section someone mentioned that the gearing wasn't suitable for tilling. Having never tilled before I thought I would ask the group. I am trying to save a few bucks by going with gears when I decide which tractor to buy.
Bill

 

[thcri]

Some tractors you can get a creeper gear. We have had this discussion here on TBN before. I personal preference for tilling is HST. You get down right slow. First time through on virgin ground you need to be down there.

murph

 

[HillbillyFarmer]

Hzgrey, I have a 5205 with a 681 tiller.
The tractor needs to be cranking at PTO speed to make the tiller effective. At those RPMs, the speed of the tractor seems a bit fast for tilling, but it works fine. I've readwhere someone said it was too fast, but in the hard clay soil we have around here, it's not a problem. I just tilled a large garden plot of virgin soil and it worked without a hitch once I got everything adjusted properly.
Later this summer I will be tilling a 3 acre hay field for reseeding. I have another 10 acres of hay fields I'll be tilling over the next few years.
I don't think an acre is very much to till. My new garden is about a 1/4 acre and it takes me about 10 minutes for one pass. Next year I plan on putting in at least an acre of veggies.
Beats the heck out of plows and disk.

 

[HGM]

You'll find that you can adjust the depth to match your speed. Obviously, the more hard ground you try to till the slower you need to go..My tiller works great all the way down in virgin soil in Low-1, providing there are no rocks..Rocks arent fun...Last big area I did, my buddy ran his tractor ahead of me with a springtooth plow to breeak it up a bit with another buddy removing some of the rocks that turned up..

If I was buying new, I'd look at the HST over the gear, they seem to be reliable and certainly easier to drive with implements.

 

[grandad]

You bring up a great point about rocks. I found that if the soil is rocky, dropping the rpm's down keeps the tiller from getting beaten up or getting jammed quite so much.