Considering a used NH 1715 for rototilling, mowing

[rootytoot]

My old Fordson tractor died, and I'm looking to replace it. I've got a JD 915 five foot rotary cutter as a legacy implement from the old tractor, and I would like to be able to rototill up to two acres a season. I'm looking at a New Holland 1715 on a dealer lot for about ~$7k; it has 2100 hours and seems to start up and run without smoking. They have a 55" Agric tiller they can sell me, so that it tills out to the wheel track.

I'm looking for opinions about whether this 1715 has enough power to run a tiller of this size - I don't figure that I'm going to do it in a single pass, I would figure at least a couple of passes are going to be necessary. But I don't want to put myself in a position where the tractor is severely underpowered relative to the implements I've got or plan to get... anybody got some experience in this area?

One thing that I noticed right off the bat, that may impact my decision, is that the 1715 doesn't have a live PTO - if the wheels stop, the PTO stops. So there are likely to be large torques demanded of the engine both in mowing and tilling when I let the clutch out.

Thanks,

Kurt
Oregon

 

[jbrumberg]

rootytoot:

Welcome to TBN and the Blue Forum ! The 17XX series of tractors are tanks. The 2100 hours are a little high, but if the tractor was well maintained that should not be an issue. My "29" is essentially an HST modernized version of the 1700 series. I have no problems operating my 58" tiller or my 60" MD rotary cutter with my 23+ PTO HP. I can not comment on the PTO, but a guy called JC-Jetro will probably be around soon. He is one of TBN's Ford 1700 series gurus. Jay

 

[North Dakota]

I have a ford 1710 with 24 HP at the PTO and run a 60 Inch King Kutter Tiller with no problem.

Mine does have a live clutch so I can't help you on that part.

 

[JC-jetro]

My old Fordson tractor died, and I'm looking to replace it. I've got a JD 915 five foot rotary cutter as a legacy implement from the old tractor, and I would like to be able to rototill up to two acres a season. I'm looking at a New Holland 1715 on a dealer lot for about ~$7k; it has 2100 hours and seems to start up and run without smoking. They have a 55" Agric tiller they can sell me, so that it tills out to the wheel track.

I'm looking for opinions about whether this 1715 has enough power to run a tiller of this size - I don't figure that I'm going to do it in a single pass, I would figure at least a couple of passes are going to be necessary. But I don't want to put myself in a position where the tractor is severely underpowered relative to the implements I've got or plan to get... anybody got some experience in this area?

One thing that I noticed right off the bat, that may impact my decision, is that the 1715 doesn't have a live PTO - if the wheels stop, the PTO stops. So there are likely to be large torques demanded of the engine both in mowing and tilling when I let the clutch out.

Thanks,

Kurt
Oregon

Kurt,

Welcome to TBN blue. Jay is way too kind to me I'll give you my 2 cents on your questions.

1715 is 3 cylinder version of 1700 with the major upgrade of having Live pto, Double clutch system. If you go to CNH site they show the double clutch as the main design but leave single clutch if anybody wanted it... why? .. I don't know. The 3 point lift is about 1650 Lbs so, your 1715 will have no difficulty raising a 5 foot , 700 lbs gear driven KK tiller. I have added 3 suitcase weights in the front to balance and it is a perfect match. If you have a loader then probably you need no more counter weight. Although two cyl 1700 displacement is a bit less than three cyl 1715 but the HP is about the same give or take a horse or two with the 1715 being a bit higher. Saying that, I never have to till higher than 1500 rpm engine @ what ever pto speed that happens to be. My garden plot has good soil and no rock. My 1700 does not labor at all working the fields. On my initial try, I bottom busted the ground and then tilled but later on found out I could accomplish the same quicker if I directly tilled to the depth of 3 inches to bust the vegetation and go deep on the second run. I think you have a good match between 1715 and a 55" tiller, considering the higher hp tractor and bigger tiller still have the same problem if we expect them to chew rocks and roots to a pulp. I can say 1000 or 17XX series Ford tractors are built well and simple to maintain as long as they were not abused internally. If you'd like take a look at thread below how my tractor and tiller combination worked for me.

JC,

Ps. I don't reckon not having a live PTO is a major issue or a show stopper. What I do is to keep my self situated lower the tiller to right above the soil, put the gear in neutral, engage the pto and lower the tiller slowly to start whipping things up. once I got things whipped up good clutch and put the tractor in gear and let go of the clutch. I raise the tiller just as I am over the end of my row, clutch, disengage the pto and turn to run another pass. By the way you will not keep tilling if you where to make a 90 degree turn. Big concentric circle is okay. Double check to make sure you have single clutch setup.


http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/99323-my-tomato-garden.html

 

[rootytoot]

Thank you for all your comments. I'll have to go drive it again and see what I think about this major purchase... I was pretty sure it didn't have the independent PTO feature, which means I'll have to get moving with the tiller raised, then drop it at the point at which I want to start the tilling. All possible, but tricky to get the timing right.

Kurt

 

[JC-jetro]

Thank you for all your comments. I'll have to go drive it again and see what I think about this major purchase... I was pretty sure it didn't have the independent PTO feature, which means I'll have to get moving with the tiller raised, then drop it at the point at which I want to start the tilling. All possible, but tricky to get the timing right.

Kurt

Kurt,

You'll have to do things as marked in red irregardless of having transmission driven or independent PTO. The only time you are dragging the tiller on the ground is when you're tillin'

JC<

 

[rootytoot]

So, even if I did have independent PTO control, the sequence below is not recommended then?

Position tractor at starting point with 3 pt raised
Engage PTO drive (clutch halfway up)
Lower tiller into ground to desired depth
Engage transmission drive (clutch all the way up, tractor starts moving)

I thought this sequence would give me better control, since the tractor is not moving when I lower the tiller (which is turning)?

Thanks,

Kurt

 

[JC-jetro]

So, even if I did have independent PTO control, the sequence below is not recommended then?

Position tractor at starting point with 3 pt raised
Engage PTO drive (clutch halfway up)
Lower tiller into ground to desired depth
Engage transmission drive (clutch all the way up, tractor starts moving)

I thought this sequence would give me better control, since the tractor is not moving when I lower the tiller (which is turning)?

Thanks,

Kurt

Kurt,

I believe you might have it a bit wrong. Suppose you have independent pto, dual clutch jobby. When you clutch half way (clutch pedal pushed down halfway) and you disengage the transmission. If you push the clutch all the way to the floor then you disengage the PTO clutch. That is the reason why you can change gear ( if you have synch transmission, same as automobile), or come to stop while the PTO is rotating. With independent pto you get tilling spot, clutch all the way and engage the pto to get the pto going, at that point you can let the clutch all the way out (up) and you have "tractor no go" and "PTO turning". you then lower the pto to desired depth and clutch "half way" to engage desired transmission gear with no interruption of pto rotation. With single clutch you interrupt rotation of PTO while trying to change gear. Clear as mud... at least it was to me when I tried to figure it out. Again, IMHO for tilling job transmission drive PTO is adequate and doable.

JC,


Ps. You can achieve the following in non independent, transmission driven pto setup;

I thought this sequence would give me better control, since the tractor is not moving when I lower the tiller (which is turning)?


By getting to your spot, put the transmission in neutral, clutch and engage the PTO lever. Once you let the clutch out the pto will continue turning whilst the tractor is stationary.

 

[Oldmax]

I have owned a 1715 27 HP FWD for 4 years. After having owned a 8n . would neaver go back . Use a 5' Kingkutter rotery mower . and a 5' Kingkutter rototiller . With no problems.
A love mine works good on these WV hillsides .

 

[rootytoot]

Thanks for all the replies on this... in the end, I passed on the 1715 and bought a Ford/NH model 1920 (still in the blue family!). It apparently was lightly used (~200 hrs) by a Seattle millionaire to grade his driveway. At least that's what the tractor broker told me

So, it's got the two stage clutch, and plenty-o-power for the things I want to do: mowing with five foot cutter, tilling with 5 foot tiller. Trouble is, now I get to thinking and looking around, and a backhoe sure would be handy... and so it begins.

rootytoot

P.S. just when my wife starts to think that I'm a little crazy to be buying a tractor, I run across a web site like this:

Bloom Lake Farms

Show this to your wife today, and tell her that she's lucky you haven't bought a dredge, a bulldozer, three tractors, an articulated loader, a dump truck, and a dragline crane! As far as I can tell, this guy is just your average suburban joe with a dream of having his own fishing lake in upper Michigan.