question re hydraulic (motor) on my rototiller

[Island Goose]

Hello all!
I just finished changing out the seals & bearings on the hydraulic motor of my rototiller attachment and about to put it back into service. Prior to my motor starting to spew out oil, I was tilling a field with quite a few rocks in the soil and many times, some of the medium size rocks would jam up against the metal frame of the tiller causing it to stop INSTANTLY. I am wondering if these sudden stops damages a hydraulic motor? I still have more field to till till up and wasn't sure if this was the main cause of my seals failing?

Also would anyone happen to know what brand/model the hydraulic wheel motors are on the 1430? I have a couple new leaks there too and I don't see any labels on the motor.

 

[ponytug]

Stopping a hydraulic motor suddenly is never a recommended use for longevity. However, your PTO circuit has a hydraulic relief that should reduces the impact. If you know that this is going to keep happening, I might consider putting a second hydraulic relief, or a snubber, across the motor at the motor.

You could consider getting pick tines, rather than the bolo tines that ship on the PT rototiller. The pick tines are much more forgiving of rocks and tend to lift the rocks up so they can be gathered and removed. When I had a Troybuilt with pick tines, I do not recall it ever jamming. That said, after we used the rock pick tines for a few years, we switched back to the bolo tines, which do a better job of earth working.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Island Goose]

Thanks Peter for your response. I don't know much about hydraulic relief valves but if it is easy enough to install, maybe I'll try it out. I also thought about removing half of the tines or whatever you call them just so that I don't have to keep getting out of the tractor to remove those rocks! There were so many rocks in the field that I was getting out to clear them almost every minutes or so. Just a thought for now. Not sure how effective tilling would be with less tines. I did speak to Terry this afternoon and he mentioned that the relief valve mechanism does protect the motor.

 

[ponytug]

This is what rock tines look like. They are made out of high carbon spring steel, and wrap around the drive shaft so they have quite a bit of flex if they hit anything solid.

To put them on the PT, you'd need a "P" shaped clamp to clamp the wire against the shaft and enable you to bolt it down.
If you really find yourself getting out frequently, I would consider adding a motor that can be reversed and a solenoid to let you lift the tiller, reverse it, drop the rocks, and restart quickly.

Other manufacturers make tillers that have vertical shafts and a subsurface drawbar that are less prone to jamming with rocks.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ernemats]

When I had a tiller for my pt 422 I also had the problem of rocks jamming between the tines and the shield. Usually all I had to do to get the rocks out was to turn the pto switch off and put down pressure on the tiller and then back up, most of the time this would work

 

[ponytug]

That's what I do.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ponytug]

That's what I do.

All the best,

Peter