Working Depth of KK Tiller

[newt92]

I have had my tiller since 2003, only time I use the skid shoes is for tilling sod or really hard compacted soil. For sod/new gardens, I put shoes all the way up, usually make 2 passes, sometimes one then take shoes off and retill. If you keep the gear box in the tilled soil, it will dig deep!!! I use pins with clips instead of the bolts on the shoes, so easy no tool removal/install. Never had any problems. From 1993 to 2003 I had a Simplicity Sunstar with tiller that I done just the same way.

 

[sixdogs]

If you use a tiller as an aggressive primary tillage tool in rock hard clay ground it will likely eventually strip the chain drive sprokets unless you take it easy and make several passes. Even so, keep the drive chain snug since it stretches. Occasional tough use is no big deal and a heavy duty chaindrive tiller ($4,500 and 1,000 lbs) will take lots more abuse than a lighter duty model. Exceeding the horsepower rating is a sure way to cause trouble, even if you have a slip clutch.
Just my two cents--or for the Canadians--5 cents.

 

[newt92]

If you use a tiller as an aggressive primary tillage tool in rock hard clay ground it will likely eventually strip the chain drive sprokets unless you take it easy and make several passes. Even so, keep the drive chain snug since it stretches. Occasional tough use is no big deal and a heavy duty chaindrive tiller ($4,500 and 1,000 lbs) will take lots more abuse than a lighter duty model. Exceeding the horsepower rating is a sure way to cause trouble, even if you have a slip clutch.
Just my two cents--or for the Canadians--5 cents.

KK tillers are gear drive, no chains.

 

[Lou66]

I have a 60" kk tiller from TSC.. I had it for ten or more years.. never thought about how deep it tilled,, until now.. I make two to three passes away when I till.. this cumbo soil on the coast is like concrete when it dry out alot of clay.. sometime I may add 20 yds of river sand to the garden 80x125,, plus the compose about 5 yds.. then till and row it up.. but I don't between I get 8 inches of hard packed soil,, maybe fluffed up.. Lou

 

[sweettractors]

I like the honest way "Tarter" tillers are advertised at 4 inches digging depth. They don't exaggerate to 7-8 inches if this and if that. If the diameter of the tiller tines are the same, the max tilling depth is the same when you raise your shoes up no matter what the brand. Period. Ken Sweet

 

[bobm6996]

I have a Bushhog tiller and it probably gets close to 8" depth, but I have learned that if I plow, disc and then till the soil is worked up a lot better. The plow gets me down about 9 inches, I work up the clods with the disc and then the tiller is not worked very hard at all. This also allows me to work a lot more plant matter into the soil by plowing each fall or early spring. Second year in a row doing it this way and last year the soil was worked up so much better and the garden was a lot more productive. A little more work, but I have a large garden and bottom line I enjoy getting on the tractor and working the soil.

 

[sixdogs]

I do about 25-35 acres a year and need to turn it into a powder on top for good seed germination. Here's what has worked the best for me.
First, I rip the ground up with an 8 ft cultivator and drive fast--maybe 5 to 6 MPH. It goes quick.

Then I run the rototiller over the surface in a "spading" action by driving fast and running the tiller slower, this busts up the lumps evenly and lets the sod or whatever start to break down. It also levels things out and I don't go very deep. This goes pretty quick as well.

The ground is left alone for a week or two after that so the sod can rot down and the surface dry out. Then I finish till--shallow, a few inches-- at a high RPM and slow tractor speed and it comes out looking like cocoa powder and is a perfect seedbed .

 

[npalen]

I like the honest way "Tarter" tillers are advertised at 4 inches digging depth. They don't exaggerate to 7-8 inches if this and if that. If the diameter of the tiller tines are the same, the max tilling depth is the same when you raise your shoes up no matter what the brand. Period. Ken Sweet

Sounds like the Tarter tillers advertise true tillage depth, which in my opinion, is measured by pulling away a little tilled soil by hand and then meauring from the top of the UNTILLED soil to the depth that the tiller blades actually cut. Might have to lay a two by four or something as a straightedge on the untilled soil with a tape measure to the bottom.
Advertising people think of tillage depth like motor horsepower. Big is better.