Tiller Yanmar Tiller just got home

[Villengineer]

I've had my 1303 for a couple years now. It doesn't have the guage wheels so if I don't control the depth it will try and either dig back to Japan or bog down my 770 to where I'll just lift it a little and keep going. It's a been a tremendous value vs buying any of the new tillers out there. A couple of the people whose gardens I till also have told me that they think it tills nicer than another guy's much more expensive tiller. I also find that I can till in wetter soil than the guys with the "L" shaped tiller tines. For instance I did a big garden tonight that probably could have used another day of drying, but the 1303 just churned right through it. The property owner was pretty impressed and I must admit I was a little suprised how well it did myself.

 

[turbopiper]

Does anyone know what the crank at the top of the tiller is supposed to do ?
I noticed those wing nuts also.... what would be the advantage of removing them. Do you think they are there to help service the tines or form some sort of rows during tilling?
Any ideas? Just 'cause I own it doesn't mean anything.
Anyone have an operators manual for this thing.. and a translator to go along.
Ted

 

[Villengineer]

The crank adjusts the guage wheels and back gate height. Cranking it so that it gets longer will reduce your tilling depth and put the rear gate closer to the ground. Obviously, making it shorter does the opposite.

The wing nuts allow sections of the rear gate to be removed and would appear to allow it to be used as a "hiller". I've never had a need to do this and am pretty sure that most of mine are rusted solid anyways.

You'll also find one on each of the adjustable side panels. These control how much dirt can flow out the sides. I prefer to keep mine down to keep the dirt in the tiller, thus resulting in a finer end product.

I've not yet found any translated manuals for the RS1303 tillers. I even once tried to see if they could be found in Japanese, but gave up after a little googling.

 

[wushaw]

That side plate with the wing nuts look like an adjustable side boad to keep the dirt from spilling out before it can be smoothed.

I was wrong on my first look at the crank....

 

[MDM]

I have the same tiller minus the gauge wheels. I like it. I know of the middle section that can be removed to make a nice hill. I'm going to try it this year for a row of sweet potatoes.

 

[California]

I'm not sure about the 'hiller' theory. I chose the cheapest 1400 tiller on the lot, cheapest because it had damaged rubber sheets covering those 'hiller' notches on the ends. (The rest of the tiller was in normal condition). One of the notch covers had nearly all its mounting holes ripped out, so I removed the rubber sheet thinking I might punch holes in its opposite edge. But I can't see that running the tiller without that cover sheet makes any difference.

I tilled a sample and took a picture for this thread:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/yanmar/110694-yanmar-rs1400-tiller-working-rpm.html#post1265792
The rubber sheet is present on the right side, missing from the left. I don't see 'hills' in the photo.

Also, that photo shows that it tills coarse at low PTO speed then fine, like flour, using high speed. (My US version YM240 has 540/1000 pto speeds.)

One comment: I haven't seen a mention of the upper link 'bridge' that is needed to reach out from the tractor to that special short Yanmar upper link. This 'bridge' has two holes and is pinned to the upper/lower upper link holes on the tractor, so the rearmost end of the 'bridge' maintains a constant height. With the short upper link pivoting around this extended swivel point, the tiller lifts high without being drawn forward into the tires. Be sure you get the 'bridge' and its mounting pins, along with the special short top link.

if you are not familiar with this part, here's a picture of one for a Mitsubishi. Yanmar's look about the same.
View attachment 100171

 

[Villengineer]

California, I would agree that the panels on the ends of the gate are not meant to create hills. I'm not sure why they are removable, except maybe to reduce the amount of dirt kept in the tines to reduce input power requirements. I've never actually tried it, but on the 1303 there is a center section which can be removed and is basically an upside down U. If you set the gate springs so that they apply maximum force and then I would think that it would create a ridge.

As far as the special top link is concerned, I've never seen one in use but it is shown on some of the decals on the tiller. The dealer I bought the tiller from said they were only for use with the "grey" Yanmar tractors. I've always wondered what the advantage or purpose was for the special link. I have found that it's not absolutely necessary though. I've put my tiller on 4 different tractors with the following results:
Ford 801 - can't use without modification of the lower hitch pin locations. The tiller hits the tires almost immediately. Tire diameter vs lift arm length doesn't play nice with the tiller at all.
Satoh S650G - works great with a short top link. Never came close enough to the rear tires to worry about. PTO shaft was a bear to hook up though. Lots of hours on this combination.
JD 750 - Fit a little better than the S650G. Still needed the short upper link. No worries with either the 9.5-24 rears or the R4s I put on it.
JD 770 - Fits the best by far. Uses standard length upper link adjusted just about all the way in. I just got this tractor and only have about 3 tach hours with this set-up so far, but am tickled to death with how it's gone so far.

None of the above set-ups allow you to keep the pto engaged at full lift though. The pto shaft u-joints are almost in a bind and it wouldn't last long if you left it spinning. Maybe the special link tilts the tiller to allow the u-joints to stay at a better angle?

 

[turbopiper]

The crank adjusts the guage wheels and back gate height. Cranking it so that it gets longer will reduce your tilling depth and put the rear gate closer to the ground. Obviously, making it shorter does the opposite.

The wing nuts allow sections of the rear gate to be removed and would appear to allow it to be used as a "hiller". I've never had a need to do this and am pretty sure that most of mine are rusted solid anyways.

You'll also find one on each of the adjustable side panels. These control how much dirt can flow out the sides. I prefer to keep mine down to keep the dirt in the tiller, thus resulting in a finer end product.

I've not yet found any translated manuals for the RS1303 tillers. I even once tried to see if they could be found in Japanese, but gave up after a little googling.

Thanks fir the info, I played around with it yesterday, and cranking it up does help with ground clearance also.
There is also another handle to the right of it (looking at back of tractor), what does that handle do?
Ted

 

[California]

Maybe the special link tilts the tiller to allow the u-joints to stay at a better angle?

I think that's it. The u-joints stay in a reasonable range, with the tractor output/tiller input shafts approximately parallel, at any lift (or drop).

Also I was concerned that my oversize tires would make a tiller impossible, hitting the tires at full lift. But I found that using the special top link, the clearance to the tire is about the same at any lift.

 

[Villengineer]

turbopiper,
Mickey_FX explained that lever pretty well earlier in the thread.