rototiller size

[bcfarmer45]

anyone here ever used a 5ft rototiller on a sub compact tractor

 

[jeff9366]

Yes.

If you want a recommendation post the PTO horsepower of your tractor and outside-to-outside tire width.

LINK: rototiller on subcompact site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

 

[Big Barn]

My first PAYING tractor job was at the age of ten running a 60" tiller.

The general rule of thumb we used on the farm was 1 HP per inch of working width.

NB. I eventually graduated to 12 footers.

Terry

 

[MESSMAKER]

i use a 5 foot model on a 3000lb compact with about 20 pto horsepower. It does fine.

 

[D7E]

The 1hp per inch was always a good rule not to go short of power . Used to till hundreds of acres for potatoes and used 80hp on 80 inch and 100hp on 100 inch .

 

[LD1]

1HP per inch just isnt realistic on a smaller scale.

Most sub-cuts clock in at 20HP. And a 20" tiller would be stupid behind it.

I have a MX5100 and at 40 PTO HP, a 40" tiller would look equally stupid.

60" tillers do nicely behind 30HP tractors. So using that.....2" per HP (or 6HP per ft) is what I would consider normal for smaller tractors.

 

[bigtiller]

Talking PTO horsepower, I have used a garden tractor with .4 hp per inch but I recommend not going below that. I agree with LD1 that .5 hp per inch would be much easier on the tractors engine. Less than that, the engine is force work too hard and will easily overheat. And of course, this is an instance where more is better.

 

[bcfarmer45]

I have 18.5 hp on pto sorry i forgot to post that tractor width is 46ins

 

[mapper]

The 1hp per inch may have been a bit more relevant with gear tractors where the ground speed was fixed in relation to the PTO speed. HST and other modern transmissions make it a lot easier to avoid bogging the engine down if the going gets hard.

 

[chriswheeler]

I run a Howard HR8 60" with 30 PTO HP and it's no strain at all. But much of the load on the tractor will be determined by what kind of soil you are in. You could also make a shallow pass and follow up with full depth if needed.
Chris

 

[Big Barn]

The 1hp per inch may have been a bit more relevant with gear tractors where the ground speed was fixed in relation to the PTO speed. HST and other modern transmissions make it a lot easier to avoid bogging the engine down if the going gets hard.

Good point!

Terry

 

[BoylermanCT]

I run a 5' tiller behind my 28hp tractor, and never have had a problem. If you are tilling a large garden, you should have no problems. If you are tilling a large field, you might want more hp.

 

[popsie]

I run a Howard HR8 60" with 30 PTO HP and it's no strain at all. But much of the load on the tractor will be determined by what kind of soil you are in. You could also make a shallow pass and follow up with full depth if needed.
Chris

I have a 1026r and used a land pride 58" it did fine. Traded for a 50" woods only because I had a buyer and wanted one narrower for garden tilling

 

[jeff9366]

anyone here ever used a 5ft rototiller on a sub compact tractor?

I have 18.5 hp on pto. Tractor width is 46ins

Providing you have an HST transmission I would consider a 48" wide, FORWARD ROTATION, PTO powered roto-tiller the ideal width, however 60" width should also work fine. You will not have sufficient power to operate a REVERSE ROTATION roto-tiller.

If you have a gear/clutch transmission 60" width may be too much both in terms of starting load and not having a really low, low forward speed available if you intend to till a large area, such as a game food plot. For a kitchen garden, which will be worked annually, you should be able to manage if you are skilled with clutch/gear operation. (Replacing the clutch at a tractor dealership is $1,200)

With <20-horsepower, C-shaped tines would be preferable to L-shaped tines. Chain or gear driven roto-tiller equally good for <20-horsepower.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have 18.5 hp on pto sorry i forgot to post that tractor width is 46ins

My actual experience with 18-19 pto hp. and a Howard HR4 rotovator 60" 4 tines/rotor. I could run it but only at a snails pace, a 48" would be a much better fit. I sold this tiller and will replace it with a 48" if the need arises.

 

[Clay45]

i use a 5 foot model on a 3000lb compact with about 20 pto horsepower. It does fine.

same here

 

[bigtiller]

My actual experience with 18-19 pto hp. and a Howard HR4 rotovator 60" 4 tines/rotor. I could run it but only at a snails pace, a 48" would be a much better fit. I sold this tiller and will replace it with a 48" if the need arises.

Yep, I agree, 60" is too big for 18 hp tiller. That is only .3 hp per inch.

 

[ArtMech]

My User's Manual's Implement limitations section says I should use a rotary tiller with the max width of 2.4 m (~8"). But the decision maker, what the tiller width should be, was ... my Wife. She said she must reach the middle of the line from both its sides, what meant a tiller shouldn't exceed 1.5 m (~5") width. Well, what can I do then, except to satisfy her desire :confused3:, and to obtain a tiller narrower than a tractor is.

But to make a tiller so it would fit a tractor, I had to arrange an offset while extending LH side lift arm pin, and a tiller should completely cover one side (RH side in this case) rear tractor wheel.

That was one of modifications I've done on my rotary tiller to satisfy my Wife and the Wives of my neighbors :shocked: ... when they are hiring me to cultivate their soils/gardens.

Al about it below:
Modified GEO IGN-150 rotary tiller attached to a Kubota M9000 - YouTube

 

[Big Barn]

My User's Manual's Implement limitations section says I should use a rotary tiller with the max width of 2.4 m (~8"). But the decision maker, what the tiller width should be, was ... my Wife. She said she must reach the middle of the line from both its sides, what meant a tiller shouldn't exceed 1.5 m (~5") width. Well, what can I do then, except to satisfy her desire :confused3:, and to obtain a tiller narrower than a tractor is.

But to make a tiller so it would fit a tractor, I had to arrange an offset while extending LH side lift arm pin, and a tiller should completely cover one side (RH side in this case) rear tractor wheel.

That was one of modifications I've done on my rotary tiller to satisfy my Wife and the Wives of my neighbors :shocked: ... when they are hiring me to cultivate their soils/gardens.

Al about it below:
Modified GEO IGN-150 rotary tiller attached to a Kubota M9000 - YouTube

Hi Arturas

Back in the 1950's the ORIGINAL Howard rotovators (made in ENGLAND) had extra lower link mounting brackets welded to the frame of the machine to accommodate "offset" operation.

Thus a 48" tiller could be offset to the right in order to cover wheel tracks on an overall width 60" tractor.

Of course in operation you would always have to have your "work" on the left of the tractor and "work done" on your right. ( similar to a one way plow)

At the end of the field you would always be making right OR left turns. You WOULDNT be able to reverse direction along side the swath you had just tilled.

Terry

 

[ArtMech]

Hi Arturas

Back in the 1950's the ORIGINAL Howard rotovators (made in ENGLAND) had extra lower link mounting brackets welded to the frame of the machine to accommodate "offset" operation.

Thus a 48" tiller could be offset to the right in order to cover wheel tracks on an overall width 60" tractor.

Of course in operation you would always have to have your "work" on the left of the tractor and "work done" on your right. ( similar to a one way plow)

At the end of the field you would always be making right OR left turns. You WOULDNT be able to reverse direction along side the swath you had just tilled.

Terry

Hi Terry,

Nice to meet you again.

Yeah, one very nice Englishman has told me about Howard rotovator, which he was going to attach to his Fergie I guess the way, like you have just described.

At the end of the field ... if I was tilling all day long many different sizes of gardens, in many different properties ... I often lose my sanity, which side turn should I make next. Hahaha... :laughing::laughing:

But all in all you are right.