keony
Silver Member
Well, I found a used JD 4 foot tiller so that is what I use. Width of tires is 60", but the tire tracks really don't matter that much, works fine.
Rototillers for beginners
- Thread starter Torvy
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OP
Torvy
Super Member
Congrats! If I got anything JD, I would probably have to paint it black (apologies to the Stones). I don't care as long as I get good value, but my family runs IH red.
keony
Silver Member
Well, it a kind of yellow, I don't have anything green either:
CH4Ohio
Veteran Member
OK, I'll bite . . .
Those are some interesting skid shoes on that tiller. Looks to me like that perforated angle would get bent up dragging through the ground. No?
Is that some kind of epoxy repair on the bottom of the gear box? Does it work? As in not leaking? Wish I'd have thought of that a few years ago when I had a troublesome leak on a JD haybine gear case. Might have saved lots of time and money.
Sawyer Rob
Super Member
Looks like a stand to hold the tiller up, and dirt on the bottom of the case to me.
SR
SR
keony
Silver Member
You are right, it is a parking stand.
keony
Silver Member
Yes, the repair is fiberglass and west system epoxy over the rusted chain case. No leaks.
CH4Ohio
Veteran Member
Got it. Thanks. Can you leave that on when you use the tiller or do you have to unbolt it?
The other thing I was asking about is the mesh fabric material that looks to be wrapped around the oil case from the bottom and up above the bulge where the bearing is. Is that a repair of an oil leak or am I reading that wrong too? Thanks.
CH4Ohio
Veteran Member
Thanks! Had a similar case that was hard to remove and install. I tried to fix it once and the dealer tried twice and it still always leaked. Had permatex oozing out of every gap and bolt hole. This might have been a solution for that one. Good option to keep in mind. I don't think I've seen it before.
Thx.
I was pretty fortunate in not having a bunch of rocks where we tilled. But the farmers I knew swore the ground could always grow new rocks no matter how many times it had previously been worked. So there were always a few to find every year. The small ones (4" or less) weren't much of a problem and got churned along with everything else. It was the bigger ones that shook things up quite a bit. I would always try raise or stop the tiller ASAP with one of those! Luckily I never had any damage, thanks to the slip-clutch.
As for where the rocks ended up, I can't say there was a pattern to it, but I always hoped rocks would end up visible so they could be easily removed, rather than getting re-buried. Didn't always turn out that way!
keony
Silver Member
Yes, I removed the case for the repair. I have a fair amount of experience working with fiberglass, made my own surfboard in high school.
keony
Silver Member
Yes, I take it off for tilling, finger tight only.
ctgoldwing
Platinum Member
I went with the Phoenix T10, reverse rotation, 66". It's an Italian product from EA. When I put a new 1/2 acre lawn in I used my box blade 1st to rip the ground (hadn't been touched in 30 years) and pull out the rocks. It did a great job. Filled the loader bucket 4 or 5 times.
One pass with the tiller tiller in each direction and the the topsoil truly was like powder.
One pass with the tiller tiller in each direction and the the topsoil truly was like powder.
mo1
Platinum Member
I have run a 6' reverse rotation King Kutter behind a 5075E Deere. That is not exactly the kind of tractor most of you run but it's what I have and actually works very well. My thoughts:
- The tiller is about 6" narrower than the rear tires, which is no big deal, I simply overlap a bit. However I wouldn't go too much narrower than that.
- I would guess about 5 PTO HP per foot is needed to run a tiller. I have run this same tiller behind a little Massey Ferguson in the past and with 23 PTO HP it was really more than it wanted. The Deere with 64 PTO HP didn't know the tiller was even back there.
- Tilling with a rototiller stinks for breaking sod. I strongly recommend moldboard plowing first. A tiller does a fine job of secondary tillage after plowing, although it's probably slower than discing and dragging.
- Tilling with a rototiller stinks in soil with a large rocks. Other forms of tillage are better to cope with rocks until they are removed.
- Tillers are worse than anything else for making compaction layers. You will need to chisel plow every so often to break up the tiller pan.
- A tractor mounted tiller is so much faster than a self-propelled tiller it's not funny.
- The tiller is about 6" narrower than the rear tires, which is no big deal, I simply overlap a bit. However I wouldn't go too much narrower than that.
- I would guess about 5 PTO HP per foot is needed to run a tiller. I have run this same tiller behind a little Massey Ferguson in the past and with 23 PTO HP it was really more than it wanted. The Deere with 64 PTO HP didn't know the tiller was even back there.
- Tilling with a rototiller stinks for breaking sod. I strongly recommend moldboard plowing first. A tiller does a fine job of secondary tillage after plowing, although it's probably slower than discing and dragging.
- Tilling with a rototiller stinks in soil with a large rocks. Other forms of tillage are better to cope with rocks until they are removed.
- Tillers are worse than anything else for making compaction layers. You will need to chisel plow every so often to break up the tiller pan.
- A tractor mounted tiller is so much faster than a self-propelled tiller it's not funny.
OP
Torvy
Super Member
Thanks. That was helpful. In my case, it would be impractical to get a traditional plow with shares as we will not likely turn more than an acre or so, maximum. Maybe that is something worth renting?
DieselBound
Elite Member
Renting equipment or hiring out a job are always possible solutions.
mo1
Platinum Member
I don't think it would be completely impractical to buy a traditional moldboard plow. You didn't say exactly what tractor you have or will get other than it is 30-50 HP, and what size of plow you could run will vary a lot depending on the weight of the tractor and the tires you will have on it. I suspect you will probably want a 1 bottom plow for a 30 HP tractor and a 1 or 2 bottom for a 50 HP tractor, but we'd need more specifics to say for sure. Used plows are fairly plentiful and inexpensive. You can get a used 3 point 1 or 2 bottom plow in working order for anywhere between about $100 and $400 depending on what exact plow it is and its condition. Just make sure if it's a mounted plow, it is actually a standard 3 point plow and not one of the nonstandard "not quite a 3 point" such as an IH Fast Hitch, A-C Snap Coupler, or a Case Eagle Hitch plow.
OP
Torvy
Super Member
Thanks, my only plowing experience is with bigger 6-7 bottom. I thought they stopped making small plows when they stopped using draft horses. 
mo1
Platinum Member
Thanks, my only plowing experience is with bigger 6-7 bottom. I thought they stopped making small plows when they stopped using draft horses.
Nope, small plows were still made after horses left the scene and still continue to be made. Remember that the 3 point hitch was specifically designed for pulling plows. Also remember that the Ford N series tractors were designed to not only replace horses but specifically designed to pull a 2 bottom plow with that then-brand-new 3 point hitch. There are many makers for new 1 and 2 bottom 3 point plows for people to run with compact tractors to plow up gardens and food plots. Slightly larger plows are not nearly as plentiful as they used to be but Deere, Kuhn, Kverneland, and likely others still make them. Few buy new ones as the used ones are inexpensive and a new 3+ bottom plow is many thousands of dollars. Case in point, Deere wants about $10k for a new 3 bottom 975 mounted plow.
ruffdog
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