Tiller Cat 0 tiller adapt to a Cat I?

[BTackett]

I found this tiller in really good shape for a good deal. It is approx 38 inches wide and measrures about 14 1/2" on the inside of the bottom A. Has anyone adapted this type of Cat O attachment to a regular Cat I? I would figure it could be done and have an offset to hide tire tracks. It is PTO drive as you can see and I can have a shaft made no problem. I really don't want to spend over a grand for a tiller to use 3-4 times a year. Help!

thanks,
Bill

 

[Ductape]

Assuming that was designed for a garden tractor......... aren't they designed to operate at engine speed (as opposed to540rpm)? I would confirm the speed it operates at prior to buying. The part of making it fit a cat 1 is not difficult if you have a welder, some steel, a drill press , and a little free time.

 

[greg_g]

Bill - did you actually measure the ID of the swivel balls on that MT372? Cat 1 would be 7/8", Cat 0 is only 5/8". I say that, because TractorData.com suggests that the 372 is a 12 horsepower Cat 0 (sub-compact).

One other thing - what is the outside track width of the rear tires? Tiller swath should be equal to or greater than tire width - to avoid tire compaction on freshly tilled ground.

//greg//

 

[GregK]

It's very simple to do. I did it 4 years ago on a John Deere tiller. For the side arms, all you have to do is buy cat 1 pins at a Farm supply store and they will bolt right to the holes that are already there. For the top link, just use two pieces of flat stock bolted to the outside of existing top link. Basically you're just extending the top link about 5". Drill the correct size hole for the pin and you are all set to hook up to a cat 1 hitch.

Now, as Ductape said in his post, a lot of these tillers don't turn at 540 rpms. Check it out. Mine had a easily accessable chain drive. I was able to change the bottom spocket size to convert it from 2,000 rpms to 540 rpms.

It's been tilling for 4 years. I was like you, I didn't want to spend a fortune for something that gets used a couple times a year. However, now that I have it, it gets used way more than I thought. I loaned it to my dad and my father-in-law for their gardens and my neighbors use it too.

 

[BTackett]

Thanks for the info guys. I wanted a small compact tractor as we have two Ford 3000 D on our farm in Tn. We do not own a tiller for either one at this time. It is done the old fashion way due to the small size of garden. I basically wanted the compact for yard,garden work. I was told from other MT372 owners that it was 15hp engine and 12 at PTO. 540rpm shaft. I went to the tractordata.com site and it shows Cat O, I - both can be used.

3-Point Hitch:

Rear Hitch Category: 0,I

Isnt Cat 0 standard size 20 inches wide and Cat I 26 inches? I could make the brackets just wondering about the width. Or maybe make new brackets and offset it to one side.

I will check on the wheel width this weekend and find out if there is any rpm suggestions on the tiller.

thanks,

Bill

 

[BTackett]

Greg, I had the guy turn the tiller arm 1 complete turn and the PTO shaft on top turned 14 times. 14:1 ratio. If you took 540 PTO / 14 = approx 38.47 rpms on tiller arms? Does that make sense? Seems this would be too slow. If a smaller lawn tractor turned 1100 rpms or so it would come out to about 78.57 which would be a faster turn. I wonder what everyone running a tiller like this is turning on the shaft?

Bill

 

[greg_g]

Don't know Bill, but I wouldn't say ~39 rpm is exactly slow. The tilling work is done with power (torque) not speed. You want to turn dirt over - not throw it. Consider how long it takes for one revolution of the tines on a self-propelled garden tiller.

//greg//

 

[BTackett]

Well I will open this up again. I called KingKutter and they told me that their 540 PTO tillers turn 216 rpm's at the tines. Thats almost 5 times as fast as fast as the 16:1 ratio that I found.

Are most Compact / garden tractors with rear PTO 540 also or are they 2000 or something? You would have to have a 3500 rpm pto to get 218 rpm's at the tines.

I am really confused on this now.

Are all PTO shafts the same diameter? If you had a smaller PTO shaft on a 540 would it turn faster?

Example: roll a coke can on its side 2 feet and count how many times it rolls one complete turn, then roll a two liter bottle the same distance and count the complete turns. Does that make sense? so if I used a smaller diameter custom shaft to hook to the square PTO on this tiller would that bring my rpm's up enough to increase the tine speed?

Not trying to beat a dead horse here but trying to make a decision on spending $100 for a tiller or buy a new one for $800-1200 so it kinda makes a difference.

thanks to all who attempt to reply to this.

Bill

 

[Ductape]

Compact tractor tillers will run @ 540, garden tractor pto's generally run @ engine speed (1:1), much like a front (crank driven) or mid pto. If theres any way you can change gearing on that tiller, say, by changing sprockets in the chain case..... it will work fine. I think you'll be disappointed running that tiller @ 540 without changing the gearing.If you had a two, or three speed PTO, it might not be so bad. As was discussed, modifying the cat 0 spacing / pins to cat 1 is not a big deal. I feel your pain money-wise ! I bought a cheap 2 point Yanmar tiller i had intended to madify to 3 point. After pricing a set of tines, steel, and slipclutch/ pto shaft..... i might as well buy a new KK @ TSC. Only you can decide.........

 

[BTackett]

I feel like a dummy. I do have a 3 speed PTO. I think from reading other users that it is a 540,770,1200 rpms. I would think the 1200 would probably work.

Still trying to decide which way to go without dropping $$$ on a tiller.

thanks

Bill