Considering 3 pt tiller

[AJ197816134]

While we don't have a large space we have enough and in the future I want to reclaim some overgrown spots!
Ordered a LS XR4145HC
Looking at a 72 inch tiller with width of tractor! Think 60 is too small

I will be trying to supplement the ground over next few seasons to bring up soil to par!

Here are my questions
King kutter? Vs Everything attachments or other brands.
Gear drive seems logical but is there benefits of gear vs chain
What options on reverse rotation? Pro vs cons
I plan to not only till the broken ground but till in straw, compost etc!

 

[bilrus61]

What is that tractors PTO hp? If your going to try to enrich the soil I would get the forward rotation as it tills in cover crops better. In fact I think reverse rotation is kinda a fad. No difference in gear or chain drive here. Both have worked great for years and years without any issues on our Rotomec, john deere 660 <chain> and our Kuhn el 62 210<gear>. The Kuhn is my best attachment. Great machine.

Having a tiller wide as your tires is not really needed. I know many disagree with that. But you can still till by lapping your previous till strip. You just leave tire tracks, ugly but so what? By the time you track it up and plant the seeds its going to lose that smooth frosting look anyhow. If you can offset it a bit you can take out one tire track and that's enough to leave the garden tilled "pretty". What you need to avoid is getting too wide of tiller so that you have to till shallow to avoid lugging your tractor. I like to till deep and get that layer of topsoil ten inches thick. I add lots of hay/straw/fall leaves to my garden and its just great soil now compared to what it was ten years ago. I cover crop also, buckwheat and rye grass.

 

[AJ197816134]

Thank you for the reply! It looks around 36hp at the PTO
I lose more because of hydro almost went to 50 at engine

You are describing EXACTLY what we want to do till deep mix well amend the soil that needs it.
I would love to get 10 inches of great soil!

So with 36 at the PTO a 5 foot might suit me just fine?

I'm all ears and eyes here

 

[LD1]

I would still go at least as wide as the tracks. You never know what future plans hold. Sometimes, to smooth areas, I like to till shallow, like 2-3" and leave it be. If you aren't covering your tracks.....you aren't gonna be left with a smooth and result.

I agree that forward rotation mixes in things like straw better. But in certain cases, reverse rotation. Does have advantages....not just a fad.

 

[jeff9366]

Reverse rotation tillers require much more PTO power than forward rotation tillers because reverse rotation tines are resisting forward motion of the tractor.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Some models of tillers can be off set to cover one tire track, if they aren't wide enough to cover both.

On a "quality built" tiller, there's no advantage of side gear drive over a side chain drive. In fact, I prefer chain drive. All three of my tillers are chain drive and one of them is in it's second THOUSAND of acres of tillage, on the ORIGIONAL chain and sprockets!

It's all about buying a quality tiller in the first place, instead of a lower quality, tinker toy tiller. lol

SR

 

[the old grind]

+1 on NOT worrying that you'll leave tracks with a 60" tiller ... unless all work thence will be done by drones ...

Don't think of chain drive tillers as inferior!! Gears can be a bear if something goes wrong, work best in matched sets, and each gear has a shaft that may bend if you stall and can compromise mesh. Chains and sprockets are easily replaced/aligned and lube level is far less critical. Their utter simplicity and ease of service are their best points. One might imagine that a chain could be another safety 'fuse' if you jam up on a rock. (got pto clutch, or shear pin anyway)

MY 60" KK has been trouble free, works nearly 8" down if the 'feet' are set for 'deepest' but I worry about gears and their lube level every time I hook up ... and when I split fist-sized granite rocks working up a new garden on a lawn.

IMO 5 PTO hp/ft of width is a bare minimum if much ground-breaking is planned. That said, it's torque that does the work and my setup (w/the NH T 1520) delivers at ~80% of 540 PTO rpm with a lot less shake & vibration. 'Reserve power' is rarely power 'wasted'.

 

[AJ197816134]

Great replies so far,
I was just torn going 60 or 72 and wanting to get max depth as the ground could use it. The problem I have is the BCS walk behind in have is great but when trying to till in straw and compost it bunches us! Granted it tills like a a bat out of h"@$. But frustrating I cannot get the mix! I figure the tiller will be great for reclaiming some ground eventually as well!

I like King kutter
Seen the everything attachments
Kuhn just browsed on the web

I am debating new or used some of the used stuff ya get lucky and the others I spend time having to bring back up to spec

 

[bilrus61]

Hey AJ.......check your email I gave you some more info there. Hydros make good tilling tractors as it's easy to slow up if you start to lug the engine.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
I am debating new or used some of the used stuff ya get lucky and the others I spend time having to bring back up to spec

Good luck buying used. It took me about 3 years to pick up a 60" KK off Craigslist. I frequent government auctions, online auctions, Craigs List etc. and the ones that turned up were almost always beaten up badly. FINALLY just before I bought a new one (but just after I bought a new plow) a barely used one turned up for about half the price of new.