Design flaw in rotor tiller?

[BAGTIC]

Am I the only one who has incessant jams with the rotor tiller?

I am no longer having the spontaneous jams I had when it was new but it is still difficult to dig more than 5-10 minutes without having to stop and clear the rotor. Many of the jams are caused by small rocks no larger that an egg.

Upon closer inspection I discovered than the clearance between the tines and the housing are larger. by 3/4-1 inch, on the intake side that on the outlet side. The result is that lots of moderate sized rocks get pulled inside with no hope of escape.

It seems to me that the exit clearance should be greater than the intake so that anything small enough to go in can find a way out.

Also, why no way to reverse the rotor direction so that jams could be cleared without shutting down and dismounting. All the manufacturers of hydraulic rockpicking machines specifically mention that as an advantage of hydraulic drice over mechanical or PTO.

 

[J_J]

Why not just add your own valve. A 12v solenoid two way valve would work just fine. Cost about $95. 00

 

[KentT]

Does the tiller have a reversible hydraulic motor?

 

[J_J]

Most hyd motors are. The ones on my auger, and flail mower are. I have the 60 in tiller, but have never reversed it. I do believe it will also. Just reverse your hoses to check it out, or call Terry at PT.

 

[egb6550]

You make an excellent point what goes in should be able to go out.. I too am surprised there isn't a reverse switch. Would be handy for the post hole digger too. J.J. would your solenoid idea work for any of the aux devices? And just where would you put it? I don't really understand how that works.

 

[J_J]

In reference to the reversing valve. The aux valve is a reversing valve, but I don't believe it will handle large hyd motors due to low flow rates. The aux circuit is designed for cylinders out in front. A reversing valve could be used to plug in to the PTO circuit and then to the implement. Similar to this but with the correct flow.required for your machine.

 

[pah]

I had the same problem. The tiller is designed with a solid steel reinforcement running across and under the deck just forward of the tynes. In rocky soil this traps the rocks between the tyne and the reinforcment. It's amazing how often this happens. I took mine to a local welder and for $50.00 he removed the obstruction and solved the problem.

 

[Marks481]

Anybody fedback this info to powertrac (not that it seems to have much of an effect on future designs based on threads I have read here)?

I am interested in eventually getting a tiller, but it sounds like thre are some issues with PT's version.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

<font color="red"> (not that it seems to have much of an effect on future designs based on threads I have read here) </font>
You're right that no one from PT will jump up to confirm a design problem, but you can also be sure that they're monitoring the posts here and some design changes may creep in future models - now and then even a retrofit comes available. Keep the info flowing.

 

[KentT]

Seems this mod (shown for a 422 PHD) would reverse any PTO-driven implement, including a tiller (again, assuming it is a reversible motor):

Click here for link.

EDIT: Shortened long URL so it fits on 800 res screens.