Tiller Did anyone ever regret getting the bigger tiller?

[HuskerInVA]

I'm trying to decide between a 60" and 72" tiller. Tractor width is 59" so both would cover the tracks. Did anyone ever buy the bigger tiller and wish they had gotten the smaller so they could till in narrower spaces?

Part of me says to buy the biggest, baddest tiller my tractor can handle. Other part says get one just big enough to cover tracks so I can till smaller borders, rows, etc..

Thoughts???

 

[Tim_in_IA]

Probably depends on how you are going to use it? If you will be maintaining weeds between rows then I would think smaller is better. If you are just using it for large open areas and you want to maximize your time and fuel efficiency then bigger is better provided you have enough hp. May also depend on your soil conditions: harder soil, smaller tiller. etc...

 

[thegreatrandini]

I would rather have a 5 ft instead of 6ft just because the 6ft is a little big for a 26 hp Yanmar..... It seems to run it just fine but the 5 ft would be a better fit. I would even be happy with 4ft tiller. I saw a good deal on this one and the wife said ok so I jumped on it...... It's fun.....

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I actually got a 50" tiller instead of a larger one, and both of my tractors could have easily take a larger tiller. I'm glad I went small because I've found all sorts of uses for a small tiller that lets me get into places that a larger tiller might not get into. I will admit that tilling the garden is going slower than I'd like, but putting in odd sized flower beds, working in tight spaces, etc would not have been possible.

I read somewhere that the average tiller is only used a couple hours a year. If the tiller is limited to garden tilling I would probably agree. But I've found the smaller tiller gets used more simply because it is smaller and I can use it for things other than the garden.

EDIT . . . BTW, my tiller will not cover the tracks of the Kubota so I made sure it would side shift so I could cover one track or even move it up against a wall.

 

[tawilson]

I till for a guy who has a vineyard. A 72" would be too big. So if a vineyard is even remotely in your plans, think 60".

 

[MadDog]

As has been indicated, big is fine so long as you have sufficient horsepower to handle both the width (and thus number of tines engaging the ground) of your tiller and expected soil conditions. Obviously, the more tines you have engaging the ground, the more pto hp it is going to require to till with them to any given depth in any particular soil conditions.

If you have marginal power, you may have to go to your desired depth in two or more passes and it might be quicker to be tilling a narrower strip in one pass.

Most tiller mfrs indicate the min recommended hp for each width tiller. I think that those figures are for pto hp and not "engine." Caution suggests that those figures are for "average" soil conditions, so if you are planning to till in clay hardpan you probably need more than the spec minimum hp.

 

[KiotiJohn]

I'm a believer in just cover the tracks as anything else is A: probably cumbersome for the tractor, and B: requires more from your tractor to cut all the extra real estate. 60" should be all you need. Also, many tillers either have a specific shifting apparatus or can be shifted on the hitch blocks in case you need to get even closer to something, so a 60" that's shiftable will be great.
John

 

[HuskerInVA]

Thanks for the info and advice. I stopped by TSC and picked up a 60" KK II. With the money I saved not getting the 72", I picked up a subsoiler to break the hardpan. This weekend I hope to get setup and put in the new garden.

 

[bdog]

I have a 72" tiller and a 60" tire track. I have no regrets. Actually as easily as my tractor pulls it I wish I had gotten a bigger one. All depends on what you are going to do with it. This one is perfect for gardens and lawns, but I have been tilling up small acreages for people that want to plant large(1-3 acre) vegetable gardens, etc and the more ground you can cover per pass the better.

Yesterday I tilled up an acre for a guy 3 times. First pass at 2" to break up the hard surface layer. Second pass at 5". Then we sprayed Treflan on it. Then tilled in the Treflan at 3". He is going to grow a watermelon patch to sell them. The tiller worked great but if I would have had a smaller one it would have taken me that much longer.

I see you already bought a 60" I am sure you will be happy with it. Nothing wrong with it at all. Just might take a little longer but for most personal use that is not an issue.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

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Yesterday I tilled up an acre for a guy 3 times. First pass at 2" to break up the hard surface layer. Second pass at 5". . . The tiller worked great but if I would have had a smaller one it would have taken me that much longer.

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Just playing devils advocate here, not really trying to argue, but if using a smaller tiller on a tractor with enough HP to sink it down to full depth on the first pass, wouldn't it be reasonable to till a 12" narrower pass but save a bunch of time by not having to make 2 full passes at different depths?

One of the reasons I purchased a small tiller (mine is 50") and the my smaller tractor has a manufacturer's recommendation for a tiller up to 62" inches wide, is that in my hard dry clay soil I can bury the tiller to full depth on the first pass and still not bog down the engine when tilling sod into the ground.