Tiller Disk vs tiller revisited

Rch · Feb 27, 2001

Here is my experience with disc vs tiller but with smaller garden plots. For plots involving acres timing is everything; soft but not mushy, not too much weed growth ( especially quacke grass) or the disc blades can't penetrate. Link here

RCHEdited by Muhammad on 03/20/01 03:43 PM (server time).

TraderMark · Feb 27, 2001

Alan...
I have a tiller as well as a disc harrow .... it's been my experience that unless the ground is already somewhat soft and pretty clean of stubble/debris either implement will require multiple passes. I tried to till some leaves into some "new ground" I had cleared and wound up discing it twice and then tilling it twice as well before I got the leaves ground up well enough that I could plant my grass. In my area a disc harrow the same width as a tiller is about one fourth the price.

My girlfriend? Maybe
My dog? I doubt it
My tractor? NEVAH!!!

utahmule · Feb 28, 2001

Richard,

Could you explain a little bit about what the hyd. link does on the disc, and what brand/manuf. you have.

Eric

cowboydoc · Feb 28, 2001

Eric,
The hydraulic link is on the top of the disc and raises the disc up and down in addition to putting down pressure on the disc. This helps to force the disc farther into the ground. It also has wheels on it and you have the whole weight of the disc. This is usually a pull behind model and so is much heavier than a 3 point model. Mine is an old 12 foot john deere. I can't even lift it up compared to the 3 point ones that you can pick up and throw around. They disc better, are heavier, and you have more variability with what you can do. Look at the john deere page and you will see what I mean at www.johndeere.com.

patton · Mar 4, 2001

One thing to consider is a tiller runs off of PTO hp, where as a disc requires drawbar hp. If your tractor is is too light (as compacts tend to be), short on traction (no MFWD, has R4s or turfs), or to a lesser degree has a hydro tranny, the tiller may have an advantage.

Toy size tractors are great tools for small or precise jobs- toy size disks tend to just be toys. A disk needs 100-200 lbs of weight per disk to cut right and it needs to be pulled at a some what fast speed. If you slow down because the tractor can't handle the load, the quality suffers. The same thing happens if you reduce the angle of the gangs to reduce load.

Pat

Rowski · Mar 4, 2001

Richard,

I will be doing the same as Alan L this summer, actually for next few summers. My soil here is very hard and rocky. It has about 20ish years of over growth on it which will be cleared out including the small stumps. I need to get the ground smooth for mowing, some of the area will be used for haying (by farmer). I originally thought about plowing then disc it smooth. That is the way most farmers do it here for their feild prep. I have been serching the net for equipment (don't have anything for this work yet) and have come across scarifiers for the 3pt hitch. My thinking is that it would be easier to break up the soil with the scarifiers and then use the disc to smooth and finely break up the soil for seeding of grasses.

What do you think? Any other ideas?

Forgot to mention the land is rolling, not flat. The tractor is a 43hp 4wd with draft control on the 3pt hitch.

Derek

Edited by Rowski on 03/04/01 08:27 AM (server time).

cowboydoc · Mar 4, 2001

Derek,
What you have is a good idea as well but with the scarifiers you would have to have them pretty close together to do the same job of a plow. If I was if you have a local farmer there see if he will come over and plow it up. The guys here only charge like $5 an acre. Then once it's plowed you can disc it no problem. Or with your tractor you should have no problem pulling a small plow. I see those old 3 bottom plows go for nothing at the farm sales and a disc. I went to one yesterday and could have picked up a 3 bottom plow for $200 and a 10 foot disc there with hydraulics went for $220. Just a word to the wise if you want to raise hay or grass then spray it really good with 24D before you disc or plow it up. If you are going to raise alfalfa hay spray it with roundup. Alfalfa is very difficult to get a good stand going and doesn't need to compete with anything. Even though you disc and plow it those weeds and grasses will come back if you have killed them all first. If you plow and disc, then go over with a harrow, plant your seed and harrow again you will have a beautiful stand of grass or alfalfa. Just one more thought. There is a new bermuda grass out that is supposed to be the next best thing to slice bread. It is called World Feeder Bermuda Grass. I will be planting some this year. My neighbor planted some last year and I can't tell you how impressed I am with it. It's very pricey but it looks like the answer to my hay and pasture problems. Check them out at www.worldfeeder.com. Good luck and hope I helped some.

Alan L. · Mar 4, 2001

patton:

My tractor is a B2710. It has 27 HP, 20 PTO HP. Since the PTO is not involved I would figure the draw bar HP would be considerable more than the PTO HP. But as for pulling a 10-foot disk with hydraulics I would doubt it. Are you guys saying no way a 5-foot disk can be heavy enough to do any good?

I would be happy to have some WEEDS on this plot. Right now its just hard clay with no vegetation other than some rye grass we through out there thats about an inch tall, and not much of that.

cowboydoc · Mar 5, 2001

Alan,
I don't think you're going to be able to do much with a 5 foot disc at all if you're talking about breaking up ground. About the only you'll be able to do with that is to break up ground that is already broken up. If you have hard ground at all with clay I don't think you'll penetrate more than a few inches, it that. You're right with a 27 hp tractor you probably won't pull a big disc. Also you are exactly right that drawbar hp is going to be more than pto hp.