Fix'n to get a Tiller

[Mtnmnstr]

Looking at adding a tiller to the yard.
Currently i'm running a 3 turning plow and disking. I'm thinking a Tiller will speed up the process and get me the results I'm looking for.
I've searched the threads and found too many to read through. I'm thinking a 72" or 84" . King Kutter II is local and rated pretty good. Whats Y'all got?

 

[5030]

What is your PTO power. You need at least 5 horses per foot of width. I don't have one, don't need one but if I was to get one, King Kutter would be my last choice.

 

[ning]

I bought a monstrous unused heavy duty cat 1-2 tiller about 7' wide at auction for $1k.

Only problem I've had with it is needing to replace a couple bolts when a tine fell off first time I used it; I bought a bunch of extras, removed all the tines, put locktite on, and then put them all back on.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I have a Terraforce 62, They were rated pretty high when I researched early last year. I haven't used it a lot but it does work great with what I've done.

 

[5030]

I rate 3 point tillers right up there with tractor backhoes., or should I say down there. Tractor backhoes are tops for uselessness on my list however.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I rate 3 point tillers right up there with tractor backhoes., or should I say down there. Tractor backhoes are tops for uselessness on my list however.

Not every one has the same needs, that's why there are SO many attachments available for tractors!

I use the backhoe on mine about 25% of the time, and when I need it, I sure am glad I have it!

As for the tiller, it's more in preparation for when we retire and have a large garden, but I can use it now for our little garden and to do some lawn leveling and amendments.

 

[m5guy]

I have a bush hog brand 72". 32 pto hp handles it in my heavy clay. I still plow, skip the disc, pull a packer behind the tiller. Next to my sure stand seeder,my favorite attachment.

 

[Mtnmnstr]

For those who have a tiller, how do they handle roots and buried objects ?

King Kutter would be my last choice.

That's not helpful, Why do not like King Kutter?

 

[5030]

For those who have a tiller, how do they handle roots and buried objects ?


That's not helpful, Why do not like King Kutter?

Because their assembly techniques aren't all that good. Sloppy welds and poor paint. You would be farther ahead with say a Great Plains or a similar heavy duty machine. I think if I were you, I'd peruse Facebook Marketplace or CL or even Tractor House for a used machine. None of them will have all that many hours on them anyway. Like snowblowers, used infrequently. If I was gonna buy one, that is what I'd do. Let someone else take the depreciation hit.

 

[Bobrown14]

I have a Titan UM-56 tiller. It's heavy duty and built in USA. It says 56" but its the same width as my tractor including the rear tires. Its got a clutch instead of shear pins.

I'm glad about the clutch. It's worked when I needed it to.

With your plow - cut your fresh patch with the plow then hit it again with the tiller you will have a beautiful garden patch ready to plant.

I think our big veggie garden (we have several) is about 150' x 40'

After my neighbor hit it with his JD 4030 and a 6 disc Moldboard Plow I tilled it all up 2x took me about a 1/2 hour going easy. That was compacted clay. With the Moldboard Plow it turned the grass upside down and I planted a cover crop on most of it and taters and beats first season. We still have a good supply in hand.

I have a 52hp tractor and when tilling I barley know its there. I gotta keep an eye on it in case a rock jams it up and locks up the drive shaft. I've smoked the clutch not watching but no problems. If it was a sheer pin I'd have broke it. I gotta big root stuck init.

 

[pokey1416]

Dirt Dog RT206 at 72” from GWT Dirt Dog Rotary Tiller - Good Works Tractors

Video in action

 

[jyoutz]

I rate 3 point tillers right up there with tractor backhoes., or should I say down there. Tractor backhoes are tops for uselessness on my list however.

3 ph tillers are very useful.

 

[jyoutz]

Whatever brand you get, get one wider than your rear wheels so you can work close to fences, plants, etc…. Also get a slip clutch driveline, not a shear bolt.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I have a 60" King Kutter II tiller. Love it. Tills through CT's rocky soil without issues. Never broken a tine. Mine has been bulletproof. Makes gardening so easy. Would highly recommend.

 

[DK35vince]

3 ph tillers are very useful.

I've used my tiller (6" KK II) for more than just tilling the garden.
When we built our house I used the tiller to till the topsoil loose to build a driveway, makes the topsoil really nice and easy to work with to load out to prepare for rock. (Recently built a driveway to my son's house using the tiller, works great for that)

Our yard when we moved here was so rough it beat the hell out of you mowing. Set the tiller an inch or 2 deep and tilled the entire yard, then hit it with a lawn roller, made a big difference in smoothing out our bumpy lawn.

 

[Mtnmnstr]

I've used my tiller (6" KK II) for more than just tilling the garden.
When we built our house I used the tiller to till the topsoil loose to build a driveway, makes the topsoil really nice and easy to work with to load out to prepare for rock. (Recently built a driveway to my son's house using the tiller, works great for that)

Our yard when we moved here was so rough it beat the hell out of you mowing. Set the tiller an inch or 2 deep and tilled the entire yard, then hit it with a lawn roller, made a big difference in smoothing out our bumpy lawn.

This is the same as I have. I have 4 acres of lawn that needs smoothing. I have 45 more acres that were disked and never smoothed. I can only mow in one direction without getting beat.

 

[LScraig]

Used 3pt. tillers are hard to find and almost as expensive as new. I bought a King Kutter and it has been great. There are a ton of YouTube videos of King Kutters- check them out.

 

[lman]

I've got a Woods tiller. It seems to do a good job. I've had it for over 20 years with no problems. They used to be pretty common and I would think you would have some Woods dealers in your area.

 

[5030]

3 ph tillers are very useful.

Could have fooled me. Useful for what? Sucking down expensive diesel fuel and agitating the ground as in deep tilling? Why do you think smart farmers went from moldboard (deep tillage) to no till crops? Simple answer. Deep tillage (and that is exactly what a rototiller is), is wastefull both in fuel and nutrient retention.

backhoes (tractor mounted) and number one, rotary tillers are number 2. Most useless (and expensive) to buy and maintain implements.

 

[ptsg]

Interesting. Around here, on small to medium sized farms, the fields are plowed and then tilled on top of that.

A rototiller is the most used implement along with the brush mower and the carry all box. Greenhouses, orchards and vineyards are tilled all the time.

The crops are trees still grow great and I'm sure if didn't work, they wouldn't have been using that method.