Help me justify a TILLER.

[tony123]

Thanks for all the input guys. It seems unanymous (almost).

It sounds like the tiller is an implement to be measured not by how little time you spend using it, but by how much time you save from not using it.

I posted this yesterday specifically because my local Yanmar dealer (where I got my tractor from) has about 8 Yanmar tillers in the yard. He hasn't had any in the past 6 months.

I'm going to swing by there today and see what exactly he has and what he's asking. It seems like a no brainer if he's on the lower end of the price range.

Last time he had them, they moved fast.

Again, thanks so much for the personal experiences. I was really hoping to see some specific tasks that I hadn't thought of, but to repeat myself, the tiller is an implement to be measured not by how little time you spend using it, but by how much time you save from not using it.

I'll let you all know what pans out.

tony

 

[flusher]

Flusher, those are nice pics. Looks like you got a GREAT buy on your tiller

Got it from the grey market tractor guy in Los Molinos in July05. Don't know what they sell for now. They'll get the job done, but they are fairly lightweight rice paddy tillers that need some TLC in use so you don't break a tine. You can get replacement parts, which is a plus.

 

[LBrown59]

justify a TILLER.
1*tillers are a little expensive to be a one dimensional implement.
Can you guys help me with a list of tasks that a tiller works well for?
tony123

1*I was using a little 22'' tiller on and old 1967 Bolens 850 tractor for the following list.
A/backing up into a dirt pile to till up fine soil for landscaping projects. You can't do that with a disk.
B/loosining up soil before scooping it out with my FEL on the BX23 when doing grading projects.
C/I have about six-tenths of and an acre that I grubbed a couple of winters ago that needs the soil tilled up then drug with a spike harrow or some other sort of a drag to smooth and level it all out so that I can plant the area in grass.
D/I've found a tiller so useful that back in November I bought a used Kubota BX1500 with a new 48" KK tiller on it.
The old Bolens with the 22"" tiller done a fine job but it was just way to slow to keep up with the BX23 FEL.
The BX1500 is a Rolls Royce to operate compared to the ole Bolens.
== L B ==.
PS
Now that I have the BX1500 tiller rig MY WIFE has almost talked me into tilling up a small garden for a few tomato plants and a little corn.

 

[tony123]

Thanks Lbrown.

I just got back from the tractor store. I caught them in on New Years Day.

I think I found some good news.

He's got two Yanmar tillers I'm considering. One is a smaller 1300 something. The other is a larger 1600 something.

1300: chain driven, more beat up, tines at what he says 60% left.
1600: gear driven, nicer shape, tines at 80% left.

He's asking $250 for the smaller and $300 for the larger.

For my use, the smaller is a better fit, but it seems many prefer gear driven?

Either way, both are priced such that it would be silly to go any other route.

Any comments?

 

[teg]

What works for me, buy it used and show her the price difference!! Tell her how much you saved... $1000 dollars off a new one. Don't forget to always tell her that you can sell it for more than you bought it for... think of it as an investment.

Did this with a Bale Spear that's for the fel or 3ph... I may use it some day but I got it for only $125!!! Guess I could sell it for $400. I did have to reply to "but you don't need one"

 

[scgargoyle]

Sounds like the 1600 would be a no-brainer. Gear drive should hold up better, and it has more tine life left. I can see that having a farm is a lot like having a machine shop- an awful lot of equipment sits for an awful lot of time, but when ya gotta have it, ya gotta have it. Besides, Tony, you can always come up and till my place when I'm ready for it. How can you beat a deal like that? I'll even feed ya LOL! By the time I get up there, and I'm ready to go halfsies on attachments, you'll already have 'em all!

 

[LBrown59]

I was going to say if you shopped around you might get lucky and get a good used tiller & disk for about the same or less money as one or the other would cost new.

The $300 tiller sounds like a better deal.
Because I'd think gear driven, nicer shape, tines at 80% left would be well worth the 50 bucks more.

I can't comment on which size to go with as you did not give the width of either one.

Thanks Lbrown.

I just got back from the tractor store. I caught them in on New Years Day.

I think I found some good news.

He's got two Yanmar tillers I'm considering. One is a smaller 1300 something. The other is a larger 1600 something.

1300: chain driven, more beat up, tines at what he says 60% left.
1600: gear driven, nicer shape, tines at 80% left.

He's asking $250 for the smaller and $300 for the larger.

For my use, the smaller is a better fit, but it seems many prefer gear driven?

Either way, both are priced such that it would be silly to go any other route.

Any comments?

 

[tony123]

SC, well....now that I get to till your place too....how can I beat this deal? I'll leave a few implements for you to buy.

LBrown, I'm not sure on the size. The smaller one is about 4', and the larger one is about 5'.

The only reasons to go with the smaller one is that my garden will never grow to more than about 3 rows at 75', so narrower rows might suit my space better. And saving $50.

I know this thread started as a "justify" thread, but that was when I thought I'd be spending bigger bucks.

 

[LBrown59]

Tillers are heavy and work well with front loader work.
I use it to break up dirt for digging or grading.
They also make excellent ballast for a front blade and weight for traction when pushing snow with the blade.

 

[LBrown59]

LBrown, I'm not sure on the size. The smaller one is about 4', and the larger one is about 5'.

One question is your tractor big enought to handle a 5' tiller?
Another is the smaller 4' tiller wide enough to cover both rear tire tracks.
If not can it be off set to cover at least one rear wheel?