Hydraulic rototiller

[gc2310]

I am wondering if anybody has any experience with hydraulic drive rototillers. In this case , specifically a John Deere 30" unit originally designed for a 300 series. I'm looking for pros and cons. How good is the pump? I only have a limited use for a tiller and don't want [can't justify] investing much money in one.

 

[LBrown59]

I am wondering if anybody has any experience with hydraulic drive rototillers. In this case , specifically a John Deere 30" unit originally designed for a 300 series. I'm looking for pros and cons. How good is the pump? I only have a limited use for a tiller and don't want [can't justify] investing much money in one.

I don't know about the pump but I don't like the $3500 price for a CC GT Hyd. tiller.

 

[zionview]

I had a hydraulic drive rototiller on a 446 Case back in the '90's. On the upside, you could till with the tines rotating either direction and there wasn't a whole lot of mechanics to maintain. On the downside, there was 2 different occasions in which the tines caught tree roots and stopped rotating. Since the tractor was driven with hydraulics, the oil had to go somewhere, and off we went, front wheels off the ground, like a bat! Since there were no trees near my garden, this always happened at a neighbors place. As far as tilling, it did a nice job, I just didn't like the occasional thrill rides.

 

[bigtiller]

A friend of mine had a hydraulic tiller on a JD 318 years ago and it did an OK job. It was not as tuff or heavy as the mechanical (PTO) tillers nor as expensive but for small gardens it was good enough. The only draw back I saw was the pump was located on the side of the tiller and it left a fairly large furrow. When finished it didn't look pretty but the furrow was a good place to plant the seeds in. It was a good tiller and he did a lot of gardens with it and never had a problem with it.