Multi-speed tillers

[msjanket]

Are the multiple speed tillers worth their salt or do people find that they tend to use one rpm setting virtually all the time and the other settings are almost never used?

Or, are these tillers valuable for those extra speeds they provide?

 

[vsteel]

The only thing I know about them is from an everything attachments video saying they come from Korea and they use tillers differently than we do. For what we do you would put the tiller in low and leave it.

 

[California]

I have the Yanmar tiller that was originally sold together with YM2000, the Japan-market version of its American-market twin YM240.

YM2000 PTO has 3 speeds 540/750/1000. I've tried running this tiller from the 1000 rpm choice in my YM240 pto and it turned everything to fine dust. Plus it seemed likely to break something if it hit a root etc which would be common in my orchard. I've used 540 rpm since.

I think the higher speed output for the Japan-market tractors, and their matching tillers, is intended for churning a flooded rice paddy. I don't think there is any practical use for the highest speed in ordinary dry-land farming. The only application I can think of might be for the third pass where you will grow root crops - carrots etc, and you need the soil to be flawless fluffed dust to get nice straight carrots.

Summary - turning the Japanese tillers at high speed on a second or subsequent pass after the soil is busted up shouldn't hurt the tiller but I don't think it accomplishes anything useful.

Links: Yanmar International photo illustrating worldwide applications; Similar.

Here's a trial run after I bought the Yanmar tiller. 50 ft with pto turning 540 rpm, then 50 ft @ 1000rpm. Notice how much finer the more distant part is tilled.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I run Howards, two have gear boxes that let me change the tine speed.

YES I do change the tine speed, it all depends on what my customer wants to end up with for tillage, and THAT determines the ground speed and all the other adjustments I make to my Howard, to get what they want, for them.

SR

 

[2458n]

I also have a Howard and they are designed to be changed for different soils. My Kubota also offers 3 PTO speeds. Just finished messing up a bearing on my finish mower by running at a higher setting. Bearing was fine at 540 rpm. Caught the belt smoking when the bearing stopped turning. Run your tiller on low and adjust your ground speed. Only reason to run a higher tiller speed would be a 2 wheel drive tractor with no low speed travel.

 

[California]

I run Howards, two have gear boxes that let me change the tine speed. YES I do change the tine speed, it all depends on what my customer wants to end up with for tillage, and THAT determines the ground speed and all the other adjustments I make to my Howard

I also have a Howard and they are designed to be changed for different soils. My Kubota also offers 3 PTO speeds. ... Run your tiller on low and adjust your ground speed.

A question for both of you, obviously you have given this some thought: What are the conditions where you would till at other than 540 input? I'm trying to get a sense of the variables involved here.

Would there ever be a case to use 1000 rpm input? I wonder if the higher speed was intended to serve like a flail mower taking a light cut, in the original rice paddy application this tiller was designed for. There has to be some reason for a 3 speed PTO, and a tiller capable of running at the higher rpm, on the tractors designed in Asia.

Does the Howard manual have any advice on when to use the different gears?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

There's nothing to "think out", it's the tiller that you adjust, not the pto speed...

I NEVER use a higher PTO speed, I use a higher TINE speed...

My Howards were designed to run at 540 in, and that's what I use...

Using a higher pto speed really lower the torque to the tiller too...

SR

 

[California]

There's nothing to "think out", it's the tiller that you adjust, not the pto speed...

Ok, then without thinking any more about it - what are the different variables that call for changing the gear ratio in your tiller?