Congratulations!
I run my tiller quite a bit. Here are some tips that will save on wear and tear.
For the first pass, I make a pass in Low range, first gear, low rpms, tiller is always all the way down.
I make a complete pass over the whole area.
I go back over with a little higher rpms and maybe L2 or L3, depending on how the soil is breaking up.
I repeat this a few times until I'm tilling with the engine nearly wide open. You'd be surprised how nice of a job it does.
My final pass is often in a higher gear, and I try to stagger or overlap each pass to avoid the winrow effect.
Sometimes I will make my final pass in the opposite direction, as the tilling tends to leave a "ditch" at the head end of the pass and a little bit of a pile at the end. Going once in the opposite direction usually levels it all out and leaves a very attractive plot.
This keeps from beating the heck out of your equipment, and the tractor has the torque, so no problem. It gives you a chance to find and remove rocks, roots, or anything else that may be hiding in the soil.
For starting and stopping your PTO, it is good not to run the PTO when the tiller is lifted all the way up. The shaft is at an angle, which is harder on everything.
I don't start and stop the pto with the tiller on the ground. I have it just a few inches above the ground when I turn it on- ALWAYS AT LOW RPMs. I lift the 3pt lever at the end of a pass (at whatever rpms I'm using) and just as the tiller clears the ground, I hit the PTO switch, and as the tiller continues to lift, I quickly push the throttle all the way down and start my turn or push in the clutch, depending where I'm tilling.
It's a quick symphony of movements, but one that gives excellent results in a short time.
Also- when making each pass, sometimes I swing to the opposite end and till on my way back up, but that's normally on larger areas. For small areas or when I get to the middle, I back all the way up with the tiller up to start my next pass. I try to drive over the untilled area and swing my back end to overlap the last pass in the final 10 feet or so of the plot. That way I have very few tire tracks packing down what I just tilled, and these go away when I make that pass.
If you have to turn (ie large fields), make gentle, sweeping turns.
After the first few hours of tilling, be sure to check all your bolts. I didn't and was surprised how loose everything was (especially the tines) afer the first season. It's been fine in the past 5 years with nothing else being loose.
Keep an eye on your fluid level in the gearbox. I check mine at the beginning of each season and sometimes in between.
Oh-
IMPORTANT!!! If you have a drive shaft with a slip clutch, the clutches tend to seize up from rust and sitting, even when using it regularly. If it hasn't slipped in a while, the surfaces start to stick together and it won't provide the safety slip when it should.
At the beginning of each season, or at minimum when you first get your tiller, have the tractor stopped and the rpms low. Lower the tiller into solid ground (untilled) and engage your PTO (I like to switch the PTO to the clutch-activated position so I control it with my foot, but you have HST, so may not have this setting). Keep your hand on the 3pt lever. It may clunk and jump/bounce if the soil is too hard or the rpms too high.
The goal is to force the slip clutch to slip about 2 or 3 revolutions. This will surface the clutches so they slip at the proper torque range.
I found this out when I lent my tractor to a buddy who actually stalled it out(!) while tilling. I told him it wasn't possible, the slip clutch should have handled it. He insisted it didn't slip and that's when I found this out about the clutches.
Another tip: I went to Tractor Supply and bought an overrun clutch, like this
at
Overrunning PTO Coupler, 1-1/8 in. x 6 Female Spline - 0271148 | Tractor Supply Company
It's softer than the PTO driveshaft, I believe. If something does really torque your PTO, these splines will twist, hopefully before any damage happens to your PTO. Mine is a bit twisted, but that makes me happy- means that little bit of extra safety has done its job
This kind of overrun is a requirement IMHO when running 3pt mowers. They take some time to spin down and can put tremendous forces into your PTO. (Used to push the 8N and Fergusson forward when pushing in the clutch. These engage the PTO via a geared lever on the side of the transmission and the clutch engaged the drive portion of the PTO)
A final note. Keep the rear flap down on the tiller (just a bit raised from vertical that allows it to rest on the ground without binding) and don't ever let anyone stand near you while tilling. If you hit a rock, it can definitely throw it!
Have fun with your new present! Go slow and easy as with anything new. Let's you get used to it and is good for the break-in period anyways.
Enjoy!
- JC
