New Member With Implement Questions

[neverfailyou]

Exercise caution with box blade and down rippers to tear it roots. Bigger roots will tear up a light duty box blade. Something has to give... the root first... then the box blade
... then the tractor. (Ask me how I know)

 

[jeff9366]

Ifh you get a box blade you can use it to rip out roots also by lowering the shanks and tilting forward ,not ideal but it will work and your only buying one implement.

True & true.

However, Box Blade shanks behind a 2,700 pound tractor will penetrate only 4" to 5". Box Blade shanks "snap" many more roots than a Field Cultivator, which rakes more roots out. This is related to 45 degree angle and thickness of Box Blade shanks Vs. parabolic shape of Field Cultivator tines, which move through dirt in horizontal orientation.

RE: PHOTO #2; I broke off one Box Blade shank off doing this cleanup. You can observe the Box Blade dragged out a lot of roots but a spring-protected Field Cultivator removes more, partly because it penetrates twice as deep.

I have both implements and plenty of experience combating Yaupon.

 

[Dranrab]

I agree with Jeff and second the decision on an excavator for stumps. It sounds like you could use around a 5-10 ton machine. The bigger the quicker it will pull up stumps. If you have the room for it, a 20 ton will pull them out in seconds. It is all about weight and counterbalance...these huge machines have all you need. If you dont have room for it, then a smaller mini-ex at around 5-10 tons would get the job done. If it is really tight you might get by with a skid steer and a tree stumper, but they take a bit to get used to as well.

For tractors Jeff has you set. You need weight for moving dirt/plowing. You need HP for a mower. Do you need/want a cab?

I would say somewhere around the Kubota L series size. Other brands include Deere, Mahindra, RK, LS, Kioti, New Holland (its an LS), Massey Ferguson, Branson...and I probably missed a few. As Jeff mentioned find a good dealer that has in house service and longstanding business.

I am looking at a JD 3025, a Kioti 2610, a Mahindra 1526 and a few others in that class. They'll be fine for my intended use. I know the Mahindra and Kioti dealer. He's the brother-in-law of my best friend. He gave me a fair price on both of those machines. He's also the nearest dealer at 12 miles from my land. I am going to watch for decent used deals for a few more weeks before I commit.

 

[Dranrab]

I agree with Jeff and second the decision on an excavator for stumps. It sounds like you could use around a 5-10 ton machine. The bigger the quicker it will pull up stumps. If you have the room for it, a 20 ton will pull them out in seconds. It is all about weight and counterbalance...these huge machines have all you need. If you dont have room for it, then a smaller mini-ex at around 5-10 tons would get the job done. If it is really tight you might get by with a skid steer and a tree stumper, but they take a bit to get used to as well.

For tractors Jeff has you set. You need weight for moving dirt/plowing. You need HP for a mower. Do you need/want a cab?

I would say somewhere around the Kubota L series size. Other brands include Deere, Mahindra, RK, LS, Kioti, New Holland (its an LS), Massey Ferguson, Branson...and I probably missed a few. As Jeff mentioned find a good dealer that has in house service and longstanding business.

I may have left the impression that I was going to be hitting stumps regularly. The few stumps are cut flush with the ground. I know where they are and will mark the area with orange paint before I begin work. I figured I might somehow accidentally hit one at some point. In the short term they will remain where they are. My question was about the function of clutches in bush hogs and tillers. Do I understand that they help prevent damage to the PTO and the implement correctly?

 

[Dranrab]

Dranrab

For leveling gravel and dirt, am I better served with a grader/scraper or box blade implement?

A Box Blade is for transporting dirt short distances and leveling where you deposit dirt. (Cut off high areas, transporting spoil to fill low areas.) Moderate to long learning curve but skill worth having. Good in both fields and dirt roads. Final smoothing often accomplished via backdragging FEL bucket. Good Three Point Hitch counterbalance for heavy FEL lifts.

Land Plane/Grading scraper transports material only incidentally to leveling. Very short learning curve. "Recovers" gravel as it levels gravel roads.


For preparing the back acre for a crop, will a disc harrows cut the yaupon roots up well enough or would another implement be better. Do I need a tiller if I have a good disc?

Plows invert soil.

Disc Harrows and Rototillers do not invert soil, both mix soil, re-burying a portion of Yaupon roots. Light tractors operate Rototillers much better than Disc Harrows. Sometimes fresh roots wrap around Rototiller tines. Research 'L' shape tines Vs 'C' shape tines.

Parabolic tines on a Field Cultivator actually pull out roots, corms and other trash which then must be disposed of, usually my burning. Short learning curve. Deepest potential penetration, controlled by operator. Levels a little during operation.

If I bring in a container or build a garage, I'll have some red dirt brought in to firm up the foundation. I'll need to scatter and level it. Is a box blade or grader/scraper the best tool for the job?

Foundations do not comprise large areas. Backdragging FEL bucket for smoothing will suffice. Have the ROPS up and seatbelt fastened.

I will likely end up with a tractor that weighs about 2500 pounds sans FEL and implements. I have used garden tillers before and found it maddening how often I had to clean debris out of the tines. It really wraps up in there good. I figured it'd be a bigger pain dealing with it on a large PTO driven tiller.

 

[Dranrab]

Ifh you get a box blade you can use it to rip out roots also by lowering the shanks and tilting forward ,not ideal but it will work and your only buying one implement. I would get clutches on tiller and brush hog much easier than shear pins. Older cultivaters around here are fairly cheap so that is an option.

I paid a bud of mine a couple hundred bucks to come in with his 45HP Kubota and use a box blade with those ripping shanks over the main areas. He did some damage to it.

 

[jeff9366]

My question was about the function of slip-clutches in bush hogs and tillers. Do I understand that they help prevent damage to the PTO and the implement correctly?

Yes. Properly adjusted slip clutches, re-adjusted periodically, will slip when the implement collides with an obstruction, ameliorating shock to tractor and implement.

Operating a Bush Hog, if you roll over a low stump with the blades and center "stump jumper", the stump may still slam into the rear turned down or riveted-on portion of the deck, which in theory keeps debris from flying out. Once this skirt is bent, the blades may then collide with the bent skirt. To the best of my knowledge, no light duty Bush Hog is available with preferred chain shielding front and rear.

 

[jeff9366]

I figured it'd be a bigger pain dealing with it on a large PTO driven tiller.

I have minimal rototiller experience so do not rely on this reply.

Few roto-tiller operators report more than infrequent root raps. Probably because a PTO rototiller is so much more powerful than a walk behind tiller they usually chop or shred roots.

A reciprocating saw deals with my infrequent ((Bush Hog and Disc Harrow)) root raps quickly.

Research 'L' shape tines Vs 'C' shape tines.

T-B-N has a number of respondents who rototill commercially in really tough conditions. Hopefully one or more will reply.

 

[Dranrab]

Thanks for all your help Jeff. I really appreciate it.

 

[/pine]

...I have used garden tillers before and found it maddening how often I had to clean debris out of the tines....

It all depends on what you're tilling...if a plot has not been cultivated for a while and has been allowed to grow wild it is more than likely you will get some wrapped up vines and they tend to catch other debris...
Best to mow with mulching blades prior to tilling or be prepared...There has been a few threads on the topic and the general consensus is to keep a nice sharp linoleum knife (large hook blade) handy...that and a pair of hand loppers make short work of even the hairiest bird nests...