PT 2445 using tiller

[jaquetarr]

Using the tiller on the PT is much different than using the tiller on the old Kubota. I miss setting the speed at crawl I not having to worry with it.

On the PT, I notice that the tines rotate over the top when viewed form the seat. This is good to catch rocks and lock up the tiller when they get caught between the tines & the tiller housing. I'm sure it rotates this way to catch flying dirt & rock & to make a smooth seed bed. I've considered changing the rotation so it would undershoot & throw the rock out in front of the tiller, not too safe if your standing out there, but it might keep the rock from getting wedged in the housing and / or breaking tines & bolts.

I miss the constant speed setting as on the CUT. Has anyone come up with a solution for this? I'm thinking a block / spacer under the treddle would give me a constant speed & allow the treddle to go to the stop - neutral position when the foot was removed. Maybe a double nutted bolt set thru the petal could be adjusted for a speed, then removed when not needed.

I still haven't got this 'Draft Control' figured out & how to use it for the tiller to set & keep a constant cutting depth. Might be that I'm expecting it to do something it is not designed for. When I use the float, the tiller housing drags the dirt.

Does the tiller work better with FWD motion or Reverse? I'm trying to avoid all the little valleys & hills where dirt builds up & gets scooped out & keep a smooth seed bed.

I'd appreciate another set of eyes and experiences to see what I'm missing and to correct my bad habits. (women & drink excluded)

Tks, tim

 

[ponytug]

Great questions!

Tiller rotation is a big deal. Here is how I think of it and use it;
When the tines lifting up during their rotation, it fractures the soil ahead, and lifts rocks. (best for 1st pass)
When the tines are driving into the soil, it tends to push debris and rocks downward. (best for final pass)

I do find that rotating the tiller is important for best results. When moving forward during the roughing phase, I will set the back edge at ground level. This tends to fling the stones out front, and often out of the bed. When doing the final pass, in reverse, I rotate the tiller housing to put the far edge at ground level, thereby leaving a smooth seed bed. You can use the housing edge like a blade to smooth out those high points. I like to do it going forward, where the forward spray of dirt helps fill in oncoming dips. It took me a little while to get the hang of it.

I find the tiller very useful for generating flat areas, especially on cross slopes, where it is very useful at moving some soil downhill to generate a level terrace. If it is really steep, I'll use the trencher or the tiller perpendicular to the slope to cut down enough to generate a flat surface to start the tractor on and then you are off to the races.

Crawl speed: PTs don't have it. I think that you will get better at modulating the treadle as time goes on. I like the variable speed because I can hear when the tiller hits tough sections and can easily back off on the speed to enable the tiller to fully till the soil on that pass. I don't notice the lack of it anymore, as I think listening to the engine load actually gives you a better result.

Final tiller tips: when a stone jams the tines, I find stopping the tiller (PTO off) and then slowly backing up with the tines in contact with the ground quickly dislodges the rocks. Since my rocks are wimps and tend to shatter the second time through, I don't usually get off and toss them, but I can imagine that in lots of other places, you would have to hop off and toss them. I keep a box of nuts and bolts for the tiller. I once hit a hidden block of dumped cement that sheared off about five tines before I could stop. With the right bolts, it is a very quick fix.

I would strongly recommend not latching the treadle, which would be very unsafe if it jammed.

Draft control: It allows vertical movement at constant pressure (i.e. weight). It is designed to take weight off the implement and transfer it to the tractor during tasks like mowing, allowing for better traction, and lower ground force on the implement. This is in contrast with the float setting, which allows the implement to freely move vertically, but all of the weight remains on the implement.

My sense is that you are trying to use it set constant depth, which is not something it can really do- unless your soil is perfectly uniform and your drive speed (i.e. load on the tractor) is perfect.

There are other posts on how to set the draft, and you should set/re-set it as you change uses and implements.

Personally, I only use it for mowing, and occasionally for dragging, where the added ground force can be useful at shaving off high points and filling low points faster than a fixed blade height. YMMV.

All the best,

Peter

Using the tiller on the PT is much different than using the tiller on the old Kubota. I miss setting the speed at crawl I not having to worry with it.

On the PT, I notice that the tines rotate over the top when viewed form the seat. This is good to catch rocks and lock up the tiller when they get caught between the tines & the tiller housing. I'm sure it rotates this way to catch flying dirt & rock & to make a smooth seed bed. I've considered changing the rotation so it would undershoot & throw the rock out in front of the tiller, not too safe if your standing out there, but it might keep the rock from getting wedged in the housing and / or breaking tines & bolts.

I miss the constant speed setting as on the CUT. Has anyone come up with a solution for this? I'm thinking a block / spacer under the treddle would give me a constant speed & allow the treddle to go to the stop - neutral position when the foot was removed. Maybe a double nutted bolt set thru the petal could be adjusted for a speed, then removed when not needed.

I still haven't got this 'Draft Control' figured out & how to use it for the tiller to set & keep a constant cutting depth. Might be that I'm expecting it to do something it is not designed for. When I use the float, the tiller housing drags the dirt.

Does the tiller work better with FWD motion or Reverse? I'm trying to avoid all the little valleys & hills where dirt builds up & gets scooped out & keep a smooth seed bed.

I'd appreciate another set of eyes and experiences to see what I'm missing and to correct my bad habits. (women & drink excluded)

Tks, tim

 

[jaquetarr]

Many Thanks for the input.
I buy grade 8 bolts by the 50 count bag; I check tines often for tightness & bolt breakage; when I rotate the tiller housing all the way forward. I shower the tractor with rock & dirt. I've been filling potholes with the dirt I've shoveled out of the hydraulic hoses. When I rotate it all the way back, the softball size rocks jam the tines. After hurting my knees & hips climbing on / off the tractor to remove rock with a pry bar, I discovered the same trick: stop the PTO, place the tines in the dirt & rock the tractor. The down side of this is my carefully set cut depth is disturbed.
Thanks for the information on the draft control. I'll reserve it for mowing & cow dozing As to the tiller.

This latest project is to barely scratch the surface & bust up the soil so I can broadcast grass seed.
Again, Tks for sharing your experience and advice on what to avoid.
tim

 

[KentT]

This latest project is to barely scratch the surface & bust up the soil so I can broadcast grass seed.

That's where a landscape rake comes in handy -- a real one, not the PT design. They do a good job of just scratching up loose dirt on the surface, while breaking up many of small dirtclods, and raking the remainder into a pile that you can then move and dispose of...

Disadvantage with using one on the PT is that it works best pulling it, which means driving backwards similar to using a boxblade...

 

[ponytug]

One of these days, I'll get a front deflector pan for the dirt, but meanwhile, I have also been using the accumulation to patch up erosion.

Cow dozing?

All the best,

Peter

Many Thanks for the input.
I buy grade 8 bolts by the 50 count bag; I check tines often for tightness & bolt breakage; when I rotate the tiller housing all the way forward. I shower the tractor with rock & dirt. I've been filling potholes with the dirt I've shoveled out of the hydraulic hoses. When I rotate it all the way back, the softball size rocks jam the tines. After hurting my knees & hips climbing on / off the tractor to remove rock with a pry bar, I discovered the same trick: stop the PTO, place the tines in the dirt & rock the tractor. The down side of this is my carefully set cut depth is disturbed.
Thanks for the information on the draft control. I'll reserve it for mowing & cow dozing As to the tiller.

This latest project is to barely scratch the surface & bust up the soil so I can broadcast grass seed.
Again, Tks for sharing your experience and advice on what to avoid.
tim

 

[jaquetarr]

Cow dozing?

This was described to me as placing the bucket in float and backing over the surface to even out. Also tilting up the bucket in float and going forward to knock down high spots; all without digging into the dirt.
tks, tim