Question on Maschio tiller HP requirements (and others?)

[jenkinsph]

Jim,
If you need a wider tiller to cover your tracks then do so by all means. I slow down the engine/pto speed when in rocky ground here in the southwest we have plenty of them too. About the tines, the developed rotor diameter is larger on most 6 tine models than the 4 tine models. I don't know that the 6 tine tillers use less hp as they tend to be larger tillers with more depth available. I have a Howard rotovator HR4 60" tiller that I occasionally use behind my garden tractor, really it is a bit much but I inherited it in new condition so to speak and am using what I have. Slow going behind a 18hp (pto hp) tractor and this is a 4 tine tiller capable of about 6 inch depth.. I also have a Deere 673 72" 6 tine tiller that I use with my 4520 tractor this is made by Machio for Deere and is a good tiller too. Both have slip clutches and that is important in tough ground. The Deere/Machio is faster, tills deeper and is my main tiller to use, the Howard is pretty good too and both seem to be pretty tough.

You are correct about using the Hydro tranny to see how fast you can go as for ground speed.

 

[jim_wilson]

Do they not say what the maximum tilling depth is? I would think that maximum tilling depth would be listed? :confused3: I know that Land Pride shows the digging depth.

Good point. I had to go digging for that info but I may have found it.

I also found the info below from Maschio Tillers :

It is very important to select a tiller that is rated to match your tractor horsepower or you will damage the rototiller by running too much power through it. It is best to select a tiller that is as wide as your tractor if you have enough horsepower to run it, otherwise get one that is as wide as your tractor tire centers. Offsetting a tiller or tilling to the insides of the rear tires is not recommended. We recommend 3/4 hp per inch of tillage width as a minimum horsepower requirement. We handle several brands of rototillers. Maschio is our favorite.

So if I do the math for a 60 inch tiller - going by their recommendations - would require 45 HP. Or looking at it another way - for the claimed PTO HP on my tractor - I should be putting about a 31 inch tiller on it.

This is completely different from every other tiller manufacturer I've looked at recommends.

For instance - Landpride says the following for their RTA12 series tillers ( 6.5 inch tilling depth) :

42 & 50: 15-35 HP, 58 & 60: 20-40 HP, 74: 25-50 HP

The Kuhn EL 23-150 ( 60inch wide) - says minimum of 12 HP or maximum of 25 HP - max working depth of 5.1 inches

the Kuhn EL 43-150 ( 56 inch wide) - says minimum of 18 hp or max of 40 - max working depth of 6 inches


The Iowa farm site has a bunch of info on the Maschio tillers

Iowa Farm Equipment -- Maschio L Series Rotary Tillers

Looks like the L series has a 6 inch till depth - and their requirements are somewhat in line with the Landpride and Kuhn stuff above.

An L125 model - 54 inch wide - says it needs 20-25 HP. I'm assuming that is to go the full 6 inch depth.

If I jump up to the H series - which says has a 9" depth - the HP requirements to up to 35-60HP for a 57" tiller.
Iowa Farm Equipment -- Maschio H Series Rotary Tillers


When sizing a tiller - is it reasonable to assume that - given a number of tillers with say 4 tines - and certain width - tilling at the same depth - that the HP requirements should stay pretty much the same?

And that the seemingly additional HP requirements in the Maschio specs are more of a function of the fact that they seem to have a deeper maximum till depth than say the Landpride or the Kuhn (or probably most other manufacturers) ??



Another side question: is additional weight on a tiller a good thing - to keep it planted on the ground?

 

[jim_wilson]

Jim,
If you need a wider tiller to cover your tracks then do so by all means. I slow down the engine/pto speed when in rocky ground here in the southwest we have plenty of them too. About the tines, the developed rotor diameter is larger on most 6 tine models than the 4 tine models. I don't know that the 6 tine tillers use less hp as they tend to be larger tillers with more depth available. I have a Howard rotovator HR4 60" tiller that I occasionally use behind my garden tractor, really it is a bit much but I inherited it in new condition so to speak and am using what I have. Slow going behind a 18hp (pto hp) tractor and this is a 4 tine tiller capable of about 6 inch depth.. I also have a Deere 673 72" 6 tine tiller that I use with my 4520 tractor this is made by Machio for Deere and is a good tiller too. Both have slip clutches and that is important in tough ground. The Deere/Machio is faster, tills deeper and is my main tiller to use, the Howard is pretty good too and both seem to be pretty tough.

You are correct about using the Hydro tranny to see how fast you can go as for ground speed.

Thanks for the info. Good to know that some of the Deere tillers are actually made by Maschio.

I took a quick trip over to Ebay to look for Deere tillers - and judging by some of the pictures - I can see that the Deere tillers look just like the Maschio stuff.

Not sure if I'd want to stick a green tiller behind my orange tractor - but I guess that's what paint is for !

 

[MtnViewRanch]

If you have 2 tillers, 60" wide, both rated to dig 6" deep and one has 4 tines per rotor and the other has 6 tines per rotor, everything is the same other than the amount of tines per rotor, the 6 tine unit will need less HP to do the job.

 

[jim_wilson]

If you have 2 tillers, 60" wide, both rated to dig 6" deep and one has 4 tines per rotor and the other has 6 tines per rotor, everything is the same other than the amount of tines per rotor, the 6 tine unit will need less HP to do the job.

I'm assuming that also means "all other conditions being equal" , power loss thru the drivetrain, soil conditions - etc.

So a 6 tine unit - even if it was rated to till to a depth of 9 inches - going up against a 4 tine unit rated to till to 6 inches - would still use less HP - as long as both units were only tilling at 6 inches.....

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I'm assuming that also means "all other conditions being equal" , power loss thru the drivetrain, soil conditions - etc.

So a 6 tine unit - even if it was rated to till to a depth of 9 inches - going up against a 4 tine unit rated to till to 6 inches - would still use less HP - as long as both units were only tilling at 6 inches.....

While this may indeed be true, that is not what I am saying. You are talking about turning a bigger unit. :confused3: With everything being the same, other than one has 4 tines and one has 6 tines, (both units rated to dig 6") then the 6 tine unit requires less HP.

 

[DaveOmak]

I purchased a used JD (Frontier) Maschio tiller from the rental dep't at a JD dealer 8 yrs ago.... replaced a few tines... and I run it on my NAA.... You don't need any where near 40 hp to run it... My tiller is the 60" wide unit... my NAA has 30 PTO H.P. or so one source says..... has always done the job... and very well .... Dave

 

[oldballs]

It seems to me that one of the important variables is whether the ground has been worked of recent. Breaking sod and working previously plowed ground makes a big differance. The demands would be noticeably different. just 0.02