Rotary Tiller for PT-425 - Worthwhile??

FOURTEEN · Oct 20, 2004

I have heavy red clay soil with bare areas and areas with tough sod. I want to remove the sod and be able to blend mulch into this clay to produce a better top soil.

Will the PT Rotary Tiller dig this up and blend it??

Is the PT worth the money, or should I buy, or rent, a dedicated tiller instead?? Or, just dig it up with my PT Potato Digger??

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pajoube · Oct 21, 2004

I also have some hard soil. My recommendation would be to get the tiller but also the potato digger. Use the potato digger to break up the hard soil (works really great) and then go over it with the tiller. This has worked very well for me.
PJ

FOURTEEN · Oct 21, 2004

I already have the Potato Digger, but wonder if the Tiller would be better. I am trying to get rid of the Zoisia sod, and prepare a new seedbed for Fescue. We also are installing Belgian Block walls around raised landscaped beds, and need to add more heavy red clay soil and blend hardwood mulch into it for better soil to plant new shrubs and trees.

I'll see if the Digger will effectively blend the mulch into the soil. In a small area I did use the Stump Grinder to blend soil, but, of course, that only does a small amount at a time.

I pulled up some sod with the Potato Digger but it's slow going because of the shape of the Digger. Even if a section is all loosened, the sod must be gathered by hand.

Neither the LM Bucket nor the R&D Bucket on the PT-425 will dig up the Zoisia sod or the hard packed clay soil! The engine has plenty of power. The Bar tires have plenty of traction. But the wheel motors give up before anything moves!

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stray · Oct 21, 2004

14 if I keep the peddle to the floor in a hard push using my 422 digging dirt with a bucket it will stall the motor. Is this not the same on your machine? I am just real curious about that. Also if you use the stump cutter and cut the sod in checker boards do you still have trouble digging up the sod.

blackwell · Oct 21, 2004

If you keep the pedal to the floor digging with any PT you will stall the engine. When the engine starts to load too much let up on the pedal to reduce the flow and allow the pressure to increase thus increasing the torque to the wheels.
EB

FOURTEEN · Oct 22, 2004

"" if I keep the peddle to the floor in a hard push using my 422 digging dirt with a bucket it will stall the motor ""

Not at all! At full throttle my PT-425 barely changes engine speed no matter what I do, travel, push, pull, lift, PTO, or steer! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I can only stall it sometimes if the throttle is at idle or just above and I flip the PTO switch on with no attachment connected. The weak link seems to be the hydraulics, not the engine or traction.

FOURTEEN · Oct 22, 2004

"" When the engine starts to load too much let up on the pedal to reduce the flow and allow the pressure to increase thus increasing the torque to the wheels. ""

I have tried that when going up a hill at full speed or pushing, but it hardly makes any noticeable difference! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif After 160 hours use, it operates essentially the same as it did when new. Going up a slope from the flat the PT will slow some, but the engine stays the same.

MossRoad · Oct 22, 2004

As Blackwell pointed out, if you come up against resistance when digging, pushing, climbing a hill, etc... let off the foot pedal a bit. You will get more power to the wheels, not more speed. Think of the foot pedal as a hydraulic valve, not an excellerator. Play around with that technique for a while and see how it works.

Also, try wiggling the steering side to side while lightly pushing the foot pedal when excavating. The side to side motion tends to cut the dirt better than just pushing straight into it.

eambrose · Oct 22, 2004

Hi Fourteen - I own the PT 48 inch tiller - generally I think it does a good job and it is built with heavy duty steel like all PT units - the price was also reasonable compared to other tillers - they run it direct (the hydraulic motor is bolted to the housing and coupled directly to the shaft) Many other manufacturers bolt the motor to the housing and drive the shaft with a chain. I am not sure which is better and why but it is probably less expensive to do it the PT way.

Complaints - It would be nice to have a hinged guard off the front like the others to smooth out the dirt after you till it and block any flying rocks - but that is not a big deal and again the PT unit is priced low so I don't expect extras.

The other thing I notice is that rocks get caught rather easy and stop the unit (make the relief valve kick in) This can be an annoyance - PT uses the same housing for many of their attachments to save money (produce less expensive products) but in this case I think the tiller housing should be a little different to reduce this problem.

When I was running it on the PT, it was a pain because there is no reverse on the PTO so you have to stop, trun off the PTO - apply down pressure and back up to try and clear the rock - Now I am running it on the ASV which has PTO intermittent & forward / reverse right on the joystick so unclogging the rock is a breeze.

Hope this helps - but I am not a veteran tiller operator