Tiller T30-?42 Befco Tiller

[Island]

BX23 is setting at the dealer awaiting delivery, so no seat time as of yet.

I have searched and read a lot of information concerning tillers, yet I still find that I must pose these questions prior to placing an order.

1. Shear pin verses slip clutch, which is appropriate. I am leaning toward shear pin based on information I have read.
Suggestions?

2. Four tines per flange or six tines per flange, one chops and one eats. I like the six tine concept, dealer indicates he has never sold or had a request for a six tine version in the 42" model. With no customer complaints or negative feedback will using the four tine model. Wasted dollars, Suggestions?

3. Reverse rotation, understand the concept - for those that have reverse rotation has this proven to be worth the additional cost? Is the reverse option (a $200.00 adder) worth considering?

Well those are my questions any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[boustany]

I would say you want a slip clutch, unless you have really soft soil with no rocks in it. Almost every time I use my tiller I 'find' something which temporarily jams it. I would have had to replace a pile of shear pins by now, and that can be a major pain in the butt.

I don't know about the tines. Mine has 4 and works ok.

I suspect reverse rotation is better, but its not so much of an issue with a tractor attachment as with a walk behind because you can simply drive foreward more slowly and it'll really munch up the earth, even if you don't have reverse rotation.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I've been looking into tillers as well.

From what I can tell, people with 4 tines are happy and people with 6 tines are happy and in both cases the soil is pretty much chewed up the way it is supposed to be.

I suspect that the 6 tine versions require slightly more HP becuase there is greater resistance becuase more tines would be in contact with the ground at any given moment. I would suspect that you might need to make 3 passes with a 4 tine unit to equal the ground mixing that 2 passes with a 6 tine unit would create, but that might just be a very simplistic observation.

Reverse operation tines apparently require a lot more HP to operate but are more effective, or so I've been told and so I've read from several different sources. If you have the available HP to run a reverse unit, then they are probably better. However, if you don't, it seems to me that you might just end up making another pass with a forward rotating unit to get the same results.

I have been advised by a dealer selling a 6 tine unit that for my 24hp tractor (19 PTO hp) I could use a tiller a maximium of 48" wide. CCM equipment, on this website, in another thread, offers a very nice looking gear drive tiller that is a 6 tine tiller and he said I should be able to go up to 58" with my tractor. I don't know who is right or what is better. I am still undecided and figure that IF the tiller I buy is a little large, I just won't go as deep and I will end up making an extra pass or two? The ground I would be tilling is fairly heavy, but has been broken every year for planting so it is NOT like I would be breaking through sod. In any case, using a tiller on a tractor has got to be a lot easier than standing behind & pushing my MTD rear tine walking tiller!!!

 

[Bowhunter]

Bob, I rented a 60" Befco last spring to till a new garden and a couple of food plots. My B9200 (16 hp pto) ran the 60" tiller very well. I would suspect either one of your tractors will have no problem at all with the 58" or 60" tiller in all but the heaviest of soils. On a side note, in another thread on this board it is said that a 6 tine tiller actually requires less hp than a 4 tine would, but one poster stated that his own experience has shown otherwise. I guess it's still up in the air.

 

[Rimmer]

I have a Land Pride RTA-1550 tiller for my BX23. My dealer recommended the shear bolt version rather than the slip clutch. His reasoning is that the slip clutch is a maintenance item; it needs to be run-in and kept in adjustment. Now, that's not a problem in itself, but he believes that if a piece of equipment doesn't get a lot of use (which is probably the case for the average CUT/SUBCUT owner), then the clutch may rust up and the user might forget or neglect to run it in and adjust it, with the result that you have no protection at all.

This clearly is a personal decision -- go with whatever you are more comfortable with. I definitely wanted the slip clutch, but after thinking about the dealer's advice, I agreed that the shear bolt was the way to go for me. The shear bolt on the Land Pride is easy to replace, so I just keep a bag of 5/16" grade 5 bolts around. Ditto for my Land Pride rotary cutter (1/2" bolt) and post hole digger (5/16").

My tiller is the four tine type, and I have no experience with the six tine models. I have only used it twice, was running below the recommended 540 RPM PTO speed (had not completed the BX's break-in period yet), and was pushing the limits on soil moisture, I think. (I was anxious to try it out, what the heck!). I found that the tiller caused noticable vibration in the tractor under those conditions. I suspect things will be better now that I have over 50 hours and can go full speed. As soon as the ground dries again, I'm gonna find out...

Enjoy your new tractor!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[boustany]

I looked at tillers larger than the 48" side shift unit I've got, and I could have gone pretty big, since I've got 30HP on the 3010.

This was my first powered attachment so I went with sturdy, not big. I was actually surprised how much tilling I could do in a short time. My wife staked out a huge garden (maybe 1/2 acre) on what was pasture and, even on previously untilled soil with a 48" tiller I did the whole thing in something like 20 minutes.

Basically, tilling with a CUT is as fast as like driving slowly (5 MPH). I was worried I'd regret going with a small tiller, especially since my tractor is 60" wide, but its no problemo and I have no regrets.

 

[Rimmer]

"...I was worried I'd regret going with a small tiller,..."

This is a good point. I'm happy with my 50" tiller, but it has occurred to me that I might have even more uses (flower beds and such) for the thing if it was smaller. Seems a shame that one of the most expensive implements (at least in the CUT world) is also one of the least used, since they are so effective at doing their job. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Even a 20% or 25% reduction in tiller width isn't going to cause you to spend much extra time in the field, or so it seems to me.

 

[Scaper]

I run a 66" Befco behind my BX2200 with no problems at all. I used the same tiller on my TC33D NH and couldn't see selling it for a new unit when it was almost new with little use at the time. I have had no problems tilling hard ground with this setup. Befco makes a nice unit and they seem to hold up well under hard use. This is my 3rd one and I have had no complaints. Mark

 

[Island]

Thanks to all for the comments, advise, and first hand experience regarding my tiller questions.

I will be ordering a Befco within the next serveral days. When it arrives and I have experienced it's functions I will provide a full report!