Using Geared tractor for tilling

   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #1  

bluecarpenter

Silver Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2004
Messages
110
Location
central missouri
Tractor
CK30 HST and allis chalmers b with belly sickle at dads farm. Yanmar 2210DB , ford 8N .farmall cub
I've been trying to read all the past posts about the tilling and ground speed. I'm still a little confused. Is a tractor that goes only 1.1 mph ok for tilling? I assume you can't go as deep the first past but not sure. I've got clay here and have never used a tractor driven tiller just the walk behind.
I'm just trying to get things straight. Another thing that I've thought about is using a plow first and then using the tiller. Not wanting to beat a dead horse but just needing some input. Thanks mark
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #2  
I don't think you'll have a problem. Using any attachment is trial and error until you get the hang of it. Start out in the lowest gear you have and see what happens. You might have to declutch if the tiller has a hard time of it and let it work in place. Then engage the clutch and take another bite. If you try to till at a small depth setting first as you mentioned, it should work.

Try it out and see.
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #3  
I just started using my Woods 52" tiller today, and I think I'm glad I had an HST tractor as there were plenty of times, going through virgin, turfed soil that I had to just crawl. I'm not sure how fast, but I think less than 1mph.
A lot of posters have said that most geared tractors that don't have a creep gear have a hard time with a rototiller. I don't know, this is the first tiller I've owned.
Maybe you can borrow or have a dealer let you demo one on your tractor to see how it does. This is not unheard of. You might also rent one for a day and see what happens. You may indeed need to do a few passes. I could have gone full depth in one pass today, but wanted to go deeper, so I turned around and came back through the first cut. Second time through I'm sure I was going over 1 mph.
John
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #4  
My soil makes good fill dirt... gravel and dirt with a few nice sized rocks thrown in.
The first time I tried out my tiller I was going 1.2mph and making two passes.
The second time I tried it I added to the area already tilled, still virgin ground. I slowed down some, below 1mph, but still had to make two passes to get as deep as I wanted. I much preferred the "faster" speed since I had to make two passes to get 5-6" deep anyway.

...but then, I'm the person that like to go the speed limit and wait at the next stoplight rather than creep along and have it turn green when I get there. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #5  
Our tractor is listed at 1 MPH in A range, 1st gear w/R1 tires...but we have R4 tires. Speed with R4 tires isn't listed on JD's site. I imagine it might be slightly slower with R4 tires. But anyway, I've found that going 1 MPH is a tad too slow for me...especially if you've plowed the ground first. Ripping up new ground that has never been plowed or tilled much in the past might be the time when I'd use the 1 MPH speed. I usually stick with a little over 2 MPH (B range, 2nd gear) when tilling soil that's been plowed first. We have fairly heavy clay here. In some areas of my yard, I can dig up a shovel full and instantly start making pottery, it's so thick! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #6  
From the past posts I have read on this even at 1 mph is not slow enough. Many have said that hydro is best for tillers. I have done a fair amount of tilling with my TC29D and sure am glad I have hydro. If your in really loose soil you will be ok but breaking for the first time even taking a bit at a time you will have to stop now and then or really get slow.

murph
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #7  
I have gears only and have tilled about 12 acres so far with my tiller, 8 of which had not been worked in years. At times I had to go in the lowest gear but I had never had a problem.
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #8  
I have a gear tractor with a 47" tiller......I had no problems at all with ground penetration, although I did hit it with a middle buster first. I'm not sure what my ground speed was I can check that out tomorrow. I do know I used 1 low initially and 2 low since. Here is a link to some pics of my project.
Regards, Jamie


Good Days Work

Edited long url.
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #9  
I have a geared tractor and a 52" Woods tiller. Low gear has always been too low for me, and I've always tilled using 2nd gear. That said, if your soil is so hard that low range, low gear isn't slow enough, then you should plow the area first before tilling. Actually you should always do that anyway, to remove deeper compaction and improve drainage. Most tillers simply don't go deep enough for this, they just prepare the surface soil.
 
   / Using Geared tractor for tilling #10  
I have a 25hp gear drive tractor and a 53" tiller. I have tilled unbroken sod in L1 (I believe at PTO rpm about 1mph) full depth single pass with little to no problems. I normally make a second pass to break it up more. I can usually till soil such as existing gardens full depth single pass in L2 and leave powder. Soil here varies from pretty good top soil to heavy clay (sometimes w/in a few feet) All that being said, I'm sure that results are based on the specific tractor and tiller.
 
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

2007 Ford F-350 4x4 12FT. Flatbed Stake Body Truck (A48081)
2007 Ford F-350...
1272 (A50490)
1272 (A50490)
2010 Ford Flex Limited SUV (A48082)
2010 Ford Flex...
2015 Kubota MX5200F 55 HP Loader Utility Tractor (A49346)
2015 Kubota...
2016 Barber 600HD Surf Rake (A49346)
2016 Barber 600HD...
UNUSED Safety Traffic Cones (A50860)
UNUSED Safety...
 
Top