Tiller Which tiller

briwhit · Aug 20, 2007

I was wondering which tiller was better. A 48 yellow KK from tractor supply 996.00 or a 50" not sure if it is a frontier (deere) or not but it is from my dealer made by mashio for 1500.00 regular price was 2000.00

I have a Deere 2305 and need to put in a yard and a new garden next year.

Mickey_Fx · Aug 20, 2007

Better in what respects? What is your ground like and how many passes do you expect will be needed to get the job done? What is the weight on both these units and can your 2305 lift both with ease and without front end not getting too light?

How big is the yard you intend to extablish? Is the garden a long term deal you'll be addressing for many yrs?

Lots of things to think about and the order each plays on your list will help determine what is the best for your needs.

Given any thought on buying use? Maybe even a gray market model? A decent used Yanmar tiller suitable for your size tractor can be had for about $500 and units in decent condition are not all that difficult to find.

Just giving you something to think about.

milkman · Aug 20, 2007

If two inches and green paint is worth $504 dollars more, get the Frontier. If it was me, I'd be hauling home the KK and use the rest of the money to buy another attachment.

jbrumberg · Aug 20, 2007

Briwhit:

Welcome to TBN

! I agree with both posters. I did some searching on the internet. Your JD 2305 3PH lift capacity is 681#'s at 24" and the KK II weighs in at
~600#'s you will be a little front end light and bounce around a little bit but your FEL and any FEL load will help balance this out (trust me I've been there and done that). There might get a lot of replies to what I am about to state, but I do not feel that tillers are high HP "drains" off your PTO; especially if you do multiple passes. I also think that KK is conservative about their PTO HP requirements. I personally do not like a lot of the TSC products and went with a competitor tiller, but the more I look at the KK II Gear Driven Tillers the more I like them. Jay

briwhit · Aug 20, 2007

I have about 2 acers and I will use the tiller for the garden many yrs. I am starting with the front yard which is about .5 ac I would like to get in by fall. I still have woods to clear before I do anything there. I see that the other JD tiller is alot lighter in weight. Right now TSC by me doesn't have one or could get one but I am going to Indy soon and I could call them. The only thing that conserns me about the KK is that when I was at TSC they call the Michawaka store and asked about the one they had and he said "what kind of condion is the tiller in OH the gearbox is out of it well my costomer wouldnt want that." Why should he even ask that are these reconditioned? Why would the gearbox be bad? Is it a good quality? Oh ya I havent found any used ones by me yet but I am looking.

briwhit · Aug 20, 2007

I was looking at fleebay and found this I guess it not a frontier because he said it was a Maschio and I found this Maschio L105 34" 3-Point Rotary Tiller,15-25HP Tractors - (eBay item 320133359381 end time Aug-30-07 20:18:42 PDT) and that is for a 34 inch and he was selling me a 50 is that tiller that much better?

tuckybill · Aug 21, 2007

Your tractor has 19.5 PTO horsepower? I think it can handle a 50 inch but it will lug it if you till deep. Its been my experiance that no PTO implement lugs a tractor like a tiller, not even thick, tall fescue on a rotary cutter. We run a John Deere 660 tiller (listed as a 60" but actually mine is 61.5 " tine to tine) on a Ford 2000 31 pto and a Kubota L4200 37 pto and when you till deep it lugs the tractors quite a bit. Thats with the skids up and even several passes. We till very deep for our daylilly farm. I've tilled rocky "virgin" ground with that JD and much of it making wildlife food plots. Rocks have jammed it a few times making the clutch squeal but I would just turn off the PTO and they would drop out of the tiller. Only had to hand push one rock out. Great tillers. Made in Germany by Howard. Now discontinued, but if you could find a Deere 550 50" you would really be in bussiness.

My mom is looking for her own smaller combo. She plans on getting a Kubota B3030 and the tiller she is leaning to is a Rotomec 42". Can offset it 10" to cover ONE of the tractor tire tracks. Its like a Befco but slight differneces. Dealer has one for $1200 and the quality looks great compared to the Keen Kutters at TSC for just a bit more money. The Rotomec is chain drive but frankly after 7 years of horrible abuse on my chain drive JD 660 without any trouble I think I LIKE the chain drive. The newer Deere Frontier tillers look to be well built and fine finished. My dealer has several on his lot but of course not the one we think would meet our needs.

Call around and see if anyone local has a Rotomec in stock and take a look. You might like it as a option.

I called Rotomec/Befco and they said the Rotomec tiller was a Italian/USA mix on parts that is being put together in their North Carolina plant. Not sure if that is right but it said "Rotomec" cast right on the gearbox so I guess its not Chinese. Chinese gearboxes leave me cold.............Tucky

Farmwithjunk · Aug 21, 2007

IMHO, after 8 seasons of pounding a King Kutter tiller for all it's worth, I've come to the conclusion they're as rugged as any brand, cheaper than most, and they perform like more expensive brands. I've used my 72" KK enough to wear out one complete set of tines and I'm well on the way to wearing out set #2. The "mechanics" of the tiller are still like new.

bjr · Aug 21, 2007

Just so you have some choice's, check with CCM's tillers. I've personally haven't bought from them yet, but, I've read great reviews and them seem like they'd treat a guy right. I've nothin' against KK either as I got a yard full of their stuff. I'm using their tines on grey market tiller that I modified and the tines are good ones. I'm a real scrounge on implements and don't spend a dime on somethin' unless needed, but I'd stay away from the grey market and chinese tillers, I just don't like the way tines are mounted and tines are hard find. bjr