Tiller Which tiller

[briwhit]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[DK35vince]

6 or 7 years now using my King Kutter tiller.
Works great ! Never had a problem..

 

[RalphVa]

If it was me, I'd rent a 48" tiller.

On my Gravely, I had a rotary plow on it. Used it one time to do my veggie garden and one time to till the areas that I put a small orchard into.

When switching to the 4010, a friend of mine gave me his soil ripper from his old JD M. I adapted it to work on the 3 ph and used it once to rework the veggie garden. Then put a couple disc hillers in place of the ripper plows and did 20 raised rows. Haven't used it since.

For me, plows and tillers are new ground tools. I don't use them after this. So, if I hadn't been given that soil ripper, I would have rented a tiller from a rental place and did the veggie garden and then would have bought a "Keulivator" from Agri Supply with disc hillers on it to do the raised rows. OR I might have bought a cultivator, which has tines similar to the soil ripper, from Agri Supply. Renting a tiller likely would be cheaper.

If you repeatedly till every year, you're destroying all the nematode and worm tunnels that have been created to create nutrients (from their crap) in the soil. I've had a very good veggie crop this year after mulching the rows in the fall. Never had so many worms.

 

[flusher]

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.

I put in front and back yards and a veg garden this past Spring using my 21hp engine/18hp pto Kubota B7510HST and a pre-owned $300 Yanmar RS-1200 rototiller (48" wide). I found that the entire process goes a lot smoother if you invest $140 at Tractor Supply in a middle buster plow and break up the compacted soil before you hit it with the rototiller. Saves wear and tear on the tiller and on your tractor.

 

[SkunkWerX]

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

Jay,

I certainly agree with your thoughts.
i have seen various shipping weights for the KK. The most accurate stated SHipping weight of 575#, and there was an owner of one on here that told us it's actual weight was closer to 550#, so, i think much like PTO HP, they are hedging on the total weight.

I think KKII is saying 20HP min. for their 48" gear driven tiller, yet, we know folks with BX1830s, 2230s and other tractors that are closer to 15HP PTO that say it works fine.

Soil is one consideration. I find it interesting that folks from various regions assume it would be OK (or NOT) when the region it's being used is 2000 miles away. The machines are going to perform differently depending on soil type and depth. The best folks o talk to will be ones in your neck of the woods.
If you got good soil, you can run a much wider tiller, if it's clay or hard as concrete, it could take many passes, making minor depth adjustments as you go.

I'm in the market, and I think I have decided on the yellow KKII 48" for my BX2350. If i go out and set it for Max Depth, in virgin soil, then i could be asking for bogging and problems. But, if I make several passes, lowering as I go, I beleive it will be fine for my PTO of 17.7 HP.

I do agree, whether it's 550# or 600# front weight will be highly suggested for our smaller machines.
I have the FEL for front weight, but, without the FEL I would add front weights, without hesitation.

Anyway, I like the KKII gear driven 48" , good value, looks very tough, like it will withstand the test of time, and then on top of that, Made in USA has to count for something. And no chains to stretch/break /replace.

 

[BarnStangz]

6 or 7 years now using my King Kutter tiller.
Works great ! Never had a problem..

I'm sure that I'll get at least that with my 60 inch KK. I use the **** out of it for tilling my motocross track and tilling into clay. There are also lots of big rocks that I hit from time to time that I don't know are under my soil. I also till my garden too! It's a VERY durable tiller and for the price I don't think it can be beat. Just keep the gear oil fresh and grease it from time to time and it'll last and last, just like DK35vince stated!

Max

 

[milkman]

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.

I have two suggestions that I think are good ones, one, get a tiller with 6 tines per flange, I know some of the KK tillers have 6 and some have 4 per flange, I've used both and there is a big difference in the finish after one pass. If you don't take the first suggestion then my second suggestion is, don't compare your 4 tines per flange beside one with 6, you'll be disappointed that you didn't get the better one.

 

[bx23barry]

I have a 50" Mashio tiller I use with my bx23 (about the same size as your JD2305). I have tilled about 2 acres of my hard clay a couple times. HP is not a problem and it doesn't push my little bx around much. It still looks and works well, but the tines are about worn out. While it gets what I need done I'm really not very impressed with it. It does bounce around pretty good and takes two or three passes to make a nice seedbed. I would recommend getting something heavier with 6 tines and even reverse rotation. I don't think chain/gear drive makes any difference but a slip clutch would be handy (but I have only broken 2 sheer pins, both on buried "T" posts).

 

[briwhit]

Skunk did you get the kk? I did and cant get the pto to work out I guess it is too close to the tractor

 

[BamaRob]

Skunk did you get the kk? I did and cant get the pto to work out I guess it is too close to the tractor

I think it is standard operating procedures to have to cut the PTO shaft to the proper length. I just posted in another thread that I got lucky with my 60" KKII tiller in that I didn't have to trim the shaft. Most users have to trim the shaft to the proper length. There are instructions in the manual. Check out pages 16-18.

Good luck,

BR

 

[Blk88GT]

I had to lop 2.5" off the shaft of the KK to get it to work on my 7510. No big deal, and works great.

 

[SkunkWerX]

Skunk did you get the kk? I did and cant get the pto to work out I guess it is too close to the tractor

Nope! Still waiting for it to be shipped in.
I did go to KK's site and printed the Owner's manual, they cover the PTO shaft length/cutting.

I am using an EZ Hitch which pushes the attachment back about 4 inches, so maybe I'll luck out on length?? we shall see?

Until such time, I'll be waiting for the phone call saying it's here.

****UPDATE!!!!!!
Just got a call, I'll have it by this Friday!! (Dancing in circles)
Looks like we may do some LaborDay tilling!