Tiller Why aren't there huge tillers?

bdog · Mar 29, 2005

Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

I just got and used my 6' tiller today. I tilled up 8 acres and it was fast and did a way better job than any disc or other cultivator I have ever used for a single pass. It made me wonder why you don't see farmers with big 20 or 30 ft tillers instead of conventional tillage equipment. I was thinking about buying a small disc for my tractor but after using the tiller I am completely satisfied with it .

Darren · Mar 29, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

Kuhn makes one at least 13' wide that's available in this country. It takes about 100 hp. I suspect part of the problem is demand. If lots of folks wanted a 20' tiller, someone would build it.

The other thing to consider is there are huge tillage tools available for large tractors for those with large acreages who still want to move dirts. If you practice no-till, A lot of the old practices requiring plowing, discing, etc. aren't necessary.

KennyV · Mar 30, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

Right about the notill and lotill… but there are big-bad tillers around /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif… they use them on highway construction. They will grind up asphalt roadway like it is sandy loam.KennyV.

Charolais · Mar 30, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

I looked at a used FMC 16' back last fall. That was way more than I could pull. I can't remember the brand but there's an outfit in Ga. that makes a tiller for raised beds. I saw some of those that were 12'. Takes a lot of hp to till those beds and reshape them in a single pass. A 4 row tiller with bed shaper takes about 120hp min.

Robert_in_NY · Mar 30, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

A large tiller would not hold up for major use. Think of the wear a tiller would accumulate on 2000 acres of use, let alone 10k. The other problem is speed. You have to go very slow with a tiller where as you can travel along at a good click pulling a plow or a disc and cover a wider path at the same time.

Howard makes a large tiller but they do not sell many of them. It is a limited market and the only ones I can see possibly using them would be the vegeatable farmers who farm less acerage then grain farmers.

Bird · Mar 30, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

I think Robert in NY said it best: A tiller costs a LOT more than a comparably sized plow, requires more maintenance, and will require at least twice as long to do the job. I only knew of one farmer in my area that had a big tiller for his 100 hp Deere, and I suspect he bought it more as a novelty than anything else (his primary, and pretty large, income was from custom welding - metal fabrication - that both he and his wife did /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif).

Indydirtfarmer · Mar 30, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

Under "normal" conditions, most large scale grain crops are planted under less than ideal conditions. Too wet is the "normal" problem we deal with here in the midwest. Our clay soils don't work well with a tiller when it's wet. A disc or a field cultivator works better, albiet not perfect under those conditions.

In the rare instances when it happens to be dry, tillers would tend to "over-work" some soils. (Turning it into "talcum powder")

The "old ways" give a greater degree of flexability under "real world conditions".

slowzuki · Mar 30, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

No one mentioned fuel either. When my friend with corn is in tillage season, their 2 tractors drain the 500 gal tank every day and the fuel truck has to fill them up in the morning.

Turning giant tillers would easily use double the fuel.

They are moving to no-till to cut fuel costs. Right now the jump in price of diesel last year ate all their profit.

bdog · Mar 30, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

That makes sense. I was just curious because I have watched them work at some of the farms around my house and the often plow the fields twice before they plant them and even after plowing twice I think my tiller does a better job. Granted you travel slower with a tiller but maybe you could avoid having to go over it twice. I can see where the upkeep and repairs would be a killer though.

kayssupply · Mar 30, 2005

Re: Why aren\'t there huge tillers?

I'll try to get a picture of the tillers that they use at Turf Paradise, horse race track in Phoenix. They use them on the track. They are about 20' wide and till about 16"deep. They look like our tillers on steroids.