B6100D 4x4 - 4' Rotor Tiller?

[Swede1962]

I really want to use a rotor tiller on my tractor but with it only being a 14hp I'm wondering if a 4' tiller will work or be too much for it. And brand information would be helpful. I'm not so worried about price as much as I'm interested in a good well built implement that will last a few years.

Please share your experience or opinion.

Thank you!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

You don't have 14hp to work with.
You have 12HP to the PTO.
And that is if the engine is running perfectly.

Most 4' tillers require 18+ HP to operate.
Will it work with 12HP, maybe... depends on ground and speed.

 

[Russell King]

One other thing to consider is that the tractor speed even in low first gear might be too fast for the tiller in new ground. I know on my old L185 it will not till very well in clay soil with a 4 foot tiller.

The PTO is rated at 15 PTO and the ground speed is 0.8 MPH which is fast for tilling. I can use it but can’t be deep on the passes until it has been plowed and then tilled a few times, but my soil is riparian clay with some gravel mixed in.

So I think you will need a plow and a smaller tiller.

 

[Swede1962]

I realize the limitations due to low hp but I felt if I take it slow and keep my depth shallow for the first few passes it could be doable. In many cases I’d be tilling loose ground like established flower and garden beds. I agree trying to till new ground will be a bit of a challenge. No speed tilling allowed!

 

[Russell King]

You might be able to rent or borrow a tiller to try out on your tractor?? Just be careful on the length of the PTO shaft so you don’t damage your tractor.

 

[Swede1962]

You might be able to rent or borrow a tiller to try out on your tractor?? Just be careful on the length of the PTO shaft so you don’t damage your tractor.

Good advise. Thank you!

 

[Swede1962]

This maybe is a crazy thought but at one time I had a CASE444 with a hydrostatic drive tiller. It was only a 14hp Kohler but did a pretty good job of tilling, even starting from scratch wasn’t out of the question. Rough but I did it a couple times. I intend on adding front hookup hydraulic for other implements. Why not a “skid steer” type tiller on the front? Plz don’t hit me too hard. Maybe this is an easy one and I’m missing it. ‍

 

[trevoroni]

My b6000 runs a 42" rototiller with little issues.
Go the speed that the tractor likes for the soil conditions and it'll get the job done.

 

[Swede1962]

My b6000 runs a 42" rototiller with little issues.
Go the speed that the tractor likes for the soil conditions and it'll get the job done.

That’s good to hear! Thank you!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

This maybe is a crazy thought but at one time I had a CASE444 with a hydrostatic drive tiller. It was only a 14hp Kohler but did a pretty good job of tilling, even starting from scratch wasn’t out of the question. Rough but I did it a couple times. I intend on adding front hookup hydraulic for other implements. Why not a “skid steer” type tiller on the front? Plz don’t hit me too hard. Maybe this is an easy one and I’m missing it. ‍

HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAH,,, thump, Passes out from laughing to hard.


Nowhere near enough HP or GPM to pull that off!

 

[Swede1962]

HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAH,,, thump, Passes out from laughing to hard.


Nowhere near enough HP or GPM to pull that off!

You do realize I said front pump, not the back board hydraulic system. Still not enough? That could be a 20gpm system.

 

[trevoroni]

That’s good to hear! Thank you!

I might have lied looking at the manual for the S850 rototiller the actual tilling dimension is 800mm or just under 32".
My statement still stands though, if you go the speed and tilling depth that the tractor is happy with it'll get the job done, even if it takes a couple of passes.

 

[Russell King]

@trevoroni

How are you regulating the speed of the tractor other than gear selection, or is your tractor a HST.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

You do realize I said front pump, not the back board hydraulic system. Still not enough? That could be a 20gpm system.

Look up what HP is required to get 20 GPM
Hint it's in the 35HP range

I know what your trying to do, it just simply can't be done.

You have several things kicking you in the backside for this operation.
Lack of HP, and lack of gears or Hydrostatic to go slow enough.

 

[trevoroni]

@trevoroni

How are you regulating the speed of the tractor other than gear selection, or is your tractor a HST.

Keep the RPMs up and pick the gear to suit. PTO in 1st speed.
If it bogs down in the lowest gear, clutch in, tiller up, reverse, start again and lower tiller, repeat as necessary.
These tractors crawl pretty slow in low range 1st gear, and the 3spd PTO has lots of grunt in 1st speed.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

if you wanted a foolproof solution you could go with a tow behind roto tiller. They come with their own usually gas mounted engines.

36" usually about 6-7hp and a 48" usually comes with a 12hp honda or B&S style gas motor.

they work great. Maybe a few bucks more than pto driven but a sure fire solution that would work.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Why do you want to go for a tiller that is (looking at it objectively) too big for the tractor? Is it availability?

I believe the bigger one would work, but you have to go slowly, possibly twice, so I do not really see what you gain by that. If you use the width matching the output power of your tractor you go over it once and have the job done, possibly in a shorter amount of time.

 

[Swede1962]

Why do you want to go for a tiller that is (looking at it objectively) too big for the tractor? Is it availability?

I believe the bigger one would work, but you have to go slowly, possibly twice, so I do not really see what you gain by that. If you use the width matching the output power of your tractor you go over it once and have the job done, possibly in a shorter amount of time.

I’m not intending to go bigger than suitable. Quite the opposite.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

I’m not intending to go bigger than suitable. Quite the opposite.

Ok, I thought it may be availability. My baby tractor also has only 18hp, so probably 14 at the PTO and it has Cat.0 which makes it almost impossible to find implements in Europe. There is plenty choice in the US but shipping cost are prohibitive.

 

[Flintknapper]

I’m not intending to go bigger than suitable. Quite the opposite.

^^^^^^

Good. As others have already stated, it would depend very much on soil conditions, tiller depth and tractor speed as to whether or not a 4' tiller would work for you.

Certainly, you want to avoid a situation where you are working the tractor or implement right to its ragged edge of capability.

When choosing a tiller consider the drive system (chain driven or gear driven), number of tines and shape of tines. There are tillers availabe that have the tines arranged in a 'helical' fashion on the drum. This feature means that not all of the tines are engaging the ground at one time. So fewer PTO hp is required per foot of width for the tiller.

Obviously 'virgin' soil (or any type) will be the most difficult to break up. In some cases.....plowing/discing first is a better solution than just attacking it with a tiller.

My tractor produces about 20 PTO hp. I run a 4' offset tiller on it. In virgin soil (sandy loam with significant grass growth) I can set the tiller to 4" of depth and run in low range, 3rd gear (roughly 1.4 mph).

It does a decent job in one pass without straining the tractor. But a second pass is still necessary to further chop up the grass and clods of soil. Any deeper than 3-4" on the first pass and the tractor quickly gets "all it wants".

So do consider all the factors.

Single pass, 4' tiller, 20 PTO hp, Sandy Loam: