Hope to gain some insight on the benifits of a tiller and what size to get for my 4240.Use will be gardens and food plots.Concerened about horsepower requirments as well on the 72 inch ones-I only have 35 pto since its hydro.Thanks in advance
Tiller advantages/Size
- Thread starter Alloy Snake
- Start date
Hook
Member
Equipment
L3240 with LA514 FEL, Box Blade, Howard Rotovator, All Purpose Plow, Sub Soiler
I have a tiller that is about 48 inches that I use with my L3240. The pto is rated at 27 hp. I believe the tractor would power a larger tiller but I had this one when I purchased the kubota. If you are doing gardens the tiller is a necessity. I always break the ground with my spring tooth harrow (all-purpose plow) before tilling. Without tilling the soil, the gardener will have a hard time preparing the ground for planting due to the dirt/clay clods. The tiller breaks those down making the soil ready for planting. As I mentioned plowing before tilling works best in this area since we have a lot of clay soil. In your area the soil is sandy so you might not have to plow first. I would guess that you have enough hp to easily handle a 5 or 6 foot tiller.
I have an L3010HST (which I think is 30HP) and I bought a 48" tiller. My tiller (and most tillers so far as I know) 'side shift' so you adjust them such that they cover your right hand wheel track. We have very rocky ground, and I wanted to make sure I had the HP.
I am pleased with my tiller - you can do an enormous amount of tilling in a short time, even with a 48" unit. Usually I do my wife's 1 acre garden and the neighbours gardens all at once. Unless you are a professional farmer, I don't see the point in over-sizing.
May sure you get a slip clutch, or you'll spend a lot of time replacing shear pins.
I am pleased with my tiller - you can do an enormous amount of tilling in a short time, even with a 48" unit. Usually I do my wife's 1 acre garden and the neighbours gardens all at once. Unless you are a professional farmer, I don't see the point in over-sizing.
May sure you get a slip clutch, or you'll spend a lot of time replacing shear pins.
I alos have an L3010 HST, which is stated to be 25hp at the pto. It handles a king kutter 60" gear drive just fine. And no need to pre-till the ground around here. I t chews up sod very well, especially if you go over it a couple or three times. Ashamed to admit it, but we used it once on the side of a gravel road to break up the sod on the grader berms. Then we were able to use the bremed material on the road surface without the clumps of sod. Worked fine, but I wouldn't recomend it!!
Bob
Bob
Sounds like the tractor could handle a 72-Thats what it will take to cover the tracks of a 4 series.I have about 15 food plots to do a couple times a year and a couple of small gardens.I am looking at the King Kutter as they are very popular and should be easy to get parts as needed.It also seems that a tiller will pull better than a good set of harrows-I noticed the r-4 tires dont pull that great after a few runs with the harrows I have access to in south Georgia.Also seems hard to find a really good deal on them but I guess it is a lifetime implement that will pay for itself.
I have a L3940 which is one size smaller than yours and I to was concerned which tiller to buy so I borrowed my father-in-laws 72" King Kutter tiller and it worked fine. Down here in Louisiana we are in a sever drought so needless to say my clay soil was really hard and my tractor handled it just fine although I think it is not a good idea to till on such hard ground (seems like it would be kinda hard on tiller). hope this helps.....
oh forgot to mention my tractor is gear not Hydro but I believe a Hydro is better for tilling since you can raise up throttle on the machine and still control ground speed with HST pedal.
Thanks for the input-I went ahead and got the King Kutter 72,Tractor supply had them on sale and is definantly a solid piece of equipment.After mowing roads and foodplots this weekend I can see that all I will need is this tiller and a cultipacker to make quick work of planting this year.
A delay response, but I have an L3240 that I till with a 72" unit. I've broken fresh earth with it without any problem. It makes the garden soil as fluffy as I care to make it. And best it covers the entire wheel track, so I leave no tire marks in the soil. I would recommend this size for your 4240 without hesitating.
Mark
Do you still use the 6 foot tiller with your L3240? I have a L3240 HST with R4 tires. Am trying to decide between 5 foot or 6 foot. 5 foot will not cover tracks.
