3 point tiller

pete black · Mar 1, 2013

any thoughts on a 60 inch tractor mount tiller from tsc. call countyline and made by tarter co. appears to be heavy built. also, was informed at local store that i could return it within 30 days for a full refund if for any reason i did not like it. will be used for home garden only, about 1/4 to 1/2 acre.

gene bender · Mar 1, 2013

Better have good horsepower and a slow slow slow gear for the tractor.

pete black · Mar 1, 2013

kubota 34 hp with hydrostatic and 4 wheel drive. 60 inch is rated for up to 35 hp.

Dean · Mar 1, 2013

34 PTO HP is certainly marginal for a 60" three point tiller but should be adequate so long as you do not wish to travel too fast.

Dean

pete black · Mar 1, 2013

thanks dean, my first experience with a 3 pt tiller. i'm 65 with some health problems but wish to continue gardening. plowing, discing and then using my small tillers wear me out. do you think a 48 inch would be better suited for the tractor.

oldtanker · Mar 1, 2013

You say it's rated for "up to 35 HP". That means your tractor is at the upper end of what the gearbox will withstand. With hydro? you can match ground speed to soil conditions. You should be fine with a 60" like that. You may have to move very slow but it should do a good job for you. Speed is not your freind when tilling.

Rick

pete black · Mar 1, 2013

thanks, here's a question that the dealer did not
know the answer to. are 3 pt. tillers counter
rotating tines?

da.bees · Mar 1, 2013

Man,I would like to have a 3 point,my tiller gives me a workout. I understand useing a tiller wide enough to reach tire tracks but wonder if anyone uses a 4' to enable tilling one row for replanting between two others that are still producing.

Rick Kr · Mar 1, 2013

My two cents, I would look for a KingKutter vs. a CountyLine. I have a 6ft KK and it has held up great. Next step up would be a Landpride, but I could spend that much.

TSC carried KingKutter for many years, then switched to Countyline a couple years back. Every single part is ready and available for the KingKutter tiller directly from their website.

I have ordered other parts from them. You can order direct and talk to someone live. They ship immediately.

Neighbor has a 6ft KK. It is one tough tiller. But it wasnt a match for when he decided to rototill his limestone/gravel driveway. I am not kidding. He wanted to smooth it out. So he tried to till it. Sounded like mortars going off. Needless to say it required a few parts. Nice guy, but lucky he hasnt hurt or killed himself on his tractor.

Rick

oldtanker · Mar 1, 2013

(quoted from post at 22:06:56 03/01/13) My two cents, I would look for a KingKutter vs. a CountyLine. I have a 6ft KK and it has held up great. Next step up would be a Landpride, but I could spend that much.

TSC carried KingKutter for many years, then switched to Countyline a couple years back. Every single part is ready and available for the KingKutter tiller directly from their website.

I have ordered other parts from them. You can order direct and talk to someone live. They ship immediately.

Neighbor has a 6ft KK. It is one tough tiller. But it wasnt a match for when he decided to rototill his limestone/gravel driveway. I am not kidding. He wanted to smooth it out. So he tried to till it. Sounded like mortars going off. Needless to say it required a few parts. Nice guy, but lucky he hasnt hurt or killed himself on his tractor.

Rick

And you didn't post a vid????

Rick

2x4 · Mar 1, 2013

I have a Brushhog brand 5' tiller. Pleased with it.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 1, 2013

Most tillers rotate forward but there some models with counter rotating tines. If you're just doing a garden that is tilled every year, it won't matter what kind you use and it will require less HP than tilling fresh ground or sod. I bought a Sicma tiller, made in Italy. They make or at least used to make a bunch of the JD and/or Frontier tillers. One thing you want is either a shear bolt or preferably a slip clutch to protect the gearbox and the tractor. Always have the tiller lifted out of the ground when engaging or disengaging the PTO. I have heard of PTO shafts breaking from leaving the tiller in the ground.

Traditional Farmer · Mar 2, 2013

Check out some garden tractors with tillers.I have several garden tractors with tillers on them to work the garden.Have a couple 4ft wide tiller to take out rows and replant and several narrower tillers to go between the rows to cultivate.

Dave in Tx · Mar 2, 2013

I used a 65 inch JD tiller on a 30 hp JD just creeping and would pull its guts out. Several passes would get it done, but now use a 40 hp on it and no problems even in sod. Stumps and rocks don't work well. It will leave rocks on top though which makes them easy to pick up. I til my garden in late fall/early winter and leave it, then plant in Feb and Mar without working it again and have good success with doing that. It will dry on top and won't lose what little moisture we have by airing it out in spring.

Tx Jim · Mar 2, 2013

(quoted from post at 23:58:50 03/01/13) thanks, here's a question that the dealer did not
know the answer to. are 3 pt. tillers counter
rotating tines?

Some tillers are capable of reverse tine rotation after about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs work reversing the gearbox & all the tines.

I've owned a 6' KK tiller for yrs. Pulled it with several different hp tractors from a 30-65 hp with no problems. I just ordered a new set of tines because some of the tines especially behind tractor tires look similar to toothpicks they're so worn.

ohiojeff · Mar 2, 2013

WE have used a King kutter for several years,it did okay but we were tilling over an acre of garden several times a year and it couldn't take the beating and eventually wore out beyond worth repairing.We purchased a Landpride RTR 1058 (reverse tine rotation) 4 years ago it is rated for 25hp,it does a much better job, cutting our tilling time in half.We liked the quality so much that after our King kutter finish mower broke we replaced it with a Landpride model.

John730D · Mar 2, 2013

Here is my 6 ft. KK on my John Deere 855. I had plenty of power, and a hydrostat transmission. In sod I would havbe to make two passes to get to 8 inches, but it just gave me more seat time.

John730D · Mar 2, 2013

I meant to add, Tartar Co. has a good reputation and makes quality products. I would not be afraid of it.

Rick Kr · Mar 2, 2013

I wish I would have had my camera.
He is a 1/4 mile away. I heard all the booming and banging inside my shop, my doors face the opposite way. You know how a tiller sounds when you hit a good size rock in your garden, imagine that sound every second or two, down a 400ft driveway.

I put all new tines on it, the 3 pt hitch had shook apart. All the holes were completely elongated and hogged out. I welded machine washers around all the holes to reinforce them and bolted it back together. Amazingly, the gearbox and side case was fine.

My neighbor is the nicest guy you would ever meet, just not a handy a guy. Lots of other stories about this guy, but thats a story for another post.

Rick

Rick Kr · Mar 2, 2013

Pete,
My first setup was a L245DT Kubota. 20hp at the PTO, 8 speed, no HST. It did pretty darn good with a 44inch tiller.

Once your garden is setup and you are not tilling sod/grass you "should" be ok as dirt tills a lot easier if you do it twice a year. Maybe someone with your same HP tractor.

My 6ft tiller can put quite a load on my tractor if I am breaking new ground. I am close to 50hp at the PTO. Tilled a 4 acre lawn for a guy to reseed, the tractor got a workout. In a tilled or disked area, its is no problem on my size tractor.

Make sure you get a slip clutch or shear pin. Hit a rock the wedged between a tine and the housing and almost smoked the clutch before I could get it shut down. Cheap insurance.

Rick

Geo-TH,In · Mar 2, 2013

Pete,
I'm 64, know what you are talking about getting old. I just purchased a used John Deere garden tractor, 17 hp hydrostat, 30 inch reverse tine tiller to work my garden. Love it. Neighbor has a massey with a 6 ft 3 pt forward tiller. It goes deeper, takes more passes because it leaves large clumps. Then he goes over it with 3 pt disk to finish.

The key is hydrostatic tranny.
George

Dean · Mar 2, 2013

Your hydrostat trans is a saving grace in this case, Pete. You can move as slowly or as quickly as is needed. If your ground is decent you should do well.

Dean

Dean · Mar 2, 2013

Now, that is great ground!

Dean

Dan in Ohio · Mar 2, 2013

I use 60 inch TSC tiller also. Would agree that a hydro tranny is the key.

pete black · Mar 2, 2013

thanks folks for all the replies and advice. ground has been in garden for several years and although not as nice as john 730d's soil its does work good. i'm not too rough on equipment, maintain it well and at my age it will have a somewhat limited use. for the price of $1500 for the 60 inch i will probably go with the tsc one. years past i had a troy built horse model so i am familiar with what they can do. i assume they are ran at 540 rpm pto speed.

Tony in Mass. · Mar 2, 2013

I've got one of those Italian ones too Stick. Is yours brown? Mine is MF red now. Goes great behind my turf 20 with a finely tuned dual clutch. I run into lots of clumps and roots. I wouldn't try this witout the live pto, but yeah, I do stop rolling, then the pto off, while still in the ground, and then raise the tines, otherwise she has a heck of a vibration if she raises to the top- but I never start fresh with tines already dropped in the turf. I let it get up to speed sitting over the starting spot, then slowly lower the spinning tines, then release the rest of the pedal and... wait to find a rock or root...
I have a narrow 'vinyard'? MF2135, but it has an empty back half. When that gets some live pto guts, it will be narrower than the 4 foot tiller, no worry about where to leave the right tire track... the tiller pulls itself to the left enough to till the left tire track... but hey ya got to walk down a row someplace!
Width, horse, all depends on your dirt. In the Saint Lawrence Valley, you might need 60 horse to run a 4 foot tiller. In New Mexico you might do a good job with 15 horse pulling a 6 footer. My 48" is all the 35 HP wants to handle here. 5 foot is about all the truck farms around here, behind some healthy tractors... nothing saved if you break something...

DoubleR · Mar 2, 2013

Sounds like you already got allot of good advice. I run a 66 inch tiller on a 30 hp hydro and a 40 hp. 8speed. Depends on which tractor is available at the time. The 40 hp. has no problem in about anything I encounter. The hydro does good also except it does have its hands full in new ground that has not been worked in a while. But it will still get the job done. I have been through three sets of tines on my tiller so it does get used allot. I think 30 hp on a 60 inch tiller would be a good fit especially if its a hydro. I don't think my tiller is built any better than that TSC model but its held up good for me. I have looked at allot of tillers and allot of them look like they were manufactured by the same place only difference is the color of paint. Most of them use the same tines. I too have a Troy-built tiller which I don't use much anymore. The 3pt tiller will do allot nicer job and is a allot quicker.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 2, 2013

My Sicma is orange. If the tiller vibrates it's probably because your lifting it too high and there's too much angle on the u-joints or your u-joints are worn out. You can slow the throttle down after it lifts a couple inches. I don't lift the tiller as high as the 3 pt. will go, just enough so it's about 8 to 10" off the ground.

Jeff B. · Mar 2, 2013

I have a Caroni 56" tiller, Italian made. It seems like a well built machine. I don't have a large area to till, but I till in fall as well as spring. My Case 311 30-35? hp pulls it well. It pulls even better with my new Case/IH55A. Low gear seems about the same, but more HP and torque. I too experienced bad vibrations when I lift it up too far, and it's due to bad pto shaft angle. If you lower the draft arms on your 3 point you can remedy that somewhat.

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