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Did I jump too soon?

jwstewar

Active member
I posted this over there too,:D but I know some don't visit there much anymore so I'll post here too.

My cousin just bought a new Kubota 8540. All of the implements he used to use with his Ford 3000 are now way, way too small. He has offered me everything he had, but the only thing I'm interested in is the Post Hole Digger and the tiller.

First the PHD, $100. Paint is rough and the auger (he said 10" but I bet it is either 9" or 12") is rusted from lack of use, but the gear box shows no signs of oil leakage. I know he put a fence up for the cattle for the kids' 4H projects and a few other holes. Probably less than 200 holes total. So I think this is a no brainer.

Now the tiller. That one has me
confused.gif
. I said yes but I'm having second thoughts. I have a NH TC24D HST with I think 17.5 PTO HP. This is an Agrico (I think
redface.gif
) tiller. It is a 60" unit. Seems to be pretty well made. I know he hasn't used it a lot. Only a small garden and he only did that for a few years before he moved on to other projects. Saw no signs of oil leaking anywhere. Does have a slip clutch - maybe froze, but he doesn't think so. He is asking $500 for it. Anyone think I'll have problems running it? All of my soil here is pretty sandy with a few rocks (usually <1") but nothing to much. Did I jump too soon or should I have waited and got a new (or another) 48" tiller? BTW, I pull a 60" Box Blade w/o a problem. 4' is about an inch too narrow to cover the tracks - I run into that with my cutter.
eek.gif


One thing I should add though, all of our property was farmed until we moved there in '99. So the ground really isn't undisturbed.:thumb:
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I agree the PHD is a no brainer.
If you had not mentioned the 60" Box Blade I was thinking the tiller might be to much for your tractor. But a BB is harder to pull than a tiller (I'd guess). For that price I'd sure give it a shot if it were me. Both items sound like a good deal. :thumb: Good luck with them.

ps. if you get the tiller and it's to much for your tractor, give me a shout. I'd be interested. :D
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'd get both as well.

The rust on the auger is normal and it'll come off next time you use it.

I too would think a 60" tiller for your ground conditions would be OK.
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
My neighbor uses my 57" tiller behind his John Deere 4100. I think the PTO on that is less than 17.5. His Gross HP I think is only 21. You will have to go slow so if you have hydro it won't be a problem. My tiller is really a heavy duty thing. One person can't lift the end by themselves.


murph
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
The tiller should be fine. Just make sure the slip clutch works or buy a new one. You may want to set the slip clutch a little loose initially just to make sure you aren't working the tractor too hard.

PB
 

Jim_S

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
the tiller should be fine. If you do have any trouble don't take a full bite on each pass, overlap the tilled soil a little.

Jim
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I also have a TC24, love it but if you have really hard clay soil the tiller will give you some trouble. I have a LandPride 50" tiller and in some areas it churns right through the soil in other areas it can stop the tractor if I don't creep along. Now I'll also say that I have both a 48" and a 60" box blade and I can NOT use the 60" box with the TC24. So if your soil conditions are lighter and allow you to pull the 60" box blade, I'd bet your soil will allow you run the 60" tiller without much grief.
 

jwstewar

Active member
Thanks for the insight everyone. I think I'll stay with my decision and go ahead an get it. I'm going to give him a call tomorrow and see if he will be home tomorrow afternoon and see if I can pick them up. I'll get some pics and let everyone know how they work. One thing that I do know for sure, both will need PTO shields as both are missing them. Of course, with the auger the PTO is the least of your problems.:eek: Guess that holds true for the tiller too, if I'm close enough to get to the shaft, I'm too close to the moving tines.:eek: :eek:
 

jwstewar

Active member
I was able to go get the post hold digger and the rototiller yesterday. Here are a couple of shots of it. A little rusted. Looks like it'll need a couple of minor items. The PTO shaft was frozen when I got it and so was the release button for the PTO shaft. I would squirt the shaft with PB Blaster and wake it a few times with a hammer then squirt it again and walk away for a couple of hours. Finally got both of them free. Looks like it'll need a couple of items. One of the u-joints won't take grease. I'll change a fitting and see if that helps that. We tried using it a little bit today, combination of that abnormally dry ground and a dull point it wouldn't go in the ground. I'll go get and see if I can get a new tip and cutting edge sometime this week. Also looks like the PTO connector could use some wire brushing. I've greased it, but I still have to hammer it on and off - I won't do that everytime I use it. I did have to dump almost a whole bottle of gear oil in it today though. But it looks like it had run out of the inspection port when it was laying on the ground.
 

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jwstewar

Active member
Here are some shots of the tiller. First is a whole view of the tines. Looks like he had used it in some pretty muddy soil last time. Second is a closer shot of the tines. Third is a shot of the right side. PTO shaft was frozen on this too, but not as bad as the PHD. Once I got it on the tractor I loosen up the slip clutch and engaged it and the tines still turned. So I set it down on the ground and revved it up a little bit. It immediately broke loose. Tightened it down and away I went.
 

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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
A power washer, wire brush, and a little bit of spray paint will do wonders for both of those. I'd get some PTO shafts with safety shields. Looks like you got a nice deal.
 

jwstewar

Active member
Here is a shot of the back. Needs a little bit of TLC and some Krylon Blue to match the tractor, but other then that it isn't too bad. Second is a shot of the left side. Last is a shot of the rear guard. That is the only damage I could see and it is a little bent, but it still goes up and down OK. I may try to straighten some before I paint it, but sometimes I'm of the phylosphy leave well enough alone before I break it.:pat:
 

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jwstewar

Active member
I only had to do one repair on the tiller. The latch on the PTO shaft was broken. I went to TSC last night and was going to buy a new end and left :confused2: . So I took the half of the shaft in to today to match it up. I found one for $60. Then I looked at a little plastic case hanging there. It was latch mechanisms. I found one to fit it for $5. Bought it, a rubber mat to let the loader on, and a 15 gallon sprayer w/ pump. Not a bad day at TSC.

Here is the shaft on the tractor with the new button securly in place. Took a little bit of playing with the spring that holds it in, but it works great now.:thumb:
 

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jwstewar

Active member
Here is the ground after two passes yesterday. Right now the ground is rock hard from lack of rain so the tiller was bouncing quite a bit and I had to keep my RPMs pretty low. Tractor never groaned a bit and didn't even sound like it lost an RPM even thought the tiller was going pretty deep when it was on the ground.

When I hit this rock I heard/felt the slip clutch slipping. Scared me a little bit at first as I had never used one before and wasn't quite sure what it was at first, but only took a second to realize what it was. Didn't go any farther as I was a little leary because of the messed up PTO latch.

Last picture I ran over the same area again at PTO speed with the fixed latch. Since the ground was now broken up, it was as smooth as butter.:a1: I'm pretty happy with the purchase. Wife was a little skeptical at first, but she is coming around pretty quick.
 

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jwstewar

Active member
Junkman said:
Now you need to invest in a york rake.... then a...................:whistle:

Maybe one of these days.....but I'm already thinking about my next attachment.:yum: I would like to either find a good sickle bar mower or make me some type of boom mower so that I can mow the banks of a couple of ditches that I have w/o having to back down them - and end up stuck like I usually do.:pat:
 
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