Using a 3 point tiller with my MF 255 tractor

I read on a web site last night that using a 3 point tiller on the back of a tractor was hard on the pto clutch. Is that so?

Also, will a 3 point tiller work OK on my MF 255? I have 4 forward gears and a Hi/Lo range. I know that I would need to use 1st gear - Lo range with a tiller but wondered if that would even be too fast at 540 rpm.

Also, anyone got any recommendations on the brand of tiller I should get and whether it should be "counter rotating" or "forward rotating"?

Thanks in advance,

Joe
 
a 255 will do just fine with a 6 FT. tiller. i have a King Kutter and has done a lot of tilling about 30 acres 5 times a year makeing black dirt before we run it trought the screen
 
Good tillers come with a slip clutch on the driveshaft and you shouldn't use a tiller without one. You need to seperate it every spring in case it has rusted together. You don't need a reverse rotation tiller for most jobs. They're supposed to be for harder ground and bury stones and larger lumps. One important thing with a tiller is to never start it up or shut it off when it's in the ground. That can break the PTO shaft but otherwise they aren't any harder on the PTO than anything else if used properly. Engage the PTO at idle with the tiller lifted and shut the PTO off after lifting the tiller out of the ground. A 255 should run a tiller no problem in all but the hardest ground. A 6 ft. would be a good size for general tilling. Sicma are a good tiller for the money but I'm not sure all the places to buy them. They are made in Italy like a lot of tillers. They make some of the JD tillers too. Dave
 
measure the outside distance of the back tires. You will want a tiller that is wide enough to be sure and cut out your tire tracks.

A tiller does a great job of preparing the soil for planting a garden, but it is much slower than a disk.
 
You need a big HP tractor to be able to run a rototiller as wide as both back tires. A 7ft. is too big for a 255 in anything other than a previously tilled garden. Dave
 
A rotary hoe is fine as long as you engage it with the implement raised. You have the best gearbox for the job as you will need the low 1st, the multi-power box is no use as 1st gear high multi-power is usually too fast, and the rotary hoe will shove the tractor along at a speed you have never seen a Massey do in low multi power if the ground is hard as there is no engine braking in low. Most rotary hoes I have seen are usually off-set to one side so they always take out 1 wheel mark, and you work round and round your paddock and you should end up with only one visible wheel mark at the end. I used to use a 60" howard on a Massey 65 tractor o.k. It seemed to be well matched to the rotary hoe, but my 135 will only just cope with one.
 
One thing I can't help but notice is the volume of "free advice" you'll get over the internet (here included) from people who don't really know what the heck they're talking about. Many times people are just parroting bad info they've heard on the 'net. Often times, post count can be a RED FLAG.

Example? The comment about a tractor not being able to handle a tiller as wide as the back tires.

I've used a 6' King Kutter II tiller behind a Massey Ferguson 150 for 8+ years now. It's tilled enough ground to wear out a complete set of tines and is well on the way to wearing out a second set. No issues with the pto clutch, no lack of power, even with the 150's smaller engine (relative to a 255) I've tilled ground previously unworked, plowed ground, rocky ground, ect. In plowed ground, I've even used low rang 2nd gear on occasion. (Low 1st nets much better results) Even with the 150's wheel track set out fairly wide, the 6'er is wider than the rear tires.

A 255 will toy with a 6' tiller. In anything but the absolute worst of conditions, it would handle a 7' tiller, so long as you're working at slow ground speeds. I've used an 84" tiller on the back of a 50hp Deere I own with no issues. (albiet not NEARLY as much operating time as with my 150/6' tiller) In the case of the 50 hp Deere, the 7' tiller is quite a bit WIDER than the rear wheels.
 
In hard ground that has never been worked, 10 HP per foot is the general rule of thumb for a heavy duty tiller. It's better to have some reserve power than over work the tractor and all the PTO components. A 6 foot is a good size for a 255 but it won't cover both back tires. A lot depends on the type of ground to be tilled. Having a little smaller tiller gives you something that will work in most all conditions rather than only in previously worked ground. It also depends on how deep you go. I have a 66 inch on my 135 and in hard clay type soil it is all that it can handle with multi-power in low in first gear. Dave
 
Not sure where your "rule of thumb" came from, but I'd consider getting another one....I've ran 6' (72" tillers behind 32 and 38 hp tractors for years with no issues. Never ran out of power, even in ground previously not worked. I've ran my dads 84" Howard Rotovator behind 38hp with no problems also.

The track width of a 255 can be set to LESS than 72" if desired.

And, As I mentioned, I've ran my 72" tiller in our clay ground at max depth, even in sod ground, and behind an MF150 diesel. That's the same engine as a 135. No problems encountered. I've owned the tractor since new (1971) and it's never had the first issue with pto. (8+ years with the tiller...


My neighbor uses a 72" Landpride tiller behind a (41hp) Ford 3000 with no problems. You won't find much ground any tougher than the clay we have here.

Personally, I don't care much for MultiPower (in low range) with a tiller. with the freewheeling of MP in low, a tiller will tend to push the tractor.
 
MFPoor,Joe ask a good question on the PTO dangers,but since you and the others are talking garden quality type tillers and not true AG.or Commercial type tillers,my answer is off too.135 Fan is right on the HP to an extent.The Howards and Seamans we ran in the 50s-60s-70s took way more then 10Per.Ft..Howard"s Books told you what tractors not to put them on with 540 PTOs.1000 only.The Howards I know of and ran,your dads 84" took and needed 100HP to run or even to pick up off the ground.Over 2500Lbs.Maybe Apples to oranges but it was a fair question.
 
One of the tillers I was referring to is a Howard Rotovator. It"s the best of the best. Definately a real "AG" tiller at the very least. Your appraisal of it as a "garden tiller" shows me your kinda "out to lunch" on the subject.

It came factor equipped as a 540 rpm pto machine. I doubt Howard would build them that way if they didn"t intend on them being USED that way.

And it didn"t take 100 hp to run either.
 
The 10 HP per foot rule is from the original Howard Rotavator Handbook. You can get big tillers about 13 ft. wide that will take 250+ HP to run them properly. They had a Maschio like that where I bought my tiller. I forget the price but it was something like $45,000! They were also the original Howard distributor and still have some parts and blades for the old Howards. Dave
 
Mr.Poor,I think you have a reading problem.The 84" Howard you are speaking of is not of the Heavy line,maybe not garden,but consumer grade line to compete with King Kutters and such.The heavy line,your 38HP tractor wouldn't even pick up.As far as the 540 remark.Howard was listing what tractors NOT RECOMENDED to use on 540.Tractor PTO WEAKNESS, NOT TILLER WEAKNESS which was the question asked.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top