Tiller in reverse

[Kennedy 90]

I just bought a tiller for my first wheel horse tractor. The guy I bought the tiller from was telling me to flip the belt over to run the tiller in reverse for breaking new ground. He said it keeps the tiller from pushing the tractor around. Has anyone else done this with good results? Will I damage my transmission with the tiller pulling against the tractor?   I did a search but didnt find anything about this.

Thanks Mark

[CasualObserver 3,410]

The tiller will dig like a demon if you run it in reverse... Personally I'm not a fan of using it that way.  A tiller by design is made to rotate forward and down for a purpose of being able to crawl over any immovable object... buried rock, really thick tree root, etc...

 

I've broken new ground with mine and yes, it can be a little jerky... but if you use the dial-a-height and limit the depth of the cut, and make several passes at increasing depths, it's not as bad.  Yes, it takes longer... but who cares about having to get extra seat time?!  What tractor are you using?  I use a 6/8 speed tractor, set it in Low 1st and let the tractor do it's job.  If you ride the clutch, it will want to push you along faster. Just keep your foot off the pedal and let it work.  Some people have weighted the tiller with things like a wrapped bundle of shingles to keep it from bouncing, but I've haven't had that problem. 

 

A couple tips that have worked for me...

• at least a week before you till, scalp your spot with the mower and spray it down with something like Round-up. Don't use a soil sterilizer. You just want something that's going to kill whatever's currently growing there.
• the day before you till, make a bunch of cuts in the dead sod/thatch layer with a shovel and water it well (don't saturate it).  The cuts let the water soak in well, and damp soil breaks up a whole lot easier than rock hard dry soil,

 

If you insist that you want to use your tiller backwards though, hook it up normally, flip up or remove the dirt shield (if you have one) and just drive in reverse.  That's my opinion though.... YMMV

[Kennedy 90]

Thanks for the tips.  I have a 314-8.  Just trying to learn and gather as much before the spring season starts. I have never used a tractor mounted tiller just a walk behind.

Thanks Mark

[Dr.Clank 3]

Personally, I wouldn't run it in reverse. I broke new ground with mine and it worked great. I did 3 passes starting out really shallow and then gradually getting deeper. No problem!

[brandonozz 168]

I would have to agree with the above responses about tilling in reverse - not a good idea however you plan to do it.  I'm not sure how you planned on turning the tines backwards but reversing the belt seems hard to do and if you could figure out how to do it you would need to buy different tines for the tiller.  The wheel Horse tillers tines are only intended to turn one direction for breaking the ground.  As far as driving backwards while trying to till, I have done this by mistake and it doesn't take long for the tiller to bury up trying to move in reverse.

As mentioned, if you are breaking the ground for the first time, go shallow the first pass more or less just cutting up the sod.  The next pass or two going to full depth depending on the hardness of the ground.  The next time you till you can go full depth in one slow pass.

Enjoy the seat time!

[MalMac 1,332]

When i till I pretty much follow what has been suggested. To me personally, tilling in reverse just sounds like a for sure way to tear something up and cost you a lot of money.

[oaktown1987 82]

I've seen actual tillers that u walk behind that can be ran in reverse for extreme tilling

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