A Compact Four-wheeled TILLAGE IMPLEMENT
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BY reason of many years' service in this country the models 5 and 10 of the Simar Rototiller have become familiar to a considerable public. To meet the demand for a larger machine the type 15 has just been introduced and is o be exhibited at the forthcoming Royal Show by Piccard Pietet and Co. (London), Ltd., 58, Compton Street, Goswell Road, London, E.C.1.
Square section 13in. frame members are used ; they serve 10 connect, the two axles and to support he weight of the engine-gearbox unit nil of the miller with its driving mechanism. Brackets en the frame carry a Ford T-type power unit with its epieydie gears. A Ford radiator is aided in lie work by a pump driven by the fiat belt which also serves the fan. In place of the 'standard gear pedal on the left a lever and ratchet are used the reverse and brake pedals remaining in their normal positions.
From the gearbox the drive passes through a short propeller shaft to the differential and rear-axle shafts. Power is transmitted thence through gears and chains to the rear wheels. Speeds resulting in the cultivation of one acre in 3 hours or one acre in 1 hour can be obtained at 1,000 r.p.ro. of the engine, that is, at about 1 m.p.h. and 2 m.p.h. At this rate of revolution the miller runs at 250 r.p.m. It has 24 spring-tooth tines and is 1 ft. 6 ins, in diameter.
By means of a handle mounted below the driver's seat the depth of cultivation can be varied up to 10 ins. It-is important to note that the two portions of the miller are driven from the two axle shafts ; when turning, therefore, each half of the miller keeps pace with its driving wheel. Should one part meet an obstruction the drive is carried to the other side, thus acting in conjunction with the spring tines as a safety device. The miller can be raised for cleaning or its direction of rotation reversed for the same purpose. The miller drive can be put out of action.
The leading dimensions are as follow :—Width of miller, 3 ft. 4 ins.; overall length, 8 ft.; wheelbase, 4 ft.; turningcircle radius, 8 ft.; maximum height, 4 ft. 6 ins.; wheel diameter, 2 ft.; width of rear-wheel rims, 5i ins, without extensions, or 71 ins, with extensions.
With so large a reserve of power as is afforded by the Ford, 23 h.p. engine the Rototiller should be capable of tilling up to the full depth of 10 ins, in the heaviest of soils. The width of the miller is for all practical purposes the overall width of the machine, so that the work of cultivation can be carried out very close to trees or fences—a point of considerable importance to the farmer and smallholder, who can .illafford to waste valuable ground. As the machine can turn in twice its length, mobility should be all that is required in the majority of cases.