Tillers

[Southern Gardener]

What is the best tiller? I found one at Sears that looks like it will do the jobs I want. Its a Craftsman 8.25 Torque Rating (190CC) Front Tine Tiller. I thought about a mini tiller, but its just about the same price and I dont think it will be big enough. I have a Craftsman lawn tractor that I love and have never had a problem with. What do you have?

Thanks.
Joan

 

[digitS']

Joan, I have a beat-up, tired, old Craftsman 5hp rear-tined tiller that's missing a few parts (they fell off before causing any real trouble .

Before that I had a 5 hp front-tine Toro but that was back in the '70's - I'd need to be a younger man to run that thing now. Still, I've never been very happy with the rear-tined Craftsman and refused to use it for a few years - might be kinda surprising since I had nearly one-half acre to do with a spading fork.

Actually, DW told me I "couldn't" use it! This was after the year she kept saying, "Use the tiller, use the tiller, it will be easier on your back!" After I spent 3 weeks on the couch . . . the next year I learned the benefits of "cultivating peace" using a long-handled spading fork.

I also use a 31 cc Honda and a little tiller attachment on a weed-eater but you are after a somewhat bigger machine.

I've asked around on another forum and some folks like the mid-tine Merry Tiller. Honestly, I had thought that they stopped making the Merry Tiller back in the '50's! Turns out that I'll need to go about 450 miles to find a dealer! Dealers are more common on the other side of the country but not out here in the Pacific NW.

I almost don't have a choice on buying a new tiller - the gear case has begun to leak oil. This thing always starts but it's on its way out. sniff

Steve

 

[Southern Gardener]

Steve, Ouch! You used a spading fork for acre? Thats pretty ambitious! Im surprised that didnt put you on the couch. I have two bad discs in my back one I had surgery on a couple of years ago I thought a tiller would be better than using a spade.

Ive never heard of the Merry Tiller Ill have to look that up. What didnt you like about the Craftsman and does the Honda do a good job, and how big a job can it do?

When I tell friends and family, I want a tiller, they say Why dont you just rent one? Because, I want access to it any time

Joan

 

[Reinbeau]

We've got two. The big one is a Troy-Built 6.5 horse Super Bronco. We bring it down from Maine in the spring for the spring tilling. Then I've got my Mantis (the four-stroker) that I really like. That little beastie will go through just about anything. Bucks hard when it hits the rocks (I've got plenty of them) but for the most part it does exactly what I want it to.

 

[digitS']

The advantage I had with the front-tine was that I could go to any depth, Joan. At the right angle, it would probably have gone to China!

Unfortunately, a rear-tine tiller has fairly shallow limits and I suppose it's mostly because of how the operator needs to hold on to the handles as much as the shroud covering the tines.

At the time I was using the spading fork exclusively, the gardens were entirely in beds and they were cultivated to about 11 inches. A gardener hardly needs to cultivate a bed that hasn't been walked on for years. In fact, there's been times, when I haven't.

At any rate, one should never lift (LIIIFT) with the fork and turn (TUUURN) the soil! It is sufficient to simple hold the handle and step backwards. You can then push the handle all the way to the ground if you want. If the ground is loose, the tines will just pop up onto the surface having passed completely thru 11 or 12 inches of soil. But, those top few inches aren't really compacted after the 1st year of gardening.

I've given up one of the gardens and "picked up" another that is just incredibly rocky. I'm just not up to putting all of that into beds so use the big tiller. The little 31cc Honda is just for weeding. I find it easiest to just walk backwards with the Honda and the little beast skims along about 1 inch down.

I'll see your 2 bad discs and raise you 2 more . . . no surgery, tho. The MD didnt want to (& neither did I).

Steve

 

[Southern Gardener]

I took a trip to Sears to look at the tiller, of course they didn't have any in stock :/ The manager said it's a "seasonal" item, so I asked where the snow blowers were. Really, down here you can use a tiller any time of year.

Steve, using a spade on the already cultivated beds makes more sense!

Reinbeau, that's a big tiller - a little more than I probably need, but I'll keep looking!

 

[rooster-red]

I've got a troybuilt horse with the 12 hp Kohler engine.
Always fires right up, and handles the plots we have here with no problems.
We have a 1/2 acre plot that seems to grow rocks beter than anything else, and the troybuilt has never stalled, just throws the rocks out the side.

Its a big monster, not real good for really small plots.

 

[Nifty]

My brother has a Mantis and loves it for the "smaller jobs". He uses his Toro (I call it The Beast) for the big stuff.

I just happened to see a show on DIY network tonight that had the STIHL YARD BOSS. Looked cool with all the attachements:
http://www.stihlusa.com/multitask/MM55.html

http://www.stihllibrary.com/stream/YARD_BOSS.wmv (big video download)

 

[digitS']

The Mantis has the same engine as my Honda - both Honda 31cc.

I don't quite know what to think of the Honda. It's the 2nd one, I beat the 1st to death on the rocks.

The same size engine is on the weedeater but it's a 2-cycle. That give you some idea of the tiny size of this little tiller. One thing, don't believe everything you see in the ads - but, I guess we are all likely to be savvy enuf consumers to know that.

I decided to buy the weeding type blades for the Honda because it could just sit and just scratch around the weeds with those star-shaped tines. But, the weeder tines aren't very strong so they break and I think they cost like $60 for a set.

I can interchange the Honda tines with the tiller attachment on the weedeater. I use it regularly to work fertilizer into an already cultivated bed. It works good for that and saves on raking. But, the entire power tool gets pretty heavy and the silly thing can just buck like a bronco with a burr under the saddle - accomplishing absolutely nothing on compacted soil.

Now that I'm in the market for a large tiller - I wish I understood something about "tine speed" so that a new tiller would be better able to "lift" the rocks out rather than "bounce" over them. What I really need is LESS ROCKS!!

Steve

 

[peeps7]

I really can't afford the NICE tillers so I use a weed eater attachment that does REALLY well. It is less expensive and gets the job done, tho it is more work.