Rototiller experience

[nateo]

Last year we leveraged the lockdown to double the size of our garden. I had to cut a couple hundred sq ft. of sod with the ol' back breaker, my 45 year old B&S based front tine tiller. It has a straight bar in place of the handles that long ago snapped off so most of the work is done holding the bar down around knee level.

I'm still young enough that it didn't lay me out for too long, but the next day wasn't much fun for sure!

So far the tiller has cost me a flywheel key, a can of carb cleaner, a new air filter, and an oil change. If I hadn't been given this one (and I didn't have the offer of it's slightly newer cousin from a neighbour) I'd definitely look at renting. For a day a year it doesn't really make sense to give up the storage space.

 

[mikeinri]

I broke the engine in my old TB Horse one spring, so I had to pay a guy to come out and till my garden. I believe it was $50 or $75 for my 30x30 garden. He tilled it twice (like I do, once in each direction).

I then bought another TB Horse, but I ofter wonder (especially after dealing with a leaky carb on the Briggs engine) if it's really worth keeping around vs. paying someone else to deal with it...

Mike

 

[Kaizen]

Got this at Lowe’s delivered 200 bucks. It is a beast when it digs in. My last one had wheels that could control the depth and tame it. Forgot how much work these do. Did two 48 sq ft raised beds in about ten min.





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[curiusgeorge]

Had one of those oh ****! moments using a tiller about 20 years ago. Was renovating my backyard before sprinkler system and new sod was laid down, and was moving along quite nicely. Apparently at some point I wasn't paying attention, got it too close to the chain link fence, and it basically walked up the fence, lost my grip, and it landed a foot behind me. Lesson learned.

 

[FredWanaker]

I have a 5 ho craftsman front tine and a mantis. We have hard pan, and a garden that has been tilled for 30 years. The question with a tiller is always, "what are you trying to accomplish?" If the goal is to break up the soil and incorporate amendments, then a small tiller will do a small area a few inches deep. If you are trying to till a larger area to start improving the soil, a larger tiller is needed to go deeper. Tilling destroys the tilth of the soil if you do it too often. Lately we just put in a winter crop and then hoe it in the spring and let it rot. That helps improve the soil without destroying the soil tilth and beneficials like worms. I would 100% get a soil test before making any decisions what to add to the soil. We use Waypoint in Memphis TN.

 

[mikeinri]

Had one of those oh ****! moments using a tiller about 20 years ago. Was renovating my backyard before sprinkler system and new sod was laid down, and was moving along quite nicely. Apparently at some point I wasn't paying attention, got it too close to the chain link fence, and it basically walked up the fence, lost my grip, and it landed a foot behind me. Lesson learned.

Yikes. The ground here is so hard/rocky, that when we cleared the area for the garden, I had to bring in a truckload of loam to be able to actually plant anything.

Of course, that was AFTER the old TB Horse tried to run away from me when I tried tilling the old woodland for the first time.

Eventually, I killed the engine in that tiller, trying to till a different area, thinking I maybe was trying to dig too deep the first time. Nope, just nothing back there but rocks.

I brought a HF Greyhound engine to replace the broken Tecumseh, but the first experience kept nagging at me, and by then I had little kids in the house, so I upgraded to a newer tiller with the safety switches that everyone loves to hate. Haven't looked back, other than not liking the leaky carb on the Briggs...

Mike

 

[jd_1138]

My experience is a budget front tine tiller will beat the **** out of you. They spin around and bounce on top of the ground, you need to hold them back and let them dig their way in .... It is a job.
While a rear tine tiller is more expensive, It is more like driving a Cadillac compared to a front tine.
Still a job, but you wont get beat up doing it.

Lot of merit to just rent a good one as needed. I have owned a few tillers over the years ... today I wont even look at a front tine.

Having a front tine one beats you up way less than the manual labor required to turn over the ground with manual tools and hard work.

I bought one like in this pic at a yard sale for $40. Works awesome. I did a few projects around here, some for friends who plant gardens, and then sold it to a friend who is a ******** gardener. He is still using it 5 years later.

Kinda silly to fart around with renting one, bringing it home, returning it, etc.. I'd just buy a small used one if money's tight. Sure the rear tine ones are the best if you can afford it or find one cheap. Rear tine are like the pro version. If I had the money and had to til larger spaces, then I'd get one of those rear tine ones.

Perhaps it's a weight issue? Ones with the tiny weedwhacker engines probably jump around more than the ones with the larger 4 stroke engines.

 

[Jon_E]

I have a dozen 4x10 raised beds and a bunch of flower beds that have been tilled regularly for years with an Echo TC2100, which I bought around 30 years ago. Actually it might be a bit older than that. The Echo tillers are made in partnership with Mantis, or were. They put their engines on the Mantis tiller body. Conversely, the early Mantis tillers were simply Echo engines. The Echo versions seemed to be a bit cheaper. I have some clay, a lot of rocks and roots in my yard, and the little tiller bounces a lot, but in the raised bed it will dig right to the bottom, 10-12" deep and easily till in compost, leaves, manure and fertilizer to start the season. I also have access to a Troy-Bilt Horse but I hate the thing. It's smooth as glass until you hit a rock and then it wants to run away from you. The rear-tine tillers with the counter-rotating tines are nice. Always wanted a BCS machine and could never afford it.

 

[Badgerstate]

Id go electric. Theres no reason to mess around with the hassles of gas and oil when modern electric models perform just as well as anything gas.

 

[MattN03]

Hammer1963, if your interested and local, I do tilling on the side with my Kubota tractor. I have a 5' tiller and can work up an area if your trying to start a new place. I'm located about 30 minutes south of Lexington.

 

[mikeinri]

Id go electric. Theres no reason to mess around with the hassles of gas and oil when modern electric models perform just as well as anything gas.

Especially true for mini-tillers, in established beds.

Mike

 

[Hammer1963]

I ended up purchasing a Maxim Mini. It has a 35cc Honda engine with forged tines. Runs great and has chewed up several square feet over the past week. The Mantis XL was out of stock and this became the logical choice for me.

 

[mikeinri]

Sweet! Now we need pics of the machine, and before/during/after pics of the garden!

Mike

 

[finn]

Depends on whether you are a serious gardener or not.

My tiller is a thirty year old Craftsman front tine with a 5 hp B&S. Paid $100 when Sears started going out of business in about 1990. It worked fine for years tilling a small garden in Illinois.

Now that the kids are long gone and we moved to Michigan, we don’t have a garden, so it just takes up room. We discovered that neither of us is a dedicated gardener, and the deer, rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks have big appetites.

The rear tine tillers are undoubtedly superior, but they take twice the storage space, so you have to look at the total picture.

For what it’s worth, I probably should have hired the tilling job out. The going rate for a small garden was $20 when we were doing it regularly in Illinois.

Now, I would suggest you rent one for the morning.

 

[theoldwizard1]

My tiller is a thirty year old Craftsman front tine with a 5 hp B&S. Paid $100 ...

I think I paid about the same for my Wards (Gleason) tiller about 15 years ago. Cost me another $20-$30 to get it running.

Fine for a small garden or one that is not hard packed.

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

Sweet! Now we need pics of the machine, and before/during/after pics of the garden!

Mike

Yeah pictures definitely! And being GJ, what mods he's planning to do with his new Honda... perhaps a cold air intake, hot cam, Weber carb or a turbo...

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Personally I think any roto-tiller is at best barely marginal for trying to cultivate land. My Father bought the big Troy Built (Horse?) back in 1980 and we used that for many years. That was/is probably the best tiller made and it would beat the **** out of you. As a teen I can remember tilling and going deep with the machine and when I would hit a rock it would sometimes lift me off me feet.
Fast forward to now, sadly I no longer have the old Troy-Built, but I have a Craftsman rear tine. I just finished tilling a large area (15x125") where a Power Company Utility Truck had to go over our lawn to get to a electric pole in our backyard. It had to be replaced after an ice storm this winter. Truck left deep ruts and the tiller was the only thing I have to fix it. That was a miserable experience. Made me miss the old Troy Built.

 

[laser3kw]

Personally I think any roto-tiller is at best barely marginal for trying to cultivate land. My Father bought the big Troy Built (Horse?) back in 1980 and we used that for many years. ...
...blah,yada, blah....
.

Sorry Chris, I was to busy looking at your avatar.
Could you give cliff notes?