The right garden tiller!

[Dave Zippi]

Hello,

-I need some advice on buying the "right" tiller but there are so many out there it's overwhelming to say the least.
-For the past 32 years I've had a "8 ft. by 24 ft." vegetable garden in the same area of my yard in which I've dug with a fork during all that time.
-However, I'm 65 years old & I'm recuperating from back surgery. I realize that I now need to till & give up the fork. I still want a garden.
-Can anyone give me some suggestions on a tiller that will get the job done without sending me back for more back surgery?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Chuck]

I wished I had a tiller and if I could buy one it would be a Troy Built.

 

[Lily_Lover]

I once owned a Mantis (mantis.com) and was very please with it.

 

[David from Dothan]

To me, the brand is not near as important as it being a rear-tined tiller. Front tined ones "beat me to death".

 

[Chuck]

To me, the brand is not near as important as it being a rear-tined tiller. Front tined ones "beat me to death".

Then check out the Troy Built models. They have all kinds of rear tined tillers. The one I want is the Horse model and costs over 2K but it is a large machine. The Pony models are smaller. IIRC some of them have reverse and forward tilling tines. I tried the reverse rear tined and found it to be not what I wanted in an established garden but the forward rear tined model was great. I WOULD NOT BUY A NEW MODEL OR ONE BUILT AFTER 2001 but the old used ones seem to last forever and parts are easy to find. An old Horse model is still over 1K.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Then check out the Troy Built models. They have all kinds of rear tined tillers. The one I want is the Horse model and costs over 2K but it is a large machine. The Pony models are smaller. IIRC some of them have reverse and forward tilling tines. I tried the reverse rear tined and found it to be not what I wanted in an established garden but the forward rear tined model was great. I WOULD NOT BUY A NEW MODEL OR ONE BUILT AFTER 2001 but the old used ones seem to last forever and parts are easy to find. An old Horse model is still over 1K.

I have a horse 3 pto model that I have 350 in if you want it. I have a superbronco I use mostly.

I would get a reversible direction rear tine tiller. When you go deep, or if it is chunky with roots or whatever, that reverse keeps the machine under better control. The one @Chuck was talking about has handle bars that swing to the side for ease of use and walking.

 

[Chuck]

I have a horse 3 pto model that I have 350 in if you want it. I have a superbronco I use mostly.

I would get a reversible direction rear tine tiller. When you go deep, or if it is chunky with roots or whatever, that reverse keeps the machine under better control. The one @Chuck was talking about has handle bars that swing to the side for ease of use and walking.

What is it I hear about Troy Built going bankrupt and selling out to the Chinese in 2001 and their quality going down the toilet?

 

[David from Dothan]

What is it I hear about Troy Built going bankrupt and selling out to the Chinese in 2001 and their quality going down the toilet?

https://support.troybilt.com/s/article/218-1?language=en_US

 

[DirtMechanic]

https://support.troybilt.com/s/article/218-1?language=en_US

And that was the day the heavy metal died. My horse is a project. I bought it for 200, and it runs, but would not make power under load, so I suspect the rings or valves in the old HH60 engine are done and it needs a rebuild. However, I am not an old engine kind of guy, and so I bought a overhead valve engine that bolts on, and some new stickers. I am also not a guy who is gonna allow a leaking machine so I figured I would at some point be into the oil seals on the chassis. I just have too many projects..I have had it over a year now going into 2. I have been hestiant to start because I am very liable to completely renew it. I know this might happen because I bought the paint already.

There is a active yahoo group I joined that helped me find the history of my machine and all parts are available. Those guys can also do all the work on the machine. I did not know it at the time, but there are log splitters and other pto attachments that bolt on to the rear of the tiller. My neighbor has the exact same machine and in using it, I appreciate the weight and the longer transmission which allows a very good depth compared to my shorter super bronco.

 

[Chuck]

And that was the day the heavy metal died. My horse is a project. I bought it for 200, and it runs, but would not make power under load, so I suspect the rings or valves in the old HH60 engine are done and it needs a rebuild. However, I am not an old engine kind of guy, and so I bought an engine that bolts on, and some new stickers. I am also not a guy who is gonna allow a leaking machine so I figured I would at some point be into the oil seals on the chassis. I just have too many projects..I have had it over a year now going into 2. There is a active yahoo group I joined that helped me find the history of my machine and all parts are available. I did not know it at the time, but there are log splitters and other pto attachments that bolt on to the rear of the tiller. My neighbor has the exact same machine and using it, I appreciate the weight and the longer transmission which allows a very good depth compared to my shorter super bronco.

What I also like about the Horse is the hiller/furrow attachment. Supposedly Briggs and Stratton engines are an easy replacement motor. I have a friend who has an old Horse and he has the log splitter. I have seen it in action and it splits live oak like a dream. The only thing about a Horse is its size so it may be a little large for an 8' x 24' garden. An old Pony model is probably what the OP really needs.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Like a cadillac, the wheelbase on a tiller along with weight determines the ride, but at the expense of a turning radius. OP is turning about 3.5 cubic yards. My patch requires me to turn 28 yards (to 6" or so). There is a distinct relationship between the weight of moist soil at 3000 lbs per cubic yard and my back and the size of a tiller. If you can get it done in 1/2 of a spring day, that is a big enough tiller. You can compare to a shovel, where If I did 3.5 yards by hand I would take 3 days, 2 for work and one to lay on the couch afterwards. My bronco is fine for me, leaving time for other things that same day. My neighbor has a garden 3 to 4 times the size of mine. That is where the horse shines. My neighbor is 90 and hires a fellow to come once a week or so and work the garden. He has decided to start tilling for spring with the Horse 3 today. Another neighbor and I went together and repowered his machine 15 years ago or so.

 

[smellycat]

I have a troybuilt tiller and a little honda tiller. Love them both dearly. I try to mostly have a no till garden and go to painstaking efforts to do so. I live in BIG AG country where there are massive amounts of petro chems used and I try to grow as clean as possible.

 

[Chuck]

I am the same way. I till my rows about every 5 years or so and try to till the walkways every year and put the loose soil back onto the top of the rows. The pic shows a finished shoveling of the walkways after tilling. I will do it again in 2020.

 

[Flatlander]

... OP is turning about 3.5 cubic yards...

Theres something that I dont understand here. Where do you get the figure of 3.5 cubic yards from? The OP has an 8 foot by 24 foot piece, which makes 192 square feet or 21 1/3 square yards. Cubic means volume, square means area. Or are American measurements so different to European?

 

[DirtMechanic]

Theres something that I dont understand here. Where do you get the figure of 3.5 cubic yards from? The OP has an 8 foot by 24 foot piece, which makes 192 square feet or 21 1/3 square yards. Cubic means volume, square means area. Or are American measurements so different to European?

8wx24wx.5deep(6inches)=cf so divide that by 27. Its more if you till down to 8 inches.