Please forgive me for cross-posting this message but it's a slow time on the forum and I'm needing to buy a tiller in the next week or so. This is also posted in the Vegetable and Fruit Forum.
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Hey everybody! I'm still alive and kickin'!!! Maybe not kickin' as high as I once did but still here. Smiling I hope all of you are doing well.
As some of you know, last year I did not have a garden...multiple issues arose. The biggest one was preparations (fund-raising, etc) for a mission trip to Uganda...incredible trip, btw. Smiling The initial issue, though, was that the rear-tine tiller that I had replaced the engine on a couple of years previous had it's transmission to go bad. D'Oh! I did borrow a smaller front-tine tiller from a friend, but it just didn't work well for me...it wore me out too quickly. Since then the grass and weeds have taken over the garden area. Sad
I'm wanting to start the garden back up this season but I need a tiller. We've had the discussion of "no-till" before but living in the petri-dish of garden disease/pests/weeds-n-grass a no-till approach just isn't feasible here. Smiling
I've looked around a lot trying to find a used one, especially a tow-behind...looked on Craigs List and other private sales websites. When I find something that looks like it might be a good one it's usually located in Connecticut or Wisconsin...just a "tad" further than I want to drive for a tiller. I've also reviewed the different brick and mortar stores...Lowes,HD, TSC,etc., and at DRPower's website. Right now the large rear-tine tiller with both forward and counter-rotating tines is on sale at DRPower as is the smaller counter-rotating tines one. Seems that when "on sale" that the DRPower equipment matches or beats the other vendors in pricing.
As for the DRPower forward/counter-rotating tine machine...seems that that option would be nice but it also throws in more complexity to the design/construction that would cost more $$$ to repair should it break. I think the transmission is the Achilles tendon of the rear-tine tiller bunch.
Since my last presence here I managed to bum up a shoulder a little but I think I can still handle a tiller. An option would be one of the pull-behind tillers which would be great as I could pull one behind my old John Deere lawnmower, but the price is a bit high even when they're on sale. The tow-behinds are on the radar...but just a dim blip. DRPower and Agri-Fab build tow-behinds, at least these are the only two that I've found. The Agri-Fab is a *lot* cheaper but the ads make DRPower seem superior...maybe DRPower has a better advertising person? Agri-Fab *might* be in the $$$ ballpark but the DRPower is not. But really, even the Agri-Fab is expensive.<sigh>
The minimum that I will go with will be a rear-tined, wheel-driven tiller.
So, anybody have experience with DRPower or one of the brick-and-mortar stores' equipment? I'm a little skeptical of buying something like this online...would rather be able to look somebody "eyeball-to-eyeball"...and if there's a problem it's easier to deal with someone locally. But, if folks have had good results with an online vendor like DRPower I could be persuaded to go that route.
Comments? Cub cadet users? Agri-Fab users? DRPower users? Husqvarna users? I've also seen some private-branded tillers so I'm interested in them, too....I don't own a shirt with an alligator on it. Big Grin
I just need some feedback so I can get something started. As for today's beautiful weather (it's one of the blue-ish skies I've ever seen) I'm sitting inside suffering with either strept throat (courtesy of my sweet 4-year-old granddaugher) or Coronavirus...I haven't been to China nor a major city so I'm opting for it being a gift from my granddaughter....how is it that kids can be sick as a dog and just keep happily playing while an old grump like me it cuts me down to my knees making even my hair hurt? Blinking
Anyhoo....feedback is most welcome!!!!
THANKS!!!
Ed (the missing gardener)
