Articles

Posted by Homer on April 6th, 2007 — Posted in Uncategorized

Garden Tiller Maintenance

by Mike D Tucker

Well it is that time of year again and you are getting ready to plant your garden. As you dig your garden tiller out of the corner of the garage you notice it is full of cobwebs. Looks like you will have to perform some garden tiller maintenance.

So what sort of maintenance do you have to do before starting up your garden tiller for the first time? A lot has to do with the way you prepared your garden tiller for the winter storage. If you drained the fuel or added Sta-Bil to the gasoline you are in better shape than most people.

First it is always recommended that you follow the manufactures guidance. This procedure should be used as a general guideline.

The first thin I always do is give my garden tiller a good washing to get the dust off of it. Next for safety I pull the spark plug wire off. If you did not drain your fuel you will have to now. The best way is to remove the fuel line from the tank and let it drain outside away from anything electrical. Including your cell phone.

Some carburetors have a spring loaded drain on the bottom of the float bowl. If yours has one hold a rag underneath the drain and press in letting the gas drain into the rag. If you have an inline fuel filter it should also be checked or replaced at this time.

Next you will want to clean the air filter. Your garden tiller operates in dusty conditions so it is very important to keep your air filter clean. If you garden tiller has a 2 stage filter remove the both and tap the paper inner filter on the ground to shake out any dirt. Take the foam outer filter and wash it with soap and water. Let it dry thoroughly the re-oil it. Placing it in a plastic bag and adding a little light motor oil, work it into the foam and remove can do this.

Now we move on to the spark plug. Remove it and replace it with the same number that is on the old one. Make sure you check the spark plug gap and set it before re-installing. Most are pre-set from the manufacture but it never hurts to check. You should also place a small amount of ant seize compound on the threads of the spark plug before installing.

Make sure you do not have any gasoline or oil anywhere on your garden till that you may have spilled while working on it. If you do make sure it is completely cleaned off before attempting to start your motor. You can now re-connect you spark plug wire.

Add fresh fuel and check your oil level. Check for leaks. If everything looks good your garden tiller is ready to fire up. Start it and let it warm up. Shut it off and double check for leaks and oil level. If everything looks good your garden tiller is ready for use.

Garden Tiller – What Type Do You Need

by Mike D Tucker

Well it’s that time of year again to start busting up your garden soil and start your planting. How you do that is up to you. If you need the exercise or have a very small garden you could always do it by hand.

To save your back and knees you could go with a stand up manual garden till like the famous garden weasel. It is cheap and easy to use.

For medium or large gardens you are going to need a garden tiller with a little more power than your arms. So what type of tiller do you buy?

If you have a smaller or confined garden you will want to go with something maneuverable like an electric mini tiller or cultivator. Or maybe a small 2hp gas model. Most of them are lightweight and very easy to handle. Cost on them is reasonable too for the amount of work they will save you.

One of the biggest pluses for a small garden till is that it uses less storage space. If you buy one with folding handles you can save even more room. A word of warning though, I would not recommend using a small garden tiller to start a new garden where the soil has never been broken up before. You will need something a little more heavy duty to cultivate your soil for the first time.

Renting a large heavy-duty garden tiller the first year to bust up your soil and then get a small tiller for maintenance and cultivating the following year.

Front tine vs. rear tine

The best purpose for a front tine tiller is maintaining soil that has been cultivated before. Start out the first time with a rear tine tiller.

Rear tine tillers are easy to handle and maneuver. They will pretty much turn on a dime when needed and require much less effort from the operator. The majority of rear tine tillers can handle any garden job that you require from them.

What Brand To Buy

There are many different brand names in the garden tiller business. Some of the better known garden tiller brands are, Troy Bilt Garden tillers, Mantis Tillers, Honda Tillers, Husqvarna Garden Tillers, Craftsman Tillers, and MTD Tillers. Prices and models vary a lot so the best thing you can do is shop around and compare after you have decided on what type you need for your garden.

If you are a vegetable garden grower I recently read a book called vegetable garden secrets that is going to change the way I garden. I highly recommend it. You can find it on our site.