OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Question on Digging Equipment Rotary Hoes & Tillers Opinion on tiller

Hi guys,

I was wondering if I could get some opinions on the below tiller. I'm in desperate need of a tiller and was planning on hiring one however I would much prefer to try and snag an older model unit for not much more than a days hire. Only issue being, I'm on a very fixed income/budget however if I don't improve this soil I'm not going to be able to start growing anything!

I've found this one for $250 (not bought it yet), it's a 170mm cut apparently, 2 forward gears, new engine. I think it's a Howard Bantam?



It's going to get used for mainly tilling in cover crops and organic material (compost etc) into our wallum soil.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Much appreciated.

Hi Felix have you tried ebay under rotary hoes? Plenty of choices there

Hey Norm,

I did have a look at fleabay, my budget would land me very much at one end of the market which is mainly Chinese (not always bad) 2 strokes.

They all look quite flimsy and similar to those available from say Bunnings (eg. Ozito which gets less than good reviews).

Hi Felix a mate of mine bought one of the fleabay ones, not too bad needed a bit of setting up but a good strong machine. He paid $500 but it is way too big for what he needs but apart from that it was fairly good quality so I think the smaller machines might be ok. I haven't seen the Bunnings ones, but you can imagine what Bunnings are paying for those

Hi Feleix, The tiller in the picture looks pretty good as long as it all works you wouldn't want a bigger tiller as they are to heavy to turn
and $250 is a fare price Go for it

Thanks guys.

Took a drive and went and had a look. Was impressed with how well it went and how solid the build was. Snapped it up for $250.



Couple of issues that are not big deals, the replacement engine (for the original Villiers) is fixed so you can't engage and disengage the belt (or change the pulley to hi/lo) so you need to start it with the rotor in gear, it shifts fine while running between drive gears though. I might look at getting a idler pulley made, but I think I can safely work around it.

The other thing, that I'll deal with sooner rather than later (with the help of the next door neighbor), is where the height adjuster connects to the rear rotor shroud it's cracked so it'll need welding soon.

Apart from that, I whacked some lubricating oil on all the joints, points and pivots and gave it another run once home. I'll give the engine a service (cheap Chinese Briggs knockoff) and I think i'll look into how the gearboxes work and what maintenance they need, I think there are two but no idea how to drain/fill and check them or what oil to use.

Weighing up this buy vs a 2 stroke ebay special vs hiring a larger model for $135/day I think it was a good purchase.

Cheers

Hi Felix,
This webpage is the motherlode for Howard Rotavator manuals and parts lists; http://www.allotment-garden.org/rotavator-manuals-free/

Looks like yours is indeed a Bantam model.

One thing to note; Howard recommend SAE140 gear oil, but do not use an EP type, as most readily available gear oil types are. The sulphur-based EP additives are corrosive to 'yellow metal' gears and bushings, which abound in these older machines.

The spec needed is API GL-1; which is most readily available in the Penrite brand, as their vintage car product 'Transoil SAE 140', in 1L packs.

Cheers Gadge!

I'd found that it was SAE140, but didn't know about being GL-1. I happened to be in town yesterday and went to Autobahn, that was funny, they looked at me blankly. Might be a challenge hunting it down!

Cheers Gadge, found this at a local oil mob. Now to decipher the manual on how to drain and refill!