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George Bokros
04-24-2014, 7:09 PM
My 40+ yr old Howard roto tiller needs ~$450 in repairs. I am reluctant to put that much into a machine that old from a company that is out of business. The engine is a Kohler and parts for it are available however other parts such as transmission, and clutch/brake are available but very pricey.

I am thinking about a Husqvarna, any one have experience this brand of tiller? I was thinking about a Troy Bilt or a Cub Cadet but they are both made by MTD and I do not believe they are the quality TB was years ago. Then there is BCS but that is too pricey for me.

Must be a rear tine tiller, had a front and it was not fun to use. The little guys like Mantis are worthless to me.

Thanks

George

Larry Edgerton
04-24-2014, 8:13 PM
http://www.bcsshop.com/ I have seen these and they are nicely built, at a price.

Barely used tillers are available on craigslist for about the price of your repairs. That is the way I went. I bought a Troy Built for 200.

I have looked over the Huquvarna's and they look to be a good machine for the price.

Its almost time.........

Larry

George Bokros
04-24-2014, 9:49 PM
There are also some very old tillers on craigslist for some amazingly high prices. There is an Ariens now for $500 that is older than my Howard and a Roto Hoe that I believe was made in the 50's the seller wants $400 for.

George

steven taggart
04-24-2014, 11:13 PM
A barretto, made in my old home town in Oregon, is the best you can buy. Once in a blue moon they come up for sale cheap on craigslist. But I switched to a no-till mulch garden last year, so no need for a tiller for me

Jerome Stanek
04-25-2014, 7:20 AM
If you culd find an Agria that would be my first choice. The one my father had is 60 years old and still going strong. It was used in a commercial greenhouse business for 35 years tilling 1.5 acres. the BCS is a very good one also the tillers that were mentioned are toys compared to those

Moses Yoder
04-25-2014, 7:41 AM
Husqvarna is a good brand name like this rototiller (http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/cultivators/drt900h/). I would avoid the Briggs & Stratton engine. The Honda or Kohler engines are good engines. I am more familiar with their chain saws, they make a very good chain saw; I assume their other stuff is good quality as well.

George Bokros
04-26-2014, 6:21 PM
Took the plunge, bought a BCS tiller. When I started to get into the durability side the Husqvarna had several instances of transmission problems and the trans is difficult to service and is expensive to service if out of warranty. The Troy Bilt uses proprietary engine on the lower end models (everything under the ProLine CRT) which I am told for service you will need to go to a Troybilt dealer. When I really looked at quality and features I decided to up the budget and get the entry level BCS. My father-in-law had a BCS and my brother-in-law got it when my FIL passed since I had the Howard.

Can't wait to get it.

George

Larry Edgerton
04-27-2014, 8:14 AM
Would love to hear your impressions first hand when you have some time on it. I have been looking at them for some time. You NEVER see one for sale used which to me speaks volumes.

PM me after you try it out a bit.

Larry

Patrick Grady
04-29-2014, 4:24 PM
I recently rebuilt a Troy Versatiller . It had no carb linkage or cable controls, had busted tines along with other missing parts. Everything was repairable and the tiller runs nicely now. The 'Versa' part calls attention to its ability to be switched from a front tine to a rear tine tiller in minutes. Though a good concept, the handle mechanism is not beefy enough and this Troy model didn't sell, didn't last. My advice regarding used tillers is to pay special attention to transmission seal failures (mostly because it is a difficult engineering trick to keep vines and roots from wrapping themselves into the tine and wheel shafts and seal replacements are usually not trivial - I know from experience). Obviously replacement parts availability is critical. On the subject of Briggs motors, I have rebuilt a number of brands of engines on various equipment and in terms of availability of parts and durability and rebuild information and cost and overall quality, it is well known in the US that Briggs is absolutely the best (for personal use, I generally won't waste my time on used equipment that isn't powered by a Briggs motor). Good luck with your tiller. A freshly tilled garden is a special wonderment of Spring.

George Bokros
04-29-2014, 5:53 PM
On the subject of Briggs motors, durability and rebuild information and cost and overall quality, it is well known in the US that Briggs is absolutely the best (for personal use,

From talking with several power equipment dealers Briggs motors are not the quality they once were. Two of them told me that they had trouble selling mid market tillers with Briggs motors. As soon as the mfg switched to Honda and Subrau the equipment was much better received by the buying public. Also the older Kohler motors are well respected.

Yes years ago Briggs was the motor for the residential market power equipment.

Steve Rozmiarek
04-29-2014, 6:24 PM
I recently rebuilt a Troy Versatiller . It had no carb linkage or cable controls, had busted tines along with other missing parts. Everything was repairable and the tiller runs nicely now. The 'Versa' part calls attention to its ability to be switched from a front tine to a rear tine tiller in minutes. Though a good concept, the handle mechanism is not beefy enough and this Troy model didn't sell, didn't last. My advice regarding used tillers is to pay special attention to transmission seal failures (mostly because it is a difficult engineering trick to keep vines and roots from wrapping themselves into the tine and wheel shafts and seal replacements are usually not trivial - I know from experience). Obviously replacement parts availability is critical. On the subject of Briggs motors, I have rebuilt a number of brands of engines on various equipment and in terms of availability of parts and durability and rebuild information and cost and overall quality, it is well known in the US that Briggs is absolutely the best (for personal use, I generally won't waste my time on used equipment that isn't powered by a Briggs motor). Good luck with your tiller. A freshly tilled garden is a special wonderment of Spring.

Like George said, Briggs is not good. We literally use 100's of 5-15hp small gas engines on this farm, and most other farms are similar. The ONLY gas engine that sells if you want reliability is Honda. The slightly bigger range, up to 25hp has a few more options, but the best choice there too is Honda. Kohler is generally ok, but they take more maintenance and start harder, so choose Honda if you can. Subaru is ok, but pretty complicated and expensive, which is a fatal flaw. Kawasaki has tried to enter this market, but parts are hard to source and they are no better. There are some Chinese honda copies, but they are not reliable.

Rock solid simplicity that can be serviced with whatever tools are available leads back to Honda. These motors have to sit months at a time, and usually start on the first pull. They are the workhorse of ag.

Briggs used to be because it was better than the other junk out there, but for the last 40 years they can't compete with the Hondas.

Borg quality equipment is the only reason that Briggs, and the others still exist. Most consumers have no clue what they are buying.

Patrick Grady
04-30-2014, 1:48 PM
Thanks George and Steve for your input regarding Briggs. The Versa Tiller I rebuilt had a Tecumseh OHH50 motor which is actually a nice motor (except for typical Tecumseh convoluted crappy carb linkages). With respect for your experience, I take your points regarding Honda motors and will upgrade my opinions. However, my experience regarding starting on the first pull after extended downtimes (seasonal tillers and snowblowers especially apply) is almost always a function of the carburetor and fuel and its condition. Put a brand new carb on a reluctant starter and it will start immediately. This is especially true with boat outboards that sit and bake in the summer sun. When buying and rebuilding used equipment price and availability of parts is critical and while I can easily believe Honda motors might now offer better overall quality (my car is a Honda, my dad had a Honda motorcycle back in 1967) I will probably stick with my crotchety brand loyalty with Briggs small horse power motors.

Art Mann
04-30-2014, 3:48 PM
Don't laugh!

I finally got tired of working on the carburetor of my 29 year old Troybilt Horse tiller with the trash Tecumseh engine, so I went looking for a replacement. I looked at the B&S and Honda replacements and they were going to cost around $300 plus shipping. I went on the Troybilt enthusiast websites and they all said take a look at Harbor Freight. I went to the store and they had a Predator 212cc engine (near copy of the Honda) on sale for $99 plus tax. It was a drop in replacement and took less than an hour to install. It is quieter and much more powerful than the larger sized engine it replaced. I have run it hard on a large garden for two seasons now and it starts first pull every time. It might turn out to have a short life but for now, I would say it is the best deal going in a replacement engine.

Steve Rozmiarek
04-30-2014, 8:38 PM
Don't laugh!

I finally got tired of working on the carburetor of my 29 year old Troybilt Horse tiller with the trash Tecumseh engine, so I went looking for a replacement. I looked at the B&S and Honda replacements and they were going to cost around $300 plus shipping. I went on the Troybilt enthusiast websites and they all said take a look at Harbor Freight. I went to the store and they had a Predator 212cc engine (near copy of the Honda) on sale for $99 plus tax. It was a drop in replacement and took less than an hour to install. It is quieter and much more powerful than the larger sized engine it replaced. I have run it hard on a large garden for two seasons now and it starts first pull every time. It might turn out to have a short life but for now, I would say it is the best deal going in a replacement engine.

Art, is that the blue one? Most of the copies I've been around are, but have seen a couple green ones too. THey really may work a long time in that role. My experiance with them is mostly on liquid fertilizer pumps, which is a brutal nasty way to kill an engine.

Myk Rian
04-30-2014, 9:34 PM
I went on the Troybilt enthusiast websites and they all said take a look at Harbor Freight.
A friend of ours that owns a cement business says that's all he buys.

Art Mann
04-30-2014, 9:48 PM
Art, is that the blue one? Most of the copies I've been around are, but have seen a couple green ones too. THey really may work a long time in that role. My experiance with them is mostly on liquid fertilizer pumps, which is a brutal nasty way to kill an engine.

The one I bought is black. It is on the Harbor Freight web site and the brand is Predator. If I remember correctly, this series replaced some blue ones that I am not very familiar with. I only use the engine for just a few weeks per year but I use it wide open throttle and loaded down pretty good. At the price they are asking, I can afford to replace it much more often than a Honda.