I am writing this article to inform anyone interested in purchasing a rotary tiller to be aware of major differences between different brands and models in the market today.

At the moment, there are a large number of rotary tillers being imported from China and India. Many of these rotary tillers are re branded under English names and brands. Some of these tillers are worthy of small gardens, but the majority of the low cost products are low performance and generally don’t last more than 200 hours without a problem.

Key points to focus on when buying a tiller:

Number of Blades:

The number of blades on a rotary tiller makes a significant difference in cutting performance. Most high-quality rotary tillers are using 6 blades per Rotary flange. 6 blades cut the soil much better than 4 blade systems. This means you can cut at faster travel speeds without having to make multiple passes. Even though some low quality tillers tout 6 blades per flange, they usually don’t have enough rotor flanges to create a good overlap between the blades. For example a good 72” wide tiller should have 54 blades. Lower quality 72” tillers usually only have 42 to 48 blades. Make sure you check the total number of blades in regards to the cutting width when comparing tillers.

Gearbox:

Make sure you purchase a rotary tiller with a good gearbox! Usually US made or Italian made gearboxes are the good performers on rotary tillers. Most of the gearboxes coming out of China have poor tolerances and bad quality bearings and seals. As a result, most of the china made tillers we’ve noticed in the field usually have leaking oil seals after 200 hours.

Welding

Double checks the welding on a rotary tiller before you conclude your purchase. Many low quality tillers have sub standard welding. Unlike in the USA, Asia usually lacks the proper welding equipment, gases, and experience to make good welds. Very few workshops making rotary tillers in Asia have good welding equipment. Usually they are using low performance and underpowered electrode welding machines. As a result, the beads are very inconsistent and weld penetration is poor. Look at the welding on the frame and around the brackets holding the bottom hitch points and top link. Poor welds will definitely leads to broken brackets or cracked welds. Also notice the welding around the rotor flanges. Poor welding technique in this area leads to bending of the flange. This means the rotor is not balanced when rotating causing unnecessary vibration.