troy-built tiller question

[porthos]

i have a troy-built tuffy model (smallest). it does not till for squat. goes sideways,won't dig deep ect. a guy at the gun club said that the tines may be dull. said that they are supposed to have flat edges not rounded (as they are from use). anyone confirm this?

[sparky45]

I have the Horse (1980 model) and the Tines DO have to be replaced from time to time. Set of Tines should fix the problem.

[mac1911]

Are there shear pins on the tiller shafts?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP>>>
goes sideways,won't dig deep ect.

The Tuffy has counter rotating tines, unlike most Troybilt rear tine tillers.

What's your soil like?
When soil is dry and compacted, the small Tuffy tiller tines will basically bounce off, without digging into it much.

Another thing:
The Tuffy tiller may pull in one direction and keep the tines from turning soil effectively when one of the tiller's tires is low on air pressure.

[Omega]

Are the tines on correctly? Mine can be put on backwards if I don't pay attention to the rotation.

[Winger Ed.]

a guy at the gun club said that the tines may be dull. said that they are supposed to have flat edges not rounded

Anything sharp cuts better than when its dull.
If the ground is already broken up or sandy- dull is OK since you're more or less just stirring it around.
But if its hard ground, a flat edge really has to have some weight and horsepower behind it to cut in and chop it up.
Years ago, I had a heavy, 8-9hp tiller and it had sharp tines. Not razor sharp- but a edge like lawn mower blades.

Sharp tines may not be a cure all in your case, but they should help.
And there's a reason the big heavy, high powered tillers are still around.

[porthos]

my ground is hard. funny thing; i bought the tiller used about 4 years ago. when i got it home i couldn't staart it . drained the gas and it was brown. gave it to a friend to tune up. when i got it back; it went thru the garden like the soil was coffee grounds. since then its a real chore to hang onto it. yes, it just bounces around and leans to the side. i will check the tire pressure good tip.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Soil with a certain amount of Clay in it, will get hard when it dries out...but may be tillable when it's moist. The soil in my area is like that, but I have worked in organic material into my garden every year, since I moved here (1993)...it has improved a lot since then.

[upr45]

I also have a horse model, which has forward moving tines, weighs a bit, and has lots of torque. You already have lots of good advise from the previous posts. If tines are not installed correctly or are worn -- you will be very ineffective. Also hard ground compounds problems with tines, getting the ground wet should soften it and greatly help. You may have to make multiple passes thru soil to get it worked to desired depth. I use it a lot to the extent that I need to replace tines every 2 yrs and seals every other tine change.
I bought and just recently installed a 5 ft tiller on my tractor. It is driven by the PTO, which is live on my 1950 ford 8N. Although the tiller is on the edge of what the tractor can handle HP wise -- it works the ground like you can't imagine. It does take HP to work with dirt!!! It tears up weeds and sod without loading up the tines unlike the walk behind types. I thought the troy built, which is an excellent machine had great ability but it is clearly outdone by the tractor PTO driven type! My garden is 120 x 330 ft so it has plenty of room to maneuver the tractor. Last week I ran down the peas vines which dry up after harvesting and wrap around the troy tiller tines and need to be cleared a few times per row. The tractor tiller chewed them up like butter, with no having to stop and clear the tines.