Ariens tiller does its job with balance, power, design - evaluation

Flower & Garden Magazine, Feb-March, 1985

The kind of tiller you use can make garden tilling a chore or a pleasure. This is true whether it be small, large, front or rear-time tillers. Some are too large and bulky for home gardens, some are poorly balanced, hard to start or made for limited tilling.

The new Ariens Model RT 7020 rear-tine tiller was a pleasure to work last fall at Flower and Garden's demonstration garden. It was just the right size for our use and produced plenty of digging power for preparing our dry summer beds for a green manure crop. It tilled a 20-inch swath with its 16 tines, each 14 inches in diameter, and easily tilled to seven inches deep. This machine would handle all the tasks of a serious home vegetable garden.

The tiller's 320 pounds are well balanced for easy lifting and turning. Its well-constructed steel components are assembled into a sleek design, devoid of bulkiness and unnecessary clutter and projections.

The conventional turning tines readily churned under spent vegetables. The special lug-type tires ae mounted backward to prevent tine action from pushing the tiller forward. It is often recommended that rear-tine tillers should be operated at low engine speeds to reduce any lunging tendency. The 7 horsepower cast-iron Tecumseh engine was powerful enough to do this easily at a steady pace.

You change tiller ground speed from low to high by the selector-lever on the tine hood. A belt-position change on pulleys also adjusts for high or low tine and ground speeds, making four speeds forward and two in reverse. The forward and reverse motion of the tiller is controlled by the main clutch rod mounted on the left side of the handlebar control panel. Although a separate tine clutch controls the tines, the main clutch must be engaged to set them in motion. Neither the wheels nor the tines go into motion until the easy-to-reach main clutch rod is engaged. Push forward for forward motion and hold back while backing; rod will not lock in reverse for safety reasons. Mid position is neutral. Tiller transports from storage to garden without tines turning.

An engine guard came installed on our tiller. It is of sturdy tubular steel and protects the engine from accidental damage. It allows easy accessibility to the enigne for routine maintenance.

The battery powered starter on our tiller was a convenient feature. The pull-type starter remained installed for a backup should it be needed. The 12-volt battery was mounted in the open for service and removal.

The adjustable handlebars swing from side to side by pulling the handlebar positioning lever on the handlebar panel. This lets you walk to the side of freshly tilled soil.

A flat metal shoe controls the tilling depth. It rides on the ground in back of the tiller tines, and adjusts with a spring loaded pin that snaps into one of the series of holes in a bar projecting up through the tiller hood. The type of soil and its condition detemine how deep this should be set. Usually the depth guide is adjusted for shallow tilling on the first pass over sod or hard soil, and adjusts lower as tilling progresses.

Accessories for the tiller include a hiller-furrower, front-mounted 40-inch dozer blade, engine guard and side shields to enclose the sides of the tine housing.

Besides this 7 hp tiller, Ariens makes two other rear tine models (5 and 8 hp) and a full line of front tine tillers. For more information, write: Ariens Co., Dept. FG, 655 West Ryan St., Brillion, Wis. 54110, or see your Ariens dealer.