RYOBI 25.4 CC Gas Cultivator Review

I love it

"The Boss (wife!) wanted me to dig up a strip of lawn along side our drive and walk ways to plant flowers in. I resisted the idea for four years, because I knew that it would be a long, back breaking experience. I also knew that a full-sized tiller would do the job quickly, but they were also expensive, and would cut too wide a swath. There were several mini-tillers available, but I "knew" they were too light weight to break through the tough sod and hardpan clay we have here. Finally, she talked me into buying the Ryobi. All the way home, I thought we had wasted our money.



My opinion went up a bit when I assembled the unit. The parts were sturdy, fit well, and assembly was as easy as anybody could ever hope for.



Starting the engine was a bit tricky. I have found that I have to play a bit with the throttle (with the tines raised off the ground) to start easily.



Much to my amazement, the little tiller ripped through the sod like a much heavier model. I was able to prepare the flower bed strip in less than two hours, saving me a huge amount of time and labor. If the thing had died right then and never worked again, it still would have been worth it. I have since used it on several other projects around the house, and it has performed like a champ.



The only tip I can give is this: If your job needs more tiller weight, DON'T fill the reservoir with sand. Go to your local sporting goods store and buy a bag of lead shotgun pellets, the type used for reloading "birdshot" shotshells. You can get in far more weight per volume with this than you can with sand.



All in all, I am very pleased with this tiller. The Boss was right again!"