Electric tillers are a priceless garden tool, saving you hard work, sweat, and backache hours. Unlike gas-powered rivals, a battery mini tiller is easy to start, manageable, and a lot more affordable. The following brief review has all the information you need to select the best model for your lawn. Despite their low weight and ease of use, some of the powerhouses are a serious alternative to gas machinery.
Considerations when selecting electric tillers
Manufacturer descriptions for electric mini tillers can be confusing, so let’s start by looking at how you can clarify these triller machines:
- A cultivator is a light-duty machine for turning over and weeding earth that has formerly been dug but needs annual maintenance. It does not break new ground.
- A battery mini triller is a mid-range tool. It would handle both maintenance tasks and more severe digging. It may hold hard-packed soil, but breaking new ground is a challenge.
- A tiller must do it all, from turning turf into a workable plot to hoeing between vegetable rows.
It is corded or cordless- what to buy?
As cordless tools become more powerful, corded battery mini tiller models have less of an advantage. For instance, corded drills have all but disappeared. Though, in heavy-duty situations, such as tilling, corded models are still on topmost. Their only real disadvantage is that maximum extension cable length is about 100 feet — and daisy-chaining them leads to dangerous overheating, or the power drops much because of electrical resistance that the machine doesn’t work correctly. They are not recommended.
40-volt and 60-volt battery mini tiller models provide an effective light-duty alternative. While they may have the power to rival corded versions, the best have run times that are only in the just 30-minute volt range —many will find frustrating. An additional battery will resolve the problem, but they are more expensive. For most, that’s not a hands-on solution.
Other features to focus on:
The following are some more features that help you in buying the perfect battery mini tiller.
- Width: A large tilling machine width means a lesser amount of trips up and down the lawn, so you get the task done quicker. The maximum you can find is 16″. That’s well with empty beds, but round flower boundaries and in between rows of vegetables, you need a narrower tool — so adjustable width can be a large bonus.
- Depth: Digging depth must be variable and easily adjusted. Maximum depth offers a good indication of the power of the battery mini tiller If it is 5 inches or so, it is probable to be best suitable for garden maintenance. If it is 10 inches, it will chop through about anything.
- Safety: Some battery mini tiller models have a lock-on button; you do not need to keep the trigger pressed. Other machines have a “dead gentleman’s handle” — a safety lever that instantaneously kills the triller motor if you let go for some reasons.
- Mobility: Wheels are abundant for mobility on concrete surfaces — you must never “walk” a tiller machine on its tines, as you are likely to harm them.