Kitchen Garden Forum

Thank you all for your advice. I am very happy now I have used my Tilly. My only regret is that I didn't buy one sooner. Now I know how they get the soil perfect on the gardening programmes. I did end up using it with the wheels on as I still can't get the hang of the depth bar.

Happymouse, be careful, if it says not to use the wheels it could be that they (or their mounting point) are not strong enough to cope.

We Have had one for 3 years and hubby never goes down the lotty without it it gets a loverly tilth up for sowing seeds
Fuchsia

Hello Happymouse
I have the lawn scarifying tines with my machines and these are used with the wheels fitted so perhaps tilling with wheels simply means that you won't be able to dig so deeply as when the skid is fittted.
John

When digging the action of the rotors tends to try and twist the machine on its skid, as this is narrow, it can pivot, hence the action Happymouse is having trouble with.
So when the wheels are on the machine can no longer pivot on the skid, the wheels being further apart do not allow this.
Therefore the torque load is placed on the wheel frame and its monuting point on the machine.

My merry tiller has a large cast steel mounting bracket for the skid, and the hole which was once | | is starting to go ) ( with wear. If I were to leave the wheels on in use, I think I would very soon cease to have an o shaped pinhole through the wheelframe and would also loose the pin, again due to wear, as these are not the same thickness or hardness of metal as the skid and socket.

It won't go after one use, but the wear rate will be accelerated and with time a sudden failure could also occur.

Many thanks for the warning Peter. I will have another go with the bar. It is a joy to use it with the wheels but it would be silly to damage a new machine.