Full Overview

Earthwise 8-1/2 amp electric tiller - cultivator. Dual 4 blade steel tines has a cutting width of 11-Inches and tilling depth of 8 1/2-Inch. Perfect to meet your gardening needs.

Technical Details

- Electric tiller cultivator
- 120 volt, 60 hertz and 8-1/2 ampere
- 11-inches cutting width
- 8-1/2-inches cutting depth
- Dual 4 blade steel tines

Tiller has great amp to price value. For those considering purchase it may help to elaborate on the ad photo. In the photo it may appear the handle is crooked or bent, and thus flimsy or weird design. Actually by design the sturdy handle is symetrically angled for very comfortable grip, comparable to where one's hands would be on a vehicle steering wheel. Handle is great, photo is poor.

Tiller design is simple yet sturdy and convenient. Wheels can be quickly raised or lowered without tools. In normal garden soil the tiller works effortlessly. No problem to grab handle on top of motor and lift tiller onto new raised strawberry bed.

In hard packed red clay sod that has never been planted, the tiller can do the job. But it takes time and work by operator because pulling tiller backward is quickest method in sod.

A fist-sized rock jammed the tines. Because there is no reverse, best solution is stop instantly and don't try to force the stalled motor. Remove the tine bolt and that side's tines. If the bolt is bent and threads mashed, best to replace bolt and nylon locking nut. Actually, before using tiller, best to remove a tine bolt and nut and take to hardware store and buy some extras. Manual says M8 x 40. At Ace, metric bolt was 47 cents and nylon locking nut was 37 cents. The rock bent one tine, but a hammer blow quickly straightened it like new. 13 mm socket with short extension necessary. Keep nearby to remove grass and weeds from tines.

During hours of tilling sod the tiller maintained speed and never made worrisome sounds or smell. Because tillers leave a gap in the middle where the gearbox is, cross tilling or overlapping tilling is normally advised, even in the Earthwise manual. But because the Earthwise is so light you can sway slightly from side to side and till that little strip as you go. The TC70001 is also great for hillside tilling. You can easily lift the lower side as you till and make a terrace.

Cord management takes a little planning so the cord isn't in the tiller's path. When tilling backwards I put the cord over my shoulder.

There are a few minor negatives: The cord retainer edges are sharper than necessary and bite into cord. Probably best to position cord at different length each time used. There is difficulty seeing recessed large and small plug spades to align into extension cord. A wrap of duct tape with black mark at normal position of ground wire helps quickly orient the plug. The 10 page English manual is better than a common instruction sheet. But lacks details for non-mechanics such as "make sure the square shoulder under bolt head fits into the square notch on outside of handle frame." Assembly is easy 15 minute job.

After several days' hard use I can report the tiller does all I hoped it would do. I'm happy and would gladly make the purchase again.

Got it in 3 days, The manual is worthless! But it was very easy to put together it took 20 min if that, seems to be well made. It did a great job on my garden, have a lot of clay so it had a real work out! But it did a very nice job blowing through it. A must have for small gardens my is 12x25, so it fits my needs great! No more gas power for me, Also it is very easy on your ears. And at a $119.00 it's the lowest price tiller out there.

I live in the San Fernando Valley of California and needed to break up hard-packed dirt in a pretty big area (40'x10'). I purchased the Earthwise unit with some trepidation, but it's the best $$ I've spent lately. It had no problems breaking up the ground into nice workable soil at least 6"-8" deep. No overheating, very little wrapping of roots around the axles, even though some sections had quite a bit of wild grass & weeds growing. I have no hesitation in recommending this unit for typical gardening chores. It's a great timesaver!

I purchased this tiller a little over a month ago for my small, 16 ft. x 16 ft. vegetable garden. I waited until now to write my review because I wanted to have a really good "feel" for the product before I posted my thoughts.

I had already turned the ground in my garden, which had been lawn area for years, with a garden fork; but the thick grass and roots would not allow the ground to loosen and break up. I ended up with a 16 x 16 patch of grassy clumps that I couldn't rake or plant. To break up the clumps I tried various cultivators: A garden weasel ended up all tangled with grass and roots and wouldn't turn. My Garden Claw just loaded up with the grassy clumps. I even tried sharpening my hoe and using it to hack at the clumps to break them up--a very labor intense and slow process. I was at my wits end. I began to realize that the only way I was going to be able to loosen the soil effectively was going to be with a roto-tiller. I figured I'd need to rent one at a local rental center, but when I learned it was going to cost me $80.00 for a half day, I started looking for other alternatives.

I came across this Earthwise TC70001 11-Inch 8-1/2 Amp Electric Tiller/Cultivator at Amazon.com. The first thing that caught my eye was that all but one of the reviews were 5-stars, and the only one that wasn't at that time was 4-stars. If not for that, I don't think I would have given this machine a second look. And even then, after reading all the reviews, I still doubted that a light-weight electric roto-tiller could have enough power to do what I needed it to do. But I figured, what did I have to lose? Even if it didn't work for breaking up the clumps this year, I'd still be able to use the machine to till the garden in future years after the soil had been prepared the first time. So I decided to give it a try.

BOY, AM I GLAD I DID!

In a word, this thing is FANTASTIC! First of all, I was amazed at the power it has. It effortlessly churned out rocks bigger than my fist. Needless to say, it chewed through the grass clumps and roots with ease. I did stop a few times to untangle debris from the tines, but it was easy to remove and in just a few minutes I'd be up and running again. The power is more than adequate. It digs through the soil, even Michigan clay, without bogging down, leaving a loose, mealy planting bed in its wake. I tilled the entire garden twice--first north and south; then east and west. The whole job took about 3 hours. I've since used the tiller in other areas of my yard like flower beds and areas of the lawn that needed leveling. I am truly impressed with the results.

The main drawback that I see is the machine's light weight. When it hits something solid in the ground, like a root or large rock, it wants to jump and buck like a rodeo bull. You just need to be ready for it when it happens. Overall, though, it is very easy to control.

For just about 50% more than the cost of renting one of those gas monsters at our local rental center for a half-day, I was able to purchase this tiller that I will be able to use for many years to come; not only in my vegetable garden, but my flower beds as well. Quite honestly, I don't think I've ever been more satisfied with a purchase. I wish I could give this thing more than 5 stars! (Of course, the service I got from Amazon.com (including the free shipping) was impeccable as always.)

PROs:
1. High amperage - this translates to High Power. More than enough power for a small tiller.
2. Low cost - makes this tiller a tremendous value.
3. Well made.
4. Simple to use.

CONs:
1. Light weight - so if you hit something solid in the ground, like a large root or rock, the machine tends to jump violently. Not a huge disadvantage, however, as long as you are aware of this tendency and pay attention.
2. Narrow width - limits the effective usage of this tiller to smaller gardens. But this can also be an advantage--you can easily use this machine to till between rows in your garden and other narrow areas where a larger tiller won't fit.

This little tiller starts instantly acts like it has ravenous appetite hungry for work - nothing could stop it until job finished! Dug thru the Tennessee clay and rocks easily. I was very surprised and happy with this little hard worker!!

Purchased this tiller at Wally's for thirty bucks less. Sorry Amazon - either price match or expect the obvious.

Pros: Nothing better in its price class. The Black and Decker cordless has weak battery issues and the 2 and 4 stroke tillers are out of my price range for the limited amount of tilling I do every season. The TC70001 packs plenty of punch when its tines are free of debris. Ideal for dethatching and scratching bare spots for Fall lawn patching. Will chew through sifted gardens in a flash. Easy to assemble and handle in the field.

Cons: When weeds and garden flora wrap around the tines this tiller will choke to a halt. It took me longer to remove debris from the tines versus the actual time it took to till the intended project. Cord control is dicey. Tiller is lightweight and will hop like a jack rabbit on a hot tin roof when striking fist sized rocks. Keep a tight grip. Weak manual instructions.

If Earthwise can figure out how to prevent this tiller from wrapping flora in its tines it would easily earn five stars. Best used in sifted garden soil. Not recommended for hard panned unsifted topsoil or debris infested gardens.

I purchased this the first week of April 2011. I live in Zone 5, central Illinois. This is only my second year vegetable gardening, but I loved it so much, I am excited to do it every year now! I wanted my own tiller for weed control as well as prep in the spring. I just assembled this on 4/9/11. It took me, alone, 20 minutes tops to do it. SIMPLE assembly, hallelujah! You only need a Philips and even then, only 4 screws to tighten with that, and 4 wing nut and bolts you tighten by hand. Solid metal body, nice looking tines. I will use it within the next few days and then update this review on it's performance. I just wanted to get another positive review on for this because the price is amazing...cheapest out there and it has more amps and till span. Looks great so far. My only concern is that the tines are only removable by unscrewing them...or so it appears. That could be problematic if you get a mess of weeds in there, but I have a feeling this little devil with make quick work of the ground and I won't need to stop and yank things out. I will update soon!

Pros:
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- Quite powerful, easily cuts through clay dry soil
- easy to move, carry, place

Cons:
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- Very bad packaging from both Amazon and the Manufacturer. (Amazon encases the manufacturer's box into a shipping box). .. mine arrived with a dented handle due to the box being squashed during shipping. Problem now is: should i live with it or replace it and wait for god-knows-how-long till amazon has it back in stock?

- the area between the center and the 1st blade is rather large causing almost any weed, grass, plants,etc. to just wrap around it. it is a pain to clean

- No reverse, so as a result cleaning the blades as mentioned above or trying to free a jammed stone requires one to disassemble and reassemble the blades

- it is relatively light so it jumps up while tilling, i don't know if it is a con though, the tiller does its job fine.

can't beat it for the money. It works great. I don't think there is anything out
there that can beat it.

I have been turning the garden over for years prepping for the viggies,the way my dad had done it ,the old fashion way, breaking my you know what,then I bought this little unit and gave it a try wow good bye shovle my old friend I shhall never flip the soil by hand again, great unit for the small garden,my garden is about 20 x 10,best unit for the money.