Latest reviews about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

PaulCarter says "Great tiller." about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

PaulCarter — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:23:14 GMT

I purchased this tiller a little over 2 years ago because I wanted to get back into gardening. My previous tiller was an old front tine tiller that was alot of work to use so when I decided to get a new one I wanted a rear tine since I had used one before and liked how much easier it was to control. I went to my local Sear's store and talked with the owner and he recommended this one.This will be the 3rd season that I have used this tiller and it still impresses me every time I use it. It always starts on the first pull and is powerful enough to break the soil up completely on one pass. I can walk beside it and steer it with one hand. It does all the work. I love the duel rotating tines because I set it on counter rotating to initially break the ground and use the forward rotating setting to culitvate between the rows throughout the season to keep the weeds down.After using my tiller my brother and a friend of mine both bought one too and have had the same results. It was by far my best...

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inahurry says "Biggest piece of junk I ever bought from Sears" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

inahurry — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:02:03 GMT

Well lets see. Bought on Special in January in box. Went to put together first of May and missing a bunch of parts. Took back to Sears and they swapped it for one already assembled. Went home tilled garden and shifted hard. Called Sears Tech added 3 tubes of grease to tranny. Went to till the garden in this fall, and it quit pulling. Took it back to Sears and they put in a tranny. Got home and almost to the garden and quit again. Another call to Sears tech claimed belt was off (my wife said he was using a hammer on it). Now when engaged sounds like a hammer in it. Sears refuses store credit and looks like I'll be stuck with another one. Or a cheaper on for the price of this. Don't buy. Don't buy. Don't buy. If you do buy program Sears number in your phone.

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euforia51 says "So Far, So Good..." about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

euforia51 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:57:02 GMT

I picked this up as a customer return and got an excellent deal on it for light use around the yard. So I'm already biased.

When I got it home, the belt had come off after pushing it around a few feet; as many other users had stated. However, you should know this was a simple fix by adjusting the belt keeper tabs with a pliers then making sure the belt cover is installed properly. I did this once and still no problem.

This thing is a beast! I use a shallow till depth with the tines rotating forward and make multiple passes instead of trying to churn up too much in one pass. My yard is full of buried, small to medium size granite boulders, in hard red clay, and it just skipps right over them with no problem turning the clay soil into very nice usable dirt. You do not need to use a lot of down force to churn up the soil.

It is a little tricky to get it into gear using the tines. But the handle height is adjustable and I found it goes into gear much easier when it is the lower position....

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michiganmike says "the belt comes off too easy" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

michiganmike — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:53:07 GMT

don,t by this the belt came off 3 times in less then 1 hour i loaded it back up and returned it (the same day). the people at sears were great and returned my money so hats off to them but for the tiller 2 thumbs down.

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Lordsearider says "for the price ....... buy it ........ it's worth every penny" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

Lordsearider — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:40:21 GMT

I have been looking for one of these for sometime. looking at different brands, checking hardware stores, web sites, etc, etc. After reading reviews, comparing prices, I had picked the 17 in craftman, rear tine tiller. So i began doing the order on line, but desided to take one last trip to Sears, None was on the floor, but as i was leaving seen one in the clearance line. $350.00 marked down, Gave it a look over, looked brand new, with a few rust spot on the shafts and even had the rubber tit things on the tires. well i'am not much on the "buying used" thing. Well went back in the store talked to the salesman. The salesman gave me that an older gentleman had bought it and it was to heavy for him to move around. Yep, my thoughts went to that used can with one owner, Old lady, that never drove it, yadda, yadda. However; I bought it on the spot, set up the delivery for monday (this was friday). Went home, and waited. started thinking of the reviews I read, and wondering why, it was...

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CraftsmanOwner68 says "Typical China made junk motor makes it cheap but not worth it." about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

CraftsmanOwner68 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:37:29 GMT

Very poor quality. Do not buy. The motor is listed in the Northern Equipment catalog for only $150.00. The typical Briggs or other reliable US motor is $500.00.

The motor is quite cheap in every way possible and so is the transmission and belt drive. You have to work the drive handle very slowly or the belt will just pop off of the pulleys.

My purchase experience was also quite poor. I purchased on line for local store (30 minute drive one way) pickup the same day. When it was given to me parts were falling out of the box. I should have stopped there but I needed to get going as my wife and three children (3, 5, 7 years of age) were waiting. Once home I found that the hardware kit to install the handle was all but gone. A quick call to the store and I was directed to return the unit. Once returned I had to go all the way down to the lawn and garden section to order a replacement. For my trouble they gave me an additional 10% discount and told me that it would...

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Dynamicrenovator says "This Craftsman tiller has a learning curve but proved to be good" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

Dynamicrenovator — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:27:18 GMT

I bought my Craftsman 17" 29908 tiller as a returned product although it looked brand new. I read the reviews before picking up the tiller and was very concerned. The unit started up very easily and really surprised me with its power and ability to prepare the ground. Gear selection takes some time to get used to and I realized if the selector is between gears, it will lock up and stop the engine. after about 1 hour of use, I have the gear selection down. I have cut through some fairly large roots and kicked out quite a few rocks without any shear pin problems. The sheet metal could use some work to reduce rattling. I did experience recoil starter problems as the spring came loose. I could have taken it back but I fixed it and it has been fine. My good deal on this tiller is better every time I use it. I would like to use it more but it is so fast, the job is over too quickly to get much time behind it.

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Camel24hrs says "Peice if Junk" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

Camel24hrs — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:38:09 GMT

I used this 17" rear tine tiller for 3 days. It was really hard to shift and would die often when shifting. The engine is a chinese knock off of a briggs and ran to rich and lacked power. There was no adjustment to adjust the fuel air ratio. On the 3rd day it would not even start. I took it back to sears for a complete refund. I have owned several tillers in my life and this is absolutley the worse one I ever owned. Start with the engine, you can buy this engine online for 179, the same Briggs engine will run you close to 500. That should have told me something about the quality of the engine. And even if the engine had worked well I still would have returned it because of having to fight the shifter everytime I wanted to shift. I did not have the problem of the belt coming off like I have read on other reviews, but that is most likely because I did not own it long enough for that to happen.

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CarltonCountyMN says "Worst tiller ever purchased" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:45:08 GMT

I returned this tiller for a full refund within 2 weeks after purchase. The drive belt came off every time I tried to till anything. Shifting is nearly impossible as it is VERY hard to change gears. It is a very heavy tiller but does not have much power on harder soil. Engine died often while changing gears. Very poor quality....

Anonymous says "17 inch tiller" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:00:06 GMT

I used tiller 45 min and tine cover chewed up tires.The transmission does not shift well at all maybe sears sells this for sand soil only?...

Farmerguy says "Works fine." about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:00:14 GMT

So far it has worked good. The belt did come off once, so when I put it back on I bent the holding tabs together a little and it hasn't bothered since. It does take some playing around to get it to shift, but not a big deal. It does a great job of working up the ground. Easy to start....

drpuppers says "tiller" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:45:04 GMT

We have had our for about 5 years . Runs great as long as we dont loan it out . Has more than paid for its self ....

pooped says "My new Lawn Ornament and Small Claims Suit" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

pooped — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:06:33 GMT

Lifelong Craftsman supporter.

Brand new HEAVY DUTY Rear tine tiller to replace a 1955 model. Filled with gas and oil, ran the machine 60 feet until the TINE SHAFT (tine axle) shreaded like aluminim foil. The tears and breaks in the metal were similar to a sledge hammer into the side of a cast iron tub. It cut the dirt rows great until the truth in its manufacturing surfaced. My 1955 Tiller was the old standby, and will remain that way. So far, Sears has decided not to support me or the machine and side with operator neglect, claiming I hit rocks. In a field that has been cultivated for years, I wonder what they consider rocks? The Heavy Duty label must be a nice thing added by a copywriter.

They want me to pay fully. No chance. I want American Integrity back.

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TOPSOIL says "impressed" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Sat, 23 May 2009 11:00:05 GMT

Just used my tiller for the 1st time today. I filled it with gas and checked the oil and started on first try. Everything fine until I stopped at my garden till job and then tried to move forward with no response. Good thing I read the earlier reviews and thought I remembered someone mention the drive belt coming off. There seems to be to much slack in the cable. So I adjusted it to the max....well maybe a little past but I got sick of taking the belt guard off. That seems to work and I will call Sears repair when my job is finished. I did a 20x20 garden with hard clay soil and after many passes I was impressed with the performance although the engine seems to labor on the first pass. The paint does look good and so far im satisfied....

Anonymous says "get a spare one" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:30:09 GMT

At least if you buy one of these, you will get exercise returning it several times. Belt comes off every time you stop tilling. Unit is so heavy it just sits still and tires spin. If you stop and try to change gears the trans gets jammed. Buy a spare one so you can tow the first one out of the middle of your garden. (I gave it a 2 rating cause the paint looks good)...

TexasFarmboy414 says "Good machine that does it's job" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:30:45 GMT

I have used tillers and other farm equipment for 50+ years. None are perfect and all a little eccentric and in need of a little tweaking. This tiller is no excption. I bought it, followed the manual for assembly and preparation. It started first crank and then I put it to work. I use it on a 50' X 100' garden. It performs flawlessly with plenty of power. The shifter is a bit contrary, but no more than other farm implements. It has made maintaining the garden a breeze and chewed through roots and few rocks without any problems. No sheared pins or engine strain. I would add that no machine of this weight and power should be taken lightly and care should be exercised in it's use....

Anonymous says "Stars don't mean anything" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:30:05 GMT

I looked at about 5 different manufacturers of tillers before I bought this one. Poulan, Troybuilt, Husqvarna, MTD, and Craftsman. I bought this one because I felt I was getting the most tiller for the money. So far it has been a good tiller. The Troybuilt was half the tiller for similar $ and is still made by MTD. The Husqvarna was $200 more for the same tiller. I have the same problems as others with the belt throwing off now and then. I also have a problem with the drive lever cable catching on the gear indicator. It will be a problem until the cable gets replaced. It can be somewhat tricky to get into gear at times but all these are minor problems. Also, the tiller was missing the drag stake when I bought it. Didn't realize it until a month later when I started using it and Sears parts shipped me a free replacement no questions asked. The support on the phone was excellent. All in all I am very pleased with it after only having it for a few months now. It seems to be a solid machine......

Anonymous says "terrible" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:15:06 GMT

5/1/09 I believe there is a mechanical defect with the pulley design on this tiller. I'm working with tiller number 3! This is the last time I'm giving it a try. The first one would not run, and number 2 would not go into gear. Now that I have the third one it won't keep the belt on the pulleys, and the belt is starting to shred after only a few hours of work! It is not worth it. Find another brand....

TheDudeAbides says "Realistic Expectations" about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:30:05 GMT

First thing, if you're reading these reviews, don't waste your time on the 1 stars and the 5 stars. Those extremes will offer little objective opinion. I had some reservations about buying this tiller based on those 1 star reviews I read. Bought it anyway. Turns out, it's just about exactly what you'd expect. Not perfect, but not a piece of junk either. I researched some others (my ol man's had a Honda for 15 years without a bit of trouble, but those things are too salty for me). I thought then, and still do, that this Craftsman would give me the most bang for my buck. Yes, it does take a little finesse to shift gears and you will smoke the belt a couple of times until you get the hang of it. And speaking of the belt, it will come off the sheaves a couple of times until you tweak down the little keeper tabs near the smaller sheave. Minor adjustment. Not the end of the world. Shear pins - I've tilled up a wheelbarrow full of rocks the size of baking potatoes and did not have any shear pins......

Stilwill says "This could use some tweaking. But its All Right." about Craftsman 17 In. Dual Rear Tine Tiller

sears-feed — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:15:05 GMT

1st let me say that this is a good tiller. My only problems were putting the thing together and shifting gears. Took me a couple of days after work to put together and it just didn't feel like it was put together right. Shifting can be tricky sometimes like to shift to another gear you had to kind of push it to get it to click or pull it. 1st day I used it something went wrong and called for Warranty work. The man was out next morning and fixed it in 20 minutes. Said something about belt housing wasn't close enough to keep belt on. But I would recommend to others because these are little things. The LCT engine is O.K. so if your expecting B&S engine this one will do just nicely. One of the better pieces of equipment I've bought....