(ET) Back to tilling....

[Chris Zach <cz alembic crystel com>]

I ran the sprinkler on the front lawn for a day, and looked into the 
tiller jumping the chain. The chain is still *very* loose but does seem 
to engage. So I put some chain oil on it, ran it for a bit, then put the 
cover back on.

Tiller works normally. Noisy of course, but dug a foot plus down into 
the dirt with relative ease. It's back in the shed, ready for this 
fall's leaf plow-under.

Thoughts:

1) The chain is loose. If anyone else has a tiller and can check the 
chain tension from the pulley to the drive gear, I would appreciate it.

2) The big pulley feels a bit loose. Might be a bolt, or a bearing.

3) Putting oil on the chain and in the little oil hole seems to stop the 
chain jumping problem.

4) The belt feels loose, but I think it's supposed to be that way. With 
it loose it can easily till anything rational and if the auger jams or 
something happens the belt will slip before it damages the drive system. 
Also I think it helps to insulate the motor bearings from shocks.

5) The tiller is *HEAVY*. Going uphill I stopped, then started and had 
the front of the tractor come up. Not going to flip since the tiller is 
on the back, but still not good. Recommend tilling with a weight box up 
front or the mower deck.

6) I need to come up with a way to secure the power cable while tilling. 
Or replace it with a shorter cable and a switched outlet on the back but 
I'd rather not do that.

If I wasn't worried about rusting it, I would leave the tiller attached 
to the tractor with the snowblower in the winter. Not only would it be 
an excellent counterweight, but you could lower the tiller and use the 
tines for extra *TRACTION* :-)

The Elec-trak never fails to amaze me.

Chris