A Rotary tiller, also known as a rotovator, garden tiller, or rotary hoe, is a motorised cultivator that works the soil by means of rotating tines or blades. Rotary tillers are either self propelled or drawn as an attachment behind either a two-wheel tractor or four-wheel tractor. For two-wheel tractors they are rigidly fixed and powered via couplings to the tractors' transmission. For four-wheel tractors they are attached by means of a three-point hitch and driven by a Power Take-Off (PTO).
Self-propelled small rotary tillers
A small rotary tiller known by the trademark rototiller and another, produced by the company Howard who produced a range of rotary tillers, was known as the rotovator.
The rototiller
Rotary tillers are popular with home gardeners who want large vegetable gardens. The garden may be tilled a few times before planting each crop. Rotary tillers may be rented from tool rental centers for single-use applications, such as when planting grass.
The small walk behind rototiller is typically propelled forward (via 1-5 horsepower petrol engine or .8 - 3.5 kilowatts) by the rotating tines and do not have powered wheels, though they may have small transport/level control wheel(s). To keep the machine from moving forward too fast, an adjustable tine is usually fixed just behind the blades so that through friction with deeper un-tilled soil, it acts as a brake, slowing the machine and allowing it to pulverize the soil. The slower a rototiller moves forward, the more soil tilth can be obtained. The operator can control the amount of friction/braking action by raising and lowering the handlebars of the tiller. Rototillers do not have a reverse as such backwards movement towards the operator could cause serious injury. While operating the rototiller can be pulled backwards to go over areas that were not pulverized enough, but care must be taken to ensure that the operator does not stumble and pull the rototiller on top of themselves. Rototilling is much faster than manual tilling, but notoriously difficult to handle and exhausting work, especially in the heavier and higher horse power models. If the rototiller's blades catch on unseen sub-surface objects, such as tree roots and buried garbage, it can cause the rototiller to abruptly and violently move in any direction.
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F210 Honda tiller
Tines close-up |
The rotovator
Unlike the rototiller, the self propelled Howard Rotovator is equipped with a gearbox and driven forward, or held back, by its wheels. The gearbox enables the forward speed to be adjusted while the rotational speed of the tines remains constant which enables the operator to easily regulate the extent to which soil is engaged. For a two-wheel tractor rotovator this greatly reduces the workload of the operator as compared to a rototiller. These rotovators are generally more heavy duty, come in higher horsepower (4-18 horsepower or 3-13 kilowatts) with either petrol or diesel engines and can cover much more area per hour.
Agricultural rotary tillers
Two-wheel tractor The higher horsepower "riding" rotovators cross out of the home garden category into farming category especially in Asia, Africa and South America, capable of preparing 1 hectare of land in 8 - 10 hours. These are also known as power tillers, walking tractors or two-wheel tractors. Years before they were considered only useful for rice growing areas, where they were fitted with steel cage-wheels for traction, but now the same are being used in both wetland and dryland farming all over the world. Compact, powerful and most importantly inexpensive, these agricultural rotary tillers are providing alternatives to four-wheel tractors and in the small farmers fields in developing countries are more economical than four-wheel tractors. |
A rotary tiller for agriculture |
Four-wheel tractor Four-wheel tractor-drawn rotary tillers are attached to a three point linkage and are driven by a power take off shaft. Generally considered a secondary tillage implement the can and are commonly used for primary tillage. The also can also be used for inter-cultivation between and for cultivation between rows of vines, etc.
Other uses
They are used for road making.
Beginning in the 1970's or 1980's, hand operated rototillers were modified to clean the exterior of oilfield pipes. These pipes, either new or used, and in sizes that are just over 2 inches in diameter to 30 inches or larger, were used in the exploration, drilling and production of oil wells. These modified tools replaced cleaning using hand tools, and were ultimately supplanted by machinery that cleaned entire pipe lengths within a few years.The modification replaced the tines with wire brushes. The tool was used by a man walking the length of a pipe (typically 30 or 40 feet), which was rotated.
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