Sun Joe TJ601E Tiller Joe 9-Amp Electric Garden Tiller/Cultivator

I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive in ordering an electric tiller. But so far, it has exceeded my expectations and chugging along very nicely. I have clay soil and when i first tried it, I thought I had made a horrible mistake. The tines just bounced off the packed clay and it made no progress at all. Turned out, I had just picked a particularly hard spot on my yard to start, and once I powered through that spot, the tiller worked very well. I found that spraying some water first helped as well.So far, I tilled around 2000 sq. ft. of mostly packed clay soil. My backyard was previously sodded and the blue netting keeps getting caught up in the tines but that doesn't seem to slow it down. Some tree roots and larger rocks to get stuck and I have to stop occasionally and dig those out. I don't think the tines spin fast enough to cut through the roots. It may be due to my somewhat wimpy extension cord. Better gauge one might allow the full 9 amp of power.I also found that a slight yawing movement helps cutting through the tough area. Basically, I let the tines spin up, and then lift the handle, allowing the tines to bite in, then I yaw left and right, and alternate that movement with up and down. Once in a while, I lift up the tines completely and let them spin. I think electric motor is cooled by an integrated fan/fin so if you're letting it bog down constantly, it's not spinning fast enough to cool it. So far, no heat-related shutdown at all.I'm about halfway done with my backyard project (breaking up clay on about 3000 sq. ft backyard, tilling in soil amendment and fertilizer, and laying new sod) so I'm hoping it can survive through that because I think the job might be tough enough to break a gas tiller down. For what I paid, I'm not necessarily looking for something to pass down to my kids. If it survives, then I can use it for my vegetable gardens.

Making purchases over $100 over the internet always makes me paranoid, regardless of what it is or how much money I am making. I am more worried about not getting what I ordered; whether it is shoddy or has missing/broken parts then the actual money. I invest time, energy and effort into finding the best deal that is going to work for my situation. I needed a tiller, I just cleared out all my gravel so my yard has not seen grass in a decade or more. I also live in AZ so combine dry compacted hard desert dirt with bits of gravel (you can't get rid of it all) and with clumps of Bermuda grass here and there and you have my front yard. It rained last night so I thought today would be a good day to go out and try this new tiller I bought (the Sun Joe) and get the yard ready for winter grass. Bear in mind, I broke both my arms back in June and they are aggravating me; using a mower hurts after about 15 min. I went through my entire front yard in an hour (and I have one of those reverse pie lots, mini back yard, ginormous front yard). That tiller tore through everything; it chewed through the Bermuda, it didn't stop once for any of the gravel and it ate through that compacted dirt like it was compost. The tiller never once showed signs that it was going to quit and it was super light to boot. When going through grass it liked to hop a little because of how light it is, but I just slowed my pace down and it would grab hold and go through it. When I was done, there was no mess on me and no allergy problems (remember the fact that it did rain the night before so no dust in the air). My arms were a bit tired, but not in pain; I highly recommend this product and no you can't borrow mine.####update 10 years later, still have the sun Joe and it still works great

I got this Sun Joe tiller thinking that the small garden I have, would be easy to till. I tilled half of it. Then a seal on the gearbox where the tines are broke loose and all the oil came out of the gearbox. Then the tiller didn't have any power at all. Not even if you let it walk by itself. The tines barely turned. So I called the manufacturer. They were very helpful. They sent me another tiller. It only took three weeks to get it. I noticed that the tiller they sent me was used. I didn't expect a used one. So, I tried the (new/used) tiller for ten minutes and it stopped turning. Gears jambed up inside. I could hear the motor humming. WOW, what a waste of money.So, I called to inform the manufacturer. Supprise. No one answers the phone. A message said there is no one available leave your name, phone number and email address. That was it. So, I did. That is where I am now. HahahaI have never had so much trouble with anything as I am having with the Sun Joe Tiller!!!