Sun Joe 16-inch 13.5-Amp Electric Tiller + Cultivator (Model # TJ604E) 

Unpacking:

 

Assembly:

Assembly is quick and fairly easy.  There are a couple of ambiguities and discrepancies from the instructions to the actual assembly.

• First, you attach the middle handle to the lower handle using the 2 modified carriage bolts and knobs.  The instructions don’t point it out, but you may not be able to get the cable clips on to the middle handle unless you first slide them onto the middle handle before attaching the bolts and knobs.  My tiller came with 2 cable clips and the instructions only show one.  I used both of them, positioning them to the upper & lower parts of the middle handle.

• Second, there is an issue with the carriage bolts.  They are not ordinary carriage bolts.  The head on those bolts provides a concave surface that should align along the axis of the handle.  If you are not paying attention, you could easily rotate the square part of the head of the carriage bolt 90 degrees in either direction.  If you do that, the connection will be insecure and will probably allow for movement/play at this connection.  I suspect that aligning the head of these modified carriage bolts incorrectly is what motivated some other reviewers to recommend adding hose clamps to “better secure” these connections.  Even the picture of the tiller on the outside of the box it came in shows one of these bolts installed incorrectly.  The instructions don’t mention this issue and they should.

Bolt Head Alignment: Correct on left side. Wrong on right side.

Adjustments:

The only adjustment is the wheel position.  There are 3 wheel positions and you can easily change the position by placing the tiller upside down, pulling out on the spring locked wheels and allowing them to spring back and “lock” into another position.  Being an electric model it’s nice not to have to worry about oil or gas spilling out when you place it upside down, but don’t forget to unplug it when you are working on it.   I’m sure it could amputate a limb in a fraction of a second.

• Lowest position = Transport
• Middle position = Work position (low)
• Highest position = Work position (high)

Restraint Hook:

The tiller includes a restraint hook and a cord insertion hole in the handle to remove strain on the plug connection and on the cord connection as it enters the tiller.  I had problems with their system.  Because the tiller’s motor is 13.5 amps it requires a 12 gauge extension cord for a 100-foot length.  Without a thick enough wire, the motor will lose power and overheat.  My 12 gauge 100-foot extension cord is 11mm thick.  The hole in the handle is too small for it.  You are supposed to bend the cord to create a loop and insert the loop into the handle’s hole.  I cannot insert it through the hole in the handle without bending it too sharply and risking breaking the internal wire strands of the extension cord.  The restraint hook is too small also.   It was very difficult to place that cord into it and it began cutting through the extension cord insulation during the attempt.  I will have to work out a modified system to relieve strain on the cord that doesn’t damage the cord.  I shouldn’t have to do that.  Below is a video showing a workaround to the cord strain relief issue and how to adjust the wheel height:

 

Use and Effectiveness:

Immediately upon using it, I could see why this tiller got such high reviews.  It IS very powerful and does a thorough job quickly.  Here is a sample video of me clearing a bald spot in my lawn in preparation for placing sod over it:

Here is that section of lawn right after the bald spot was covered with a sod patch:

 

The above areas of the lawn took about 5 minutes to till.

I was worried that it might break easily if I struck a thick tree root.  When you strike a deep root the tiller just bounces up a few inches and you just keep away from that area afterward.

Dethatching / Aeration / Overseeding:

I was looking for another tool that would provide a way of aerating the lawn for the purpose of overseeding a lawn.  It is common to get areas of lawn that thin out.  Those areas are not so bad that you want to till it to an 8″ depth and start over completely but need some new additional grass seed to thicken up.  Tools are available to do this of varying effectiveness that cost between $25 and $2000.  Most of the less expensive tools don’t work all that well.  I discovered that you can use the Sun Joe Tiller to do this job.  When you start tilling an area of the lawn it begins by cutting holes and grooves in the sod.  If you go over an area once or twice very quickly with the tiller it will dethatch and aerate the sod.  This leaves most of the original sod intact but allows a surface that can accept the application of grass seed.  The seed will then settle to the bottom of the holes & grooves.  Using this method:

• You don’t need another tool
• You can aerate a very large section of lawn in very little time.

Final Thoughts:

I am very pleased with the performance of this tiller.  I was having trouble deciding on whether to get the 12 Amp version or the 13.5 amp model.  Given I wanted the ability to till larger areas of possibly hard soil, I opted for the more powerful model.  Reviews of the 12 Amp model are also very good, and if you go with that model, you might be able to get away with a thinner gauge extension cord.  It is certainly much less expensive.

Sun Joe Website

13.5 Amp Model on Amazon

12 Amp Model on Amazon