Tiller New King Kutter 6' Tiller

[Todd_C]

I went yesterday and got a new King Kutter II Tiller at my local TSC. I haven't had much time to use it but I did try it out and it seems to be the cats meow.

I wasn't so happy with Tractor Supply Company. It took a great deal of effort to get the thing loaded in my pickup, but four of us and a fork lift managed to get it in the bed of the pickup. I got home and I immediately noticed that I had the wrong PTO shaft. I was given a PTO shaft for a brush hog and it didn't have the slip clutch, so back to TSC (30 minutes one way). They took the PTO shaft from another King Kutter Tiller and gave it to me, so I hope the next person doesn't encounter the same problem.

I get back home and I fill the tiller with gear oil and grease the zerks and darn if the zerk on the opposite side of the gearbox isn't missing. I looked closer and the darn zerk was broken off. I had another one and I replaced it within a few minutes. I saved a few hundred dollars at TSC when I compared a few other tillers at the tractor dealer, but I found that the people working at my local TSC didn't know much about their own products. The guy didn't even know how much gear oil I needed for the tiller. I'll try to get some pics on here soon.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'm glad you didn't associate the service at TSC with the quality and performance of the tiller. You ran in to what I see as "typical" TSC service for the most part. I've dealt with a total of 5 stores, with 4 out of 5 being a little short on employee training, knowledge of product, and customer satisfaction. I don't expect much from them and they meet my lack of expectations almost every time. If they weren't "the only game in town" with most of their product lines, I doubt their over-all success would be at it's current level. They need competition.

On to the tiller! I've owned a KK 6' tiller for 6 years now. It's been put to the litmus test on more than a few occasions. It ALWAYS comes shining through. I've used mine enough to wear out one full set of tines and I'm well on the way to wearing out a 2nd set. And NO mechanical issues, EXCEPT for smoking a slip clutch when I got the bright idea to use it with ever-so-slightly less preload to experiment. Dollar for dollar, pound for pound, there isn't a better tiller on the market. Some folks have issues with the paint, but this is a TILLER, and not a new Corvette. I don't expect a show car paint job. With heavy use, the paint takes a thrashing anyway, so it's a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. As you start using your new tiller, experiment with the lenght of the top link. I've found that in various soil conditions lengthening or shortening the top link can have a dramatic effect on how deep it will dig.

Good luck and happy tilling!

 

[BamaRob]

I have a fairly new 5' KK II tiller. I've used it once to till my dad's garden and it performed perfectly. We have lots of landscaping projects planned for it this summer.

FWJ... you mentioned experimenting with the preload on the slip clutch. I didn't adjust mine at all when I used it the first time. I just put it on the tractor and hit the ground running. It worked very well, but this was in a previously worked garden spot with no roots and relatively few rocks. How do you determine the proper preload? When I start some of my projects, I'm going to be working in areas with roots and rocks (mostly flat sandstone rocks smaller than 1 sq. ft. and 1" - 2" thick).

Thanks,

BR

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I have a fairly new 5' KK II tiller. I've used it once to till my dad's garden and it performed perfectly. We have lots of landscaping projects planned for it this summer.

FWJ... you mentioned experimenting with the preload on the slip clutch. I didn't adjust mine at all when I used it the first time. I just put it on the tractor and hit the ground running. It worked very well, but this was in a previously worked garden spot with no roots and relatively few rocks. How do you determine the proper preload? When I start some of my projects, I'm going to be working in areas with roots and rocks (mostly flat sandstone rocks smaller than 1 sq. ft. and 1" - 2" thick).

Thanks,

BR

I found a new slip clutch on EBAY. The original was 3 years old and had a bit of slack in the u-joint attached to it. I decided to try an experiment and see just how much I could back off the preload. 1/4-turn on the bolts did the trick. The clutch went up in smoke. Even by cranking down the pre-load bolts several turns tighter wouldn't make it "grab" again. It was trashed. I wouldn't recommend experimenting with a slip clutch you intend on keeping. Manufacturers of these slip clutches have a spring "height" for proper loading of the springs.

 

[Todd_C]

I took the day off and took my daughter fishing and my dad, who is retired, decided to play with the tiller. When I got home, he was headed back to TSC. He said he was tilling dirt when he heard a noise. The Yoke on the PTO shaft broke. He said he had the slip clutch set and working. He said he lifted the arms up while the tiller was operating. He then said the tiller started making a different sound and when he lowered the tiller the tiller quit. As I said, one of the arms broke off the Yoke.

He went back to TSC and they told him that the part is $121. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I took the day off and took my daughter fishing and my dad, who is retired, decided to play with the tiller. When I got home, he was headed back to TSC. He said he was tilling dirt when he heard a noise. The Yoke on the PTO shaft broke. He said he had the slip clutch set and working. He said he lifted the arms up while the tiller was operating. He then said the tiller started making a different sound and when he lowered the tiller the tiller quit. As I said, one of the arms broke off the Yoke.

He went back to TSC and they told him that the part is $121. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

I beat the life out of the rearmost u-joint in no time flat. On one of my tractors, I can't raise the lift all the way without the u-joint getting in a bind. I raise it just far enough to let the tines clear the ground when I lift it with pto still engaged. Works fine on other tractors. Make certain the pto shaft has enough "slack". (Not too long)

 

[Todd_C]

Another update on the saga. Dad and I found one of the two missing pieces off the female tube end yoke. Upon inspection, most of the broken area is void of metal. There is a large fissure in the area where the break happened. Dad is going to take the PTO shaft and pieces back to TSC. The Bondioli Pavesi PTO shaft is at fault. I hope TSC gives us another PTO shaft when they see the defect in the metal.

If you look at the attachments you will see that most of the inner metal is covered with black paint.

 

[jinman]

Todd, I think you are getting "TSC'd" in this deal.

My KK 6' tiller came with a PTO driveshaft that was painted yellow like the rest of the tiller. I've tilled my 1/3 acre garden with it at least 8 times and no problems with the slipclutch or any other problem. I know you said that they took the PTO shaft off another tiller, but it seems your TSC is PTO challenged.

 

[john_bud]

Todd,

Since they were already doing the PTO switcheroo, you may have some issues with TSC. Maybe not, but who knows?

On lifting the tiller while in operation, you can break the u-joints pretty fast by raising it too high. Do like FWJ said, just enough to clear the dirt.

Did you find your owners manual on the tiller? Mine was in a bag on the underside of the back tailgate. I found it across 5 acres as it slowly was tilled off !

jb

 

[Todd_C]

I went back to TSC today and I showed the manager the two pieces that broke off the yoke and the yoke. He shook his head and within a few minutes, I had a new PTO/slip clutch that was yellow. The manager said he was going to send the broken PTO back to King Kutter and he agreed that this PTO was defective. When I purchased the tiller, the now broken PTO shaft came from a 5' King Kutter Tiller that was next to the 6' tiller I bought.

I got home today and put the new PTO on and I tilled several areas with no problems. I'm just glad this is over.

 

[BamaRob]

My 5' KK II tiller came with a yellow (if that means anything?) PTO shaft/slip clutch. I don't recall ever seeing a black PTO shaft with a KK tiller (perhaps on the XB line?). I'm not saying KK isn't at fault, but as readily as the TSC personnel switched the shaft, you got to wonder where that shaft actually came from.

Good luck with it.

BR

 

[Dougster]

My 5' KK II tiller came with a yellow (if that means anything?) PTO shaft/slip clutch. I don't recall ever seeing a black PTO shaft with a KK tiller (perhaps on the XB line?). I'm not saying KK isn't at fault, but as readily as the TSC personnel switched the shaft, you got to wonder where that shaft actually came from.
Good luck with it.
BR

Just went down to TSC in Griswold, CT this afternoon with my truck and trailer to pickup my brand new KK 6' tiller, which came in on Wednesday. It's 120 miles round trip... not a cheap or fast ride.

Both 6' units they had in stock had black PTO shafts & slip clutches. As usual for TSC and KK, they were both a bit beat-up, globby paint & rust everywhere and the crates were falling apart... one almost completely, the other weak and leaning badly.

For reasons unrelated to the shaft/slip clutch color (or globby paint/rust), I decided to cancel the order on the spot and look for a smaller offset unit elsewhere instead, even if it will cost a lot more. Now you folks are making me very glad I made that decision! I was bumming at the time. That was a l-o-n-g ride home with an empty trailer.

Funny but I just had a very bad feeling looking at it sitting there that this was not the tiller for me after all. I still love TSC... and KK too... but this 6' tiller had clearly been sloppily built, poorly painted, badly crated, mishandled by TSC and was going to be impossible to get home half-uncrated (with no other wood around anywhere with which to brace it) without big problems.

Dougster

 

[DaddyRabbit]

Doug, you definitely made the right decision.

Just went down to TSC in Griswold, CT this afternoon with my truck and trailer to pickup my brand new KK 6' tiller, which came in on Wednesday. It's 120 miles round trip... not a cheap or fast ride.

Both 6' units they had in stock had black PTO shafts & slip clutches. As usual for TSC and KK, they were both a bit beat-up, globby paint & rust everywhere and the crates were falling apart... one almost completely, the other weak and leaning badly.

For reasons unrelated to the shaft/slip clutch color (or globby paint/rust), I decided to cancel the order on the spot and look for a smaller offset unit elsewhere instead, even if it will cost a lot more. Now you folks are making me very glad I made that decision! I was bumming at the time. That was a l-o-n-g ride home with an empty trailer.

Funny but I just had a very bad feeling looking at it sitting there that this was not the tiller for me after all. I still love TSC... and KK too... but this 6' tiller had clearly been sloppily built, poorly painted, badly crated, mishandled by TSC and was going to be impossible to get home half-uncrated (with no other wood around anywhere with which to brace it) without big problems.

Dougster

 

[crbr]

Just went down to TSC in Griswold, CT this afternoon with my truck and trailer to pickup my brand new KK 6' tiller, which came in on Wednesday. It's 120 miles round trip... not a cheap or fast ride.

Both 6' units they had in stock had black PTO shafts & slip clutches. As usual for TSC and KK, they were both a bit beat-up, globby paint & rust everywhere and the crates were falling apart... one almost completely, the other weak and leaning badly.

For reasons unrelated to the shaft/slip clutch color (or globby paint/rust), I decided to cancel the order on the spot and look for a smaller offset unit elsewhere instead, even if it will cost a lot more. Now you folks are making me very glad I made that decision! I was bumming at the time. That was a l-o-n-g ride home with an empty trailer.

Funny but I just had a very bad feeling looking at it sitting there that this was not the tiller for me after all. I still love TSC... and KK too... but this 6' tiller had clearly been sloppily built, poorly painted, badly crated, mishandled by TSC and was going to be impossible to get home half-uncrated (with no other wood around anywhere with which to brace it) without big problems.

Dougster

Good call Doug.......

 

[Dougster]

Doug, you definitely made the right decision.

Good call Doug.......

Well, maybe yes, maybe no. Certainly more time to investigate and consider other options cannot be a bad thing... but it will not be easy or cheap finding an alternative tiller... full width or offset... that will cover my 68" (min) to 70" rear track.

If I can find something, great! I'll even take the shipping risk... which has burned me badly in the past. An offset would clearly be easier to lug around and probably even faster to use in the relatively small spaces folks seem to want me to till. This is not big farm country here in Eastern Taxachusetts. We are talking mostly soggy clay back yards, new front lawns and modest (by most standards) vegetable gardens.

Worse that happens is that I don't find a decent alternative and I go back to TSC with my tail between my legs hoping and praying to find one that looks halfway decent in a crate that's not falling apart. Next time I'll bring the equipment trailer and all my chains instead of the dump trailer with nylon tiedowns. I'll bring lots of wood as well to brace it up for the long, bumpy ride home.

But if I get down there and get that bad feeling deep down in my gut again that this is STILL not the tiller for me, I'll make sure I find something else at TSC to buy to make that nasty, expensive ride worthwhile!

As God is my witness, I am not anti-TSC or anti-KK. I've bought plenty from them before and will probably buy plenty more in the future... but when my gut suddenly says "no" so clearly, I've got to listen.

Dougster

 

[Todd_C]

Dougster,

I don't know if this will help, but the reason that I went with the KK tiller was because of prior owners on this site and a farmer down the road. I spoke to a guy down the road who had been using a KK tiller for the past five years. The guy said he abused the tiller, but he said it never stops. I looked at another brand at my local tractor dealer, but I couldn't justify another $700 for pretty paint.

The problems that I have had with my KK has been minor. I blame my problems on Bondioli-Pavesi, the maker of the PTO shaft. I do fault KK for their poor shipping crate design. This is the reason that I had to take a black colored PTO shaft. My 6' tiller did not have a PTO shaft on the crate. My local TSC had four 5' tillers and all had the black PTO shafts. The manager at TSC said they mostly sell 5' tillers. I know that the 6' tiller that I purchased had been on the lot for over 6 months because I have looked at the same tiller twice before I bought it. When the manager gave me a replacement PTO shaft, I received a yellow PTO shaft. I feel that this was the PTO shaft that came with my 6' tiller, but it was misplaced because the shipping crate on my tiller was in shambles.

Yesterday, I had to attend a picnic for my wife's workplace, so I did not get a chance to use the new tiller. My dad said he was going to till a new garden spot. When I returned home, my dad had tilled about a 1/4 acre spot. He said he did this within two hours. The tiller churned up a few small rocks and roots without any problems. If you can live with the poor paint quality and the poor shipping crate, then I would recommend the KK tiller. I just had a few problems with quality control and a lack of product knowledge from a TSC employee.

 

[Dougster]

Dougster,

I don't know if this will help, but the reason that I went with the KK tiller was because of prior owners on this site and a farmer down the road. I spoke to a guy down the road who had been using a KK tiller for the past five years. The guy said he abused the tiller, but he said it never stops. I looked at another brand at my local tractor dealer, but I couldn't justify another $700 for pretty paint.

The problems that I have had with my KK has been minor. I blame my problems on Bondioli-Pavesi, the maker of the PTO shaft. I do fault KK for their poor shipping crate design. This is the reason that I had to take a black colored PTO shaft. My 6' tiller did not have a PTO shaft on the crate. My local TSC had four 5' tillers and all had the black PTO shafts. The manager at TSC said they mostly sell 5' tillers. I know that the 6' tiller that I purchased had been on the lot for over 6 months because I have looked at the same tiller twice before I bought it. When the manager gave me a replacement PTO shaft, I received a yellow PTO shaft. I feel that this was the PTO shaft that came with my 6' tiller, but it was misplaced because the shipping crate on my tiller was in shambles.

Yesterday, I had to attend a picnic for my wife's workplace, so I did not get a chance to use the new tiller. My dad said he was going to till a new garden spot. When I returned home, my dad had tilled about a 1/4 acre spot. He said he did this within two hours. The tiller churned up a few small rocks and roots without any problems. If you can live with the poor paint quality and the poor shipping crate, then I would recommend the KK tiller. I just had a few problems with quality control and a lack of product knowledge from a TSC employee.

Hi Todd - For what it's worth, these two 6-footers in Griswold had black PTO shafts and slip clutches too. I don't think the black ones are just intended to be for 5-foot (or smaller) only. I think this is the newest part... and it might be weak or otherwise flawed based on your report.

I have read the same glowing reports here on TBN and that's why I tried to put aside the globby paint and dents/scrapes/damage and rust and the horrible way these things are crated, shipped, handled and stored by the folks at TSC. I was prepared to live with all that because almost everyone here on TBN feels they are a good bargain. But in the end, I couldn't bring myself to plunk down $1,700.00 (with tax) of perfectly good money for something that was made and mishandled so poorly. When the time came... standing there in the yard with my truck and trailer ready to load... I simply couldn't bring myself to do it. I just kept thinking there has got to be a better alternative to this ugly monster... and it sure didn't help that the shipping crate had pretty much collapsed to the point of making loading and a damage-free trip home almost impossible. I am not overly impressed with the forklift skills of the TSC folks after my last two 3-point purchases.

Lord knows I have not ruled out going back if I can't find anything else that will cover my 68-70" rear track. But I'm just not ready yet to pay out good money for something so crude and mistreated. Maybe some other day... but not quite yet.

Dougster

 

[Farmwithjunk]

We're talking about a tiller here, not a new Corvette. The KK tillers AREN'T "poorly made". I'm not axactly a fan of MOST of what King Kutter sells. Too lightweight, too flimsy for the sort of hard work I expect out of my equipment. However, their tillers are a decent piece. The paint isn't show car quality, but this is something that's about to be grinding up dirt. With any significant use, even shiny paint and slick metal will be worn, scratched, and maybe even dented. The crates are (barely) adaquate for shipping. What happens to them once the local TSC starts in on them with an inexperienced fork lift operator has nothing to do with KK. Also, look at how some truck lines handle (mis-handle) crates. That doesn't help the end buyer, but it's beyond KK's control once it leaves their hands.

Once upon a time, KK exclusively used Eurocardan pto shafts. They were generally all painted the "CATERPILLAR yellow" KK paint scheme. Of late, I've noticed several alternative brand shafts. Some are black. No real red flag there. I've also seen TSC employees "cannabalize" one tiller (or mower) for the sake of another with a missing part. (probably because that one was cannabalized at an earlier date)

KK is a bargain brand. It would be totally unreasonable to expect every implement they sell to be 100% perfect. It is however, up to the retailer to stand good for any shortages, broken parts, or major flaws. They assume that responsibility once they accept your money.

I've tortured a 6' KK tiller for almost 6 years. It never faultered. (with the exception of a u-joint I was responsible for breaking by raising the tiller too far, puting the pto shaft in too much of an angle. and the slip clutch that I mis-adjusted just to see what would happen. Don't ask...;( ) They aren't meant to be pretty. Good thing, 'cause they aren't. What they ARE is one of the best tillers in their price range, and a good product over-all.

I wasn't there during this transaction, but I'd go out on a limb and say most, if not ALL of your beef is with TSC. BTDT.

(By the way, I bought my KK tiller at another vendor. Couldn't be any happier with the way they handled the transaction)

 

[Dougster]

We're talking about a tiller here, not a new Corvette. The KK tillers AREN'T "poorly made". I'm not axactly a fan of MOST of what King Kutter sells. Too lightweight, too flimsy for the sort of hard work I expect out of my equipment. However, their tillers are a decent piece. The paint isn't show car quality, but this is something that's about to be grinding up dirt. With any significant use, even shiny paint and slick metal will be worn, scratched, and maybe even dented. The crates are (barely) adaquate for shipping. What happens to them once the local TSC starts in on them with an inexperienced fork lift operator has nothing to do with KK. Also, look at how some truck lines handle (mis-handle) crates. That doesn't help the end buyer, but it's beyond KK's control once it leaves their hands.

Once upon a time, KK exclusively used Eurocardan pto shafts. They were generally all painted the "CATERPILLAR yellow" KK paint scheme. Of late, I've noticed several alternative brand shafts. Some are black. No real red flag there. I've also seen TSC employees "cannabalize" one tiller (or mower) for the sake of another with a missing part. (probably because that one was cannabalized at an earlier date)

KK is a bargain brand. It would be totally unreasonable to expect every implement they sell to be 100% perfect. It is however, up to the retailer to stand good for any shortages, broken parts, or major flaws. They assume that responsibility once they accept your money.

I've tortured a 6' KK tiller for almost 6 years. It never faultered. (with the exception of a u-joint I was responsible for breaking by raising the tiller too far, puting the pto shaft in too much of an angle. and the slip clutch that I mis-adjusted just to see what would happen. Don't ask...;( ) They aren't meant to be pretty. Good thing, 'cause they aren't. What they ARE is one of the best tillers in their price range, and a good product over-all.

I wasn't there during this transaction, but I'd go out on a limb and say most, if not ALL of your beef is with TSC. BTDT.

Believe it or not, I understand, accept and agree with almost everthing you are saying here. I understood going in that this was going to be a crude, ugly beast... bought to do serious hard work... and that it would lose half of that ugly, globby paint in the process... and then start rusting 10 times worse than "as bought" the minute I was done. Despite all this, I *STILL* couldn't bring myself to buy it.

You are also right that half (or more?) of my beef is with TSC. Why they can't treat a serious piece of machinery with a little respect and reasonable diligence is beyond me. And when I asked on the phone, why couldn't they have been honest and told me that the gosh-darned crates were falling apart so bring down the equipment trailer rather than the easier, more convenient dump. And why KK can't spend 1% more to fully crate them like the big boys and Italian machines is beyond me. It's like they are purposely trying to maintain this image of the super-economy brand and this is a vital part of their "shtick"... crappy crating!

But maybe I am not getting across my point very well... and it is this: I don't have a lot of money left. I am not rich or even "comfortable" like many of you folks. I worked long and hard for the little money I've got left and this tiller will be the fifth largest (and largest remaining) purchase I will have made to start my struggling little landscape assistance business. I am down to crumbs now and this has *GOT* to be a purchase and product I can rely on because my economic survival actually depends on it. In the end, despite all the glowing TBN reports and my need to cover a 68-70" track, my eyes and gut told me that this was not the tiller for me. I still may be forced to come back to it, and I will if necessary, but the importance of this tiller to my business really demands considerably more research and probably a larger investment.

Dougster

 

[MA1920]

... I couldn't bring myself to plunk down $1,700.00 (with tax) of perfectly good money...

Dougster

We need a TSC in Central MA. I priced a 6' KK tiller at a local tractor dealer a couple weeks ago: $1999 plus 5% sales tax. You guys near a TSC are fortunate.

Bob