YARDMAX Dual Rotating Rear Tine Tiller 209-cc 18-in Rear-Tine Dual-Rotating Tiller (CARB)

My YT4565 was a non-starter out of the box. When I pulled the rope it wouldn't even sputter. I thought I would have to return it, and was pretty disappointed. But, since I didn't want to box it back up, I followed a tutorial on FamilyHandyman-com called 'Small Engine Start Up Tips'. My neighbor was going to come over and look at it so I thought I'd give it the old college try at doing my best to start it on my own, before he got there, that way I could really utilize his expertise instead of just get basics. After doing several of the Family Handyman steps trying to figure it out, it finally fired. I think when it fired I had taken off the black plastic thing that is under the air filter. This seems to be a sort of S-shaped 'intake' for the carb. Once as per the tutorial I had sprayed WD-40 into the carb, at some point it finally fired. If you have a complete non-starter you can put WD-40 in where the spark plug goes, and it should fire. This will tell you that your plug is good, and also that the flywheel system (sorry, not too smart on small engines but am learning) is properly generating a spark.The shifter is hit and miss. You have to stay patient. Keep trying, but don't try to force it or you might break it. It's like sometimes where you want to go on the shifter isn't 'cleared' by the transmission until after several tries. Then suddenly there will be an internal thunk and it will suddenly go. I think most of the issues with it are due to the transmission itself, not the shifter design. Sometimes you can jump from Forward in Transport mode, clear over to Forward Rotating Tines on Till mode. This is the entire length of the gear options, but sometimes that is what you are wanting to do, so if you do it by luck, so be it. XD ha ha Sometimes if I was in Neutral in Transport mode, it was hard to get to Forward which is just one slot to the left. Sometimes I could do it by hitting the shifter handle slightly with the palm of my hand. But sometimes I'd jump past it. The point is to don't lose your temper and keep trying. It may take several tries but eventually you'll get to the gear you want. That said, the transmission itself seems pretty capable. And as some others have posted, *slightly* lifting the clutch (the 'drive bar' is what I'd call it) towards the handle sometimes helps it to shift.Reverse is great, I accidentally nosed the tiller into a 3 foot deep ditch at the edge of the garden while tilling, and in Reverse Transport mode it moved back up and out of it just fine. Tilling is great also. Not too hard to maneuver. You just lift up the rear tines to do a 180. You don't even need to stop them rotating if you don't want to.I am happy with this purchase. The Craftsman over at Lowe's for $300 more didn't even have forward-rotating tines as an option, which you really need if you want to till in leaves. In my view the tricky shifting is the price you pay for an otherwise solid machine, at a great price. (I got it for $560 with free shipping.) Have noticed the price has jumped considerably on here in the past few weeks, I assume due to Amazon themselves no longer selling it.(Update 2019-10-27, so about my fourth use of the tiller): Recently had the tiller stop working... it was making a squeal and the engine would rev way down, if I tried to pull the clutch lever up to the handle to get it going--it wouldn't move or do anything at all except quit. Turned out the belt was a bit loose, you tighten it by turning the sleeve up where the cable attaches to the clutch lever. You loosen the nut a little away from the sleeve, then turn the sleeve (so you seem to be tightening the individual strands of the cable even more) 'til it gets up to where the nut is. And now it works again... I love this tiller!!!

Package arrived in good condition and on time. If you are not mechanically inclined I would suggest you avoid this product. Out of the box the belt tensioner would not disengage the drive or tines upon release of the handle. Upon inspection tensioner pulley bracket was bent and rubbing the housing preventing it from disengaging. The tensioner cable bracket was also loose allowing the belt to slip. After fixing these issues tiller works as it should.

Not the least or most expensive tiller, but definitely worth the money. It has all the features I would have wished I had to till 1/2 acre. I'm glad I did not skimp. Well built. Reasonably powerful. My dirt is very compact, so I need to go over it a few times, gradually increasing the depth by a couple of inches each time. But doing that, it breaks up the dirt fine. It can handle small roots and stones, but you would not want to ask it to handle roots more than a half in in diameter.The Briggs and Stratton engine starts with one pull.The only real complaint I have is the engine oil setup. First, the dipstick is located in a place that is impossible to get at. I needed to buy a funnel that was just the right size to wedge in. Second, Briggs and Stratton engines now come with a low oil sensor. But if the engine oil is anywhere less than absolutely full - literally to overflowing - the engine cuts off. As a result, if I am tilling the side of a hill such that the tiller leans any more than say 20 degrees to the left, the engine cuts out. But if I till in the opposite direction, so the tiller leans to the right, there is no problem. I like the idea of an oil sensor, but I don't think it is designed well.

The tiller was fairly easy to assemble. It started easily and handles as expected. It is a light weight front tine tiller so requires some effort to hold it. But the geometry is right and it digs fine (not for previously untilled ground. The engine (I have the 98cc version) is a little underpowered. One has to pay attention so as not to bog it down. The idea of having a oil sensor was laudable. Unfortunately the execution left to be desired. It is in the wrong place in the engine case (it is too high) and, if connected, the sensor detect no oil if the crankcase is filled correctly. Under this conditions the engine will start and immediately shut down. I unplugged it and the engine run fine. You need to check the oil as needed, that's all. Not worth at the $400 full price, but fine at the sale price of $300.