Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller: Review

Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller

Review of the Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller

The Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller had 409 customer comments and 55 answered questions on Amazon.  I’ve read through the feedback and condensed the results into this review.  I hope that this helps you when shopping for a tiller.

Best Features

  • check ​Powerful for the small size
  • check Lightweight and easy to maneuver
  • check Low price
  • check Easy to assemble
  • check Comes with oil

Item Specifics

The Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller is made for weeding, mixing and aerating.  It has on-board wheels that adjust for transport and depth control.  An overhand control reduces bouncing and jumping which will allow you to remove weeds and not your plants.  This tiller is covered by a 5 year warranty.

Hard to Start

A common complaint was that the Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller is hard to start. This is a gas powered tiller/cultivator so it will not be as easy to start as the electric tillers.  People who had problems starting it also commented that once it gets started, it runs well.  One customer explained it this way, “Pull start is a little tight. While I have no difficulty pulling the starter on this tiller, my wife, who is much smaller than me, could not pull it.  For her it was tight and awkward to do while holding the throttle.  If you doubt your ability to do the pull start, explore the electric start version of this tiller.  It’s a little more, but it may be worthwhile.”

Powerful for Compact Size

This is a compact and lightweight tiller.  Yet, despite the size, customers commented that it was very powerful.  One went so far as to say this, “No matter how much they stress that this is a cultivator and mainly for turning loose soil, this scrappy little beast has the power and will to get down and dig.”

Easily Adjustable

The tines come off with a  cotter pin.  The wheels slide up and down in three positions. The left side of the wheels axle is spring-loaded, so you pull out to release it, move the wheels at will, then release to lock it.

Wheels

Most of the people that bought this tiller liked the wheels.  The wheels make it easy to transport from your garden to storage.  One customer had this to say about the wheels, “I like having the wheels, whereas other tillers like the Mantis don’t.  Makes it easy to move even when the tiller is turned off. You can pull them up out of the way if you really want to dig into the dirt.  The throttle is variable speed too, so you can go slower to maneuver around delicate plants, or ramp it up when you need full power.”

Runs Loud

As with most gas powered machines, this tiller also runs loud.  One customer had this to say about the amount of noise that it made while running, “Obviously, it’s a 2-cycle gas engine. It’s loud. I believe it’s in the 90 dB range. Not a dealbreaker, but definitely wear your hearing protection. Maybe I was a little spoiled on the last electric tiller I tried, where I could use it near the house and you couldn’t hear it inside. This one you can definitely hear it indoors even from the back of my yard.”

Easy to Assemble

There are no tools required to assemble the Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller.  Once you take it out of the box, you simply screw on the handlebar assembly with the supplied screws that can be hand turned.  It arrives pretty much ready to go right out of the box.  A person that bought this tiller had this to say about the ease of assemblage, “First the assembly was incredibly easy, a total of 4 bolts to attach the handles and this thing is ready to fire up. You don’t even need a wrench to tighten it. I had it ready in about 5 minutes from taking it out of the box.”

Lightweight

This is a lightweight tiller.  It weighs in at 35 pounds, so it’s going to be easy to store and maneuver.  Some of the lightweight tillers tend to jump because they are not heavily digging into the ground with its weight. But this tiller doesn’t jump like many of the other lightweight tiller do.  A customer had this to say about the weight, “One thing I noticed about this tiller versus other lightweight compact tillers is that this one doesn’t seem to “jump” as much as other ones did when you hit hard soil, rocks or other obstructions.”

Comes with Oil

The Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller comes with its own 2-cycle oil.  There is no need to wait until you go and buy the proper oil before you use it.  It comes with its very own 2.6 oz bottle of 2-cycle oil, so you’re ready to go.

earthquake garden tiller

Pros

  • plus Lightweight 
  • plus Great price
  • plus Powerful for size

Cons

  • close Hard to start 
  • close Loud

Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller Conclusion

The Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller comes ready to work out of the box. Assembly takes just a few minutes and it is ready to go.  It even comes with the oil that it needs.  The qualities that people really liked were, the wheels, the power and the fact that is is lightweight and comes with oil.  Some down sides are that it is loud and hard to start.  Overall, most customers were very pleased with this tiller.  For a gas tiller/cultivator it is priced low.  Keep in mind though that this is a lightweight tiller/cultivator and not a heavy duty tiller made for large jobs.

Common Questions

Here are some top questions that I found for people considering buying an Earthquake Mini Cultivator Tiller.

  • chevron-circle-right How effective is this tiller aerating for reseeding a yard?  The max depth you can get on hard ground is about 4 inches and this is going over the area twice. If you have a really big garden, you might want a bigger tiller.
  • chevron-circle-right In the comparison chart and the video it states 5 year warranty…I am confused about the 1 year warranty?  All earthquake products have a 5 year warranty now, the information will be updated.
  • chevron-circle-right Will the tines move forward and backward or only in one direction?  The tines will only move forward. 

Related Article: Finding the Best Garden Tiller – Our Top 10 Picks and Reviews

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