Ryobi 40V Rear Tine Tiller kit RY40720 with four 6Ah batteries

[@sherryhenderson1538]

Thank you for the voice over rather than talking while putting it together 😊.

[@HalDIY]

Thanks!

[@carlriley6403]

A great video, I appreciate you taking the time to make it

[@TheOriginalBumper]

I live in the burbs and would most likely would never buy a tiller but watched the entire video, very good review and assembly. This is the most expensive Ryobi 40 volt tool kit I've seen at over 1300.00 dollars . Four 6AH batteries is also the most I've seen in a kit. Still waiting to see if they will ever release the 12ah batteries in any of their equipment aside from the zero turn mowers.

[@HalDIY]

I believe this tiller shares some of its design with the 40V snow blower RY40870 which is also 4 40V 6Ah batteries and is in a similar price range. 6Ah batteries currently run about $200 each so that is well over half the kit cost. My whole garden will be 40x40 (1600 sq ft) when we grow into it in the next year or so, plus I have some other projects in mind where a tiller could be an unusual help. I agree in the burbs with a smaller garden it would be tough to justify this much tiller power. A smaller front tine cultivator may be a better fit there, something like the Ryobi RY40730 with a single 40V 6Ah battery currently priced about $500. There are plenty of fuel power tillers and cultivators but those are noisy, more maintenance, and in some places illegal now. Ryobi just announced their new 80V 10 Ah batteries with iDrive zero turn mowers.

[@fastsetinthewest]

I paid $1133.00 with discounts. It's on the way. Plus, I got another 3% off my credit card. Eaglegards... P.S. Did you see this Chris? I have the Ryobi 21" lawn mower and really like it.

[@fastsetinthewest]

My package arrived today. Bottom and top open. The delivery SOB put it out at the end of the garage on the box end and where anyone could see it too. Ryobi didn't tape the box. Still don't know if I got all the parts. I'm totally ticked off. My next step is inspection and assembly. It was 107 degrees today. I'm assembling in my air conditioned sun room. My watermelons look great here in Texas. I appreciate this video. Eaglegards...

[@HalDIY]

Sorry to hear your delivery was so bad. Hope all the parts are present and in good shape.

[@fastsetinthewest]

Thanks for the reply @@HalDIY . Upon inspection the parts appear here. I'm laughing because the handle wire assembly has no instructions about sliding the rubber bulb into the handle so the bolt will go through it. Mine was detached out of handle. I finally had to put soap on it and that did the trick. So far handle is on and looking good. Best to you. Eaglegards... P.S. Nothing like AIR/C while assembling.

[@davidwho8215]

If it only had a PTO attached tiller, that could be be removed, in order to drag ground implement tools, like a cultivator, so it could do something other than just tilling. Tillers set up like this basically only have one easy use. I know, it’s called a tiller, not a 2-wheel tractor, but what a missed opportunity.

[@HalDIY]

That reminds me a bit of the old David-Bradley two wheel tractors I used long long ago (no PTO however). You would need to add a LOT of ballast to the Ryobi to get enough traction to pull a ground engaging implement, it just doesn't weigh a lot.

[@readingwoman1964]

Question. How far should the hitch pins be inserted? All the way to the end or just to middle? It pushes easily to the middle and is very difficult to push to the end. I’ve never built anything like this so all new info for me. Second question. The tines should not move when placed and pinned to the tine bar, correct? Thank you!

[@HalDIY]

The shear pins go all the way through then the hitch pin only needs to go half way to secure the pin from slipping out. If you hit rocks there is a good chance you will shear the pins and I have not found a source for the original pins. I did get some 5/16 by 2 inch shear bolts by STENS from HD but you can get similar shear bolts other places. Do not be tempted to put in stronger bolts to prevent shearing as that will only transfer high forces into the transmission and cause very expensive damage there. Yes, replacing shear bolts is a hassle but it is way better than having major damage to the machine. You are correct, the tines should barely move (wiggle just a little due to pin and hole size tolerances) after the shear pins are installed. Wishing you great luck and fabulous results with your tilling!😃

[@carlriley6403]

Could you tell me how to distinguish between right and left, if standing at the rear using tiller is that the way to tell or standing in front of tiller looking to rear thanks for your help.

[@HalDIY]

For me it is standing at the rear holding the handles in normal operating position that I refer for left, where the speed control is at my left hand. Buy some 5/16 shear bolts because if you hit rocks it can cut through bolts really quickly. Bolts are cheap, new transmissions are way expensive, so don't buy stronger than grade 2 bolts thinking to save on bolts. These Ryobi 40V tools have huge torque when you load them down.

[@carlriley6403]

@@HalDIY Where do you purchase the shear pins

[@HalDIY]

@@carlriley6403 Home Depot has STENS 5/16 dia 2 inch shear bolts that will do the job. Internet #313276150, Model #780-011, UPC Code #023899344437, Store SKU #1005396771. Other box and hardware and tractor stores will have similar bolts. Avoid bolts that are threaded the whole way as the threads can chew up the axle holes. Snow blower shear pins are often 1/4 inch are are not strong enough for tiller use. I have not found official RYOBI shear pins available or even a similar type of clip in pin.

[@goaheadmakeourdayscooterpe9644]

Junk batteries that don't last at close to 200.00 a piece. Check it out.

[@HalDIY]

I will be watching the reliability over time and will follow up if I see an issue. So far they have been doing the job but I am a low intensity user.

[@nigel8649]

Mine was garbage! Cuts off all the time.

[@HalDIY]

I have found two things that could contribute to that problem. First, make sure the 'key' is shoved down all the way till it seats hard. Second, it you get in rough ground and rocks that make the tiller bounce it can cause one or both of the operator handle side batteries to release their latches and pop up. Easy enough to push back down but even ramming them down doesn't stop them from popping loose if the tiller starts bouncing again. It can get downright irritating if you can't avoid tilling in rocks. I'm toying with ideas how to block the latches but still let me remove the batteries for charging.

[@Pro1er]

@@HalDIY Someone in another review said the the latches were designed to release the battery during heavy bumps, you may want to check with their tech support before modifying anything.

[@HalDIY]

Thanks for that info! It makes perfect engineering sense to protect those batteries from impact so you aren't inducing shorts and fires and burning the garage and house down. I didn't see any reasonable way to modify the latches anyway. Best procedure is to just stop tilling boulders!