Ashes to compost

[LLigetfa]

OK, so what does this have to do with gear? My roto-tiller is what.

I've got this huge compost pile that's a few years old. My mower clippings, leaf mulch, chainsaw cuttings, and ashes all get dumped in a small clearing. I turn the pile from time to time sometimes with a pitchfork and sometimes by running over it with my rear tine tiller.

My tiller is and older model Troy-Bilt Bronco with a narrow wheelbase and B&S;Intek engine that gives it a very high centre of gravity. There is not enough weight on the wheels to hold it back and it sometimes runs away on the forward rotating tines. Also, as soon as you get any side tilt, it wants to fall over. I had a heavy chunk of railroad track bungee corded to the base of the handle and while it helped on level ground, it had too high a centre of gravity.

I bought 25 lbs of barbell weights to mount on the axles between the wheels. This put the weight exactly where I needed it. Here are some pics of the compost pile last fall, this spring after tilling it, and the weights on the tiller.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I've had the same floating issue with my 3 pt tiller. I picked up a middle buster at an auction this weekend. It does a nice job of turning up the material on the bottom. Once the material is on top the tiller makes quick work of it.