“HEAVY BREATHING” Jun 4, ’11 9:12 PM
for Vero’s network
I did hear (could have been Vic) some heavy breathing yesterday morning, but thought it was just hubby and I tryin to get the blankety-blank tiller to start.
We have an old Troy-Built that is as faithful as it gets… starts second pull every time.

After finally getting the mud dried up I was merrily tilling away and stopped to rake a bit. When I started the tiller again it took right off as usual, ran a few seconds, and started going “put put put” and belching black smoke. I shut it off and ran for hubby.

He checked every moving part, squirted it with some foul-smelling stuff but nothing seemed to help. (Even the usual well-placed kick didn’t work this time)

Now it wouldn’t even “put put”.

We left it sitting for several hours while we contemplated going out to get a new one figuring it had died of old age.

He went back to take another look at it and in a moment he said, “I think the tiller is fixed. Try it.”

I gave it a yank and sure enough…it purred like a kitten!

It seems the two little cog wheely things that engage to control the choke had slipped awry somehow, and the choke wouldn’t shut off. It was trying to run with the choke on. When he poked at them he heard a click. They popped back in place and now it works as if nothing had happened.

Who knows, maybe even tillers can play dead if they feel like a good rest.

Gardeners added note: I have now gone electric!