GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: troy-bilt

Troy Bilt Snow Blower Review & Video – Storm 2690 XP Snow Thrower

Here’s my Troy Bilt snow blower review and video of the Storm 2690 XP Snow Thrower. If you want to move snow, this snow blower does that nicely, even that wet heavy snow, as you’ll see in the video. We have also done some other Troy Bilt reviews here.

At the end of my reivew on this machine, I’ve posted a video of this same rig by my friend Erin of The Impatient Gardener.

My Troy Bilt Snow Thrower Review of the Storm 2690 XP Snow Thrower

First, Troy-Bilt has been a regular sponsor of GardenFork, and this video is sponsored by them, but as always I will be straight with you about my thoughts.

This is a two stage snowblower, which means it has a large spinning auger that brings the snow you are clearing into the machine, and then a second rotating scooper in the back of the unit pushes it up through the adjustable chute and out of your driveway. Two stage snowblowers are much better than single stage blowers, especially for wet snow and storms with more than 4-5″ of snow. For more specs and info here is the 2690 page on TroyBilt.com

Two stage system

This two stage system worked quite well for us this winter. It has been a wet one. Not a lot of big dumper snow storms, but weekly snow that has been wet. Often we would get a mix of rain and snow. The Storm 2690 XP did not fail to toss this mess 20′ away. Nice.

Safe to say it will also take on much deeper snow. It has the power and the auger size to toss the deep stuff as well.

Since we all know I am not great at complete paragraphs, I’ll list out the features here and some quick thoughts on them.

Snow being tossed nicely

The best feature that is worth the extra dollars here is the joystick controlled snow chute. You don’t have to crank a rod or lean over the machine to turn the chute left or right every time you turn to make another pass on your driveway. Your right thumb moves the red knob and the chute turns side to side and points the snow chute up or down.

Chute Control Joystick

The electric start fired up the engine right away – you use a extension cord to start it – no battery. It also has a pull cord, which I used as well.

The heated handles were a bonus, I have never used a blower with those before and forgot this had them until I grabbed the handles to start working the snow.

Hand controls and heated handles.

Muscling a snow blower at the end of a pass is never fun, so Troy Bilt added two triggers underneath the handles to steer to make it much easier to control. Pull the handle and the blower turns. Nice.

Air filled tires

One way to make equipment less expensive is to use solid or plastic tires, and when you are moving snow, you want real tires, IMHO. I was wondering if this snowblower would do better with chains, but for my needs that answer was no. The air filled snow tires worked well. There’s a few times where you will have to tip the snowblower back on its wheels to get more weight over the axle for traction, but I think that is a given with any machine.

Oil Drain Tube!

Attention to detail is something that I think Troy-Bilt does well. A good example is the oil drain pipe on the bottom of the engine. It can be a pain to drain oil from a small engine. The drain plug is usually in an awkward spot, and you will spill oil all over when draining the crankcase. But Troy-Bilt makes it a much nicer experience just by adding in this extension pipe so you can drain the oil easier. Simple = Good.

Also up by the handles, there is storage for two shear pins. If you hit a big rock, these pins break, saving the auger. Having two on hand is a brilliantly simple addition. Yes, you probably have some spare shear pins in the garage, but where?

I did not find any red flags with this blower. I’m not sure why snow blowers have to have 6 forward speeds, but that’s not unique to TB.

Like most everyone, I like to think I can get good stuff at the inexpensive tool store with a nautical sounding name, and sometimes you might find a deal. But with snow blowers you get what you pay for, and I think this one is worth the price.

Here is Erin’s video of the Troy Bilt Snow Blower:

The NY Times product review site, The Wirecutter, reviewed the 30″ version of this snowblower favorably.

Some of the other Troy-Bilt equipment we’ve reviewed:

Troy Bilt Flex Review, One Engine Goes A Long Way

Troy Bilt FLEX Log Splitter, How Does It Stack Up? – GF Video

February 21, 2018
Troy Bilt FLEX Log Splitter, How Does It Stack Up? – GF Video

My video review of the Troy Bilt FLEX Log Splitter attachment. This log splitter attaches to the FLEX power base that also runs the other attachments in this line of outdoor power gear. Watch the video and read through my thoughts below.

Heads Up: Troy-Bilt is a sponsor of GardenFork, I think they are a good company, all opinions are mine. If I don’t like something, I’ll be straight with you.

Troy Bilt Flex Log Splitter: Easy To Store

I talk about this in the video, but the standout feature for me, besides that fact that its a good splitter, is how easy it is to store the splitter attachment. Most wood splitters are large, and you have to store them outside under a tarp. Not great for longevity, and an invitation to mice. With the Troy Bilt FLEX log splitter, you wheel it into the garage, tuck it under a shelf, disconnect the power unit, and you are done. The splitter unit is heavy, about 185 pounds, so you will be using a hand truck or the FLEX base to move it around.

We’ve reviewed some of the other FLEX attachments, and I like how one power unit, (read: one engine) runs all sorts of different outdoor power equipment. That’s one engine you need to maintain, not 4 or 5 of them. Think of the time savings. Only one oil change a few times a year.

I cut some red oak up in the neighbor’s woods, and brought back a trailer load and ran it through the FLEX wood splitter. The machine did well. The engine did not bog down at any time. I ran a few 12″ wide pieces through with no issues. The specs on the Troy-Bilt website state this will take up to an 18″ long log, I put in a few 19.5″ ones, which fit tight, but it worked.

In the near future I think I’ll pick up 4 way splitting wedge for this. Troy-Bilt doesn’t sell one, but is sure makes splitting go faster.

My favorite feature is the auto reverse, which retracts the hydraulic piston back to its home point automatically. Tap the handle to the reverse position, and back the piston goes, stopping on it own. Nice.

The one issue I had was attaching a clip under the direction handle. This is the only assembly you have to do, and getting that clip over what it basically a chain master link was tricky.

One comment I’ve seen a few times is that the wood splitter sits a bit low to the ground. Looking around, most all wood splitters in this power range (8 ton) sit low to the ground.

So there you go, I’m happy to have this in my garage, and not taking up a huge amount of space. Learn more about the FLEX base unit and its attachments on the Troy-Bilt website.

Troy Bilt Flex Review, One Engine Goes A Long Way

September 19, 2017
Eric & Troy-Bilt Volunteer In Savannah – GF Video

This year Troy-Bilt flew me to Savannah, Georgia to meet the other Troy-Bilt brand ambassadors and to do some volunteer work at a local botanic garden. Watch the video:

Working with Planet In Action, we upgraded a children’s garden at the SACGC Botanic Garden. This was quite the project. As usual I was the least qualified gardener on the team, but I did run the rototiller and watered plants.

Here is an area that will be a outdoor classroom for the kids, surrounded by some edible and fragrant plants.

More good things happening here with a bridge over a wet spot in the garden.

Here I am with Kenny Point, vegetable garden expert. Check out his website, Veggie Gardening Tips.

A 4WD Self Propelled Mower Review, The Troy-Bilt 4×4 XP – GF Video

August 29, 2017
A 4WD Self Propelled Mower Review, The Troy-Bilt 4×4 XP – GF Video
Go up hills easy! My self propelled mower review of the Troy-Bilt 4×4 XP. Watch the video and then read through my comments below.

Why I Like This Self Propelled Mower:
- Great Power
- Ease of Steering
- Troy-Bilt Quality
Full disclosure here, Troy-Bilt has been a sponsor of GardenFork for a while now. I wouldn’t work with them if I didn’t believe in their products or their company. I’ve met about 20 people who work at Troy-Bilt and have been using their products for years. They are good people and they make good stuff. Here’s a vid about a volunteer project we did recently with Troy-Bilt

OK, back to the 4 WD self propelled mower. It will pull you up hills.

Yes, its that simple. I took this lawn mower over to my neighbor’s hilly cow pasture and went through 12″ high grass mix up a hill with no problems. And that’s with the mower set the mulching mode.

On the mower handle you can choose front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, or four wheel drive, pretty easy. I used it in all modes but found 4WD worked best for me.

Talking about Troy-Bilt quality, it the small things that matter, like how they attach the gas cap to the fuel tank. Ever lost your gas cap? I have.

I suggest buying this mower with the large rear wheels and the Honda engine. If you change the oil in your lawn mower, it can last forever.

Its easy to adjust the height of the wheels for grass cutting height. Note the larger real wheels, makes it much easier to drive around and steer. Its all about ease of use, why make it hard to cut the grass?

Like most, this self propelled mower comes with a bagger and a side discharge and a mulching mode. I like to mulch the grass, so I did not use the bag feature, but its in the box with the mower if you want to make compost from your grass clippings.

I give this mower a thumbs up, its a quality machine, and the 4WD is brilliant. You will like this rig.

Learn more about this mower on Troy-Bilt site here.

Lawn Mower Oil Change, How To Do It Easy – GF Video

How To Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades – GF Video
August 29, 2017
Troy Bilt Rototiller Review Of The Bronco Axis Tiller – GF Video

Here’s my Troy Bilt Rototiller Review video of the new vertical tine Bronco Axis Tiller. All the rototillers I have used have always been horizontal tine machines that break your back. Watch how this machine goes through sod to make a new garden bed.

FYI, GardenFork was provided this tiller, but my Troy Bilt rototiller review is my own opinion, I don’t say yes to many companies.

What is the Bronco Axis vertical tine tiller? Its pretty amazing. The tines are similar to a dual blade food processor that cuts through sod and soil without bucking like most tillers do.

I used this at a friend’s house, he wanted to convert part of his lawn into a vegetable bed. We fired up the Bronco Axis and it churned through the grass quite well. I was able to steer the tiller with one or two hands, and it never jumped up and out of the path we were cutting.

It has a hood that sits over the tines, so the dirt is not flying, and any rocks the rototiller kicks up stay in the dirt.

One issue is the tiller stalls on rocks about 3-4″ in diameter. This happened to us a few times. The rock can get stuck in the tines, we used a long chisel or piece of rebar and hammer to drive it out.

The wheels are powered and pull the tiller along nicely. It has only one speed, slow. But for the most part, that is good. I found I could push the tiller across the yard faster than using the powered wheels, then fire it up to start tilling. Also, this tiller does not require you to be the ballast, keeping the machine in line and digging into the soil like horizontal tillers do. Much easier on your back muscles that way.

The tines are powered at all times, so if you are driving the machine across your yard, the tines are rotating. The rear wheels, which are tucked under the rear hood, hold the tines up off the lawn, but it be good if you could turn off the tines when driving it to the job site.

This tiller is completely different than any tiller i have tilled with, its quite easy to use, and doesn’t destroy your back in the process.

Teresa of Seasonal Wisdom also checked out this tiller on her site.

You can find more info on the Bronco Axis on the Troy Bilt site here.

July 19, 2016
Troy Bilt Flex Review – GF Video

After using the Flex system all summer, here is our Troy Bilt Flex review video. We used the lawnmower and pressure washer attachments with the Flex power base around the house, here’s our take on it.

Note: This is a Sponsored Post sponsored. Troy Bilt sent me the Flex and compensated me for my time, but all opinions are my own

The GardenFork Troy Bilt Flex Review

I like the Troy Bilt Flex concept of one engine that connects to multiple pieces of outdoor power equipment. Its much easier to maintain one engine than 4 or 5 of them every year.

The power base has a 208cc engine with ample power to run everything that attaches to it. I like that the engine has an oil dipstick and an easy oil drain plug, plus a solid gas cap. The wheels are air filled knobby tires and the power base is self propelled. The handles fold back onto the unit for space saving storage, a nice feature.

The lawn mower has a 28″ wide deck, which is 8″ wider than most walk behind mowers. The front wheels are solid and can be set to free wheel or lock straight for when you are mowing on inclines. Two blades under the deck work nicely. I used the deck in mulching mode, but you can set it for side discharge or you can order a grass collection bag for it.

The pressure washer is quite nice, it will do everything I will ever need a pressure washer to do. It has 5 quick connect nozzles and can generate 3,000 psi of power. You can attach a hose to the pump for cleaning solution injection. I really like that it has a 40′ hose on it. I need to wash the clapboard on our 2 story house, and I don’t have to buy an additional length of hose to reach the 2nd story. This will come in handy if you are washing down large equipment.

The Troy Bilt Flex also has a snowblower and leaf blower attachments that we did not test. I don’t blow our leaves, and it being summer, well, no snow.

August 11, 2015
Troy Bilt Garden Tools Built To Last

I have bought way too many cheap trowels and diggers only to have them break in the garden. Being part of their Saturday 6 group this summer, Troy-Bilt sent me a box of their hand garden tools. I haven’t broken them yet, and I don’t think I will.

First thing that impressed me was the Made In Germany label. ( I am of German descent, FYI ) A sure sign of quality workmanship. And the tools just feel good in your hand. None of that flimsy metal that you bend when you are digging out some roots.

The trowels are made from one piece of metal, so there isn’t a point of stress where the handle attaches to the blade. There are holes in the handle to help grip the trowel, plus the design looks nice too. Simple is good in the land of GardenFork. Stainless steel construction means no rust.

I also received some anvil hand pruners, the Comfort Classic Anvil Pruners. Again made in Germany and easy in your hand. I used these to prune the blueberries, which have a lot of dead wood on them. The grips don’t open real wide so its easy to grip the pruners to close them, a plus for smaller hands. The lock to close the pruners for storage works well, many times this breaks on pruners I’ve used.

And what’s not to like about a pair of big anvil lopers? Cut limbs up to 1.75″ in diameter with these. The lopers are levered so the cutting power is doubled, makes it easier to cut tough wood. Again, a well made German tool, it feels good in your hands, not like its about to break when wrestling with a tough piece of tree.

My Saturday6 friend Teresa wrote a review of the Troy-Bilt hand tools here if you’d like more info from someone who really knows gardening.

So there you go, some nice tools that will last a long time for you. You can learn more about them here.

August 11, 2015
Troy Bilt Flex Review, One Engine Goes A Long Way

Here’s my Troy Bilt Flex review after using the Flex Power Base and the Wide Area Mower and Pressure Washer around the GardenFork Testing Grounds. The testing grounds, otherwise known as my yard, are typical of what your average homeowner has: grass, trees, some weeds, dogs.

Full Disclosure: Troy Bilt has compensated me for my time and provided me with their products. Opinions are mine own, and I don’t work with companies that aren’t a good fit for me or the GardenFork audience. More info here.

I’ve known the Troy-Bilt brand for many years. Their rear tine rototillers are the best, I think, and make life easy, especially if you’ve ever wrestled with a front tine tiller.

So when I was asked if I’d like to try out Troy Bilt’s new Flex system, I signed on. The delivery truck brought 3 boxes of Flex components, and I got 4 free wood pallets from the truck driver. Neat.

Attachments snap on to Flex Power Base

The Troy-Bilt Flex Review

Here’s the way I describe the Flex system: Its all based on a power unit that a bunch of different tools snap onto. The Flex base is like the rear half of a walk behind self propelled snowblower with a PTO out the front that snaps into several different attachments. I like the idea of having one power source and a bunch of outdoor equipment attachments. So I only have to maintain one engine, not an engine for every outdoor power tool in the garage. Plus, you save on garage storage space – the attachments have a smaller footprint – making it all easier to store.

Power Base on left, Mower deck on right

If you’ve ever been on a working farm, all the tractors have a PTO (power take off) shaft on the back and sometimes front to run different machines, this is the same concept for the Flex line.

Right now Troy-Bilt has mower, snow thrower, pressure washer, and leaf blower attachments for the power base, I’m told a log splitter and a few other attachments are in the works. I’d really like that log splitter, it would make fast work of the pines I’ve been dropping for next winter’s sap season.

I chose the Wide Area Mower and the Pressure Washer attachments to test out. The back of my clapboard house has mold growing on it, so this was perfect. We’ll be making a video showing the power washing and mowing this summer.

First I snapped on the mower deck.

What I like about the Troy-Bilt Flex Wide Area Mower:

It feels solid. This is kinda intangible, I know, but you know how some mowers just feel cheap? This doesn’t, it has good feel and nice power.

The power wheels are better, they are pnuematic, meaning they have air in them instead of solid plastic wheels of many self-propelled walk behinds. The rig powers nicely through the lawn. The drive system is robust, unlike many self-propelled mowers that have a small belt that powers the wheels.

The mower deck is 28″ wide, so I’m already saving time from my 20″ wide walk behind mower. Rough math tells me that every 3 passes with the Flex is 4 passes with my smaller mower.

The front wheels spin free, so you can make surprisingly tight turns for such a large mower deck. You can also lock the wheels for when you are mowing on hills for better control.

Front wheels free spin or lock straight

The Flex powers through the yard at a nice clip with enough power to go up a moderate hill. The lever that controls the speed of the wheels takes a few minutes to master, the low end of the range is short, so when you grab the lever, it starts moving faster than you expect at first. You should wear ear protection, the Flex mower isn’t super loud, but it all adds up.

For additonal info on the Flex mower and more, check out their website here.

28″ wide deck = less mowing

I then worked with the Pressure Washer attachment. Here’s where the advantages of the Flex system become clear. I don’t have to own a pressure washer that has its own engine, this pressure washer just snaps onto the Flex base. One less engine to maintain.

The pressure washer comes with 5 spray nozzles and 40′ of hose, plenty to get up to the 2nd floor of your house and wash the siding. It pumps 3,000 psi, which is more than enough for what you all are doing around the house. I used a friend’s power washer a while back and it was made mostly of plastic, this isn’t. Plus I like the hose rack, its large enough to store all of the hose, unlike some other washers I’ve used where the hose storage never works.

I know GardenFork is all about ‘done is better than perfect’, but sometimes the details matter, and the photo below makes that clear to me. When I put gas in the Flex tank, I saw the cap was chained, and the chain was metal, not plastic. It’s not something many would notice, but that tells me the people who designed this designed it to last.

I’ll be doing a Troy Bilt Flex Review video this summer, where we power wash one of the plywood boats, wash the back of the house, and power through my lawn in 2/3 the time it takes with the smaller mower I own.

UPDATE: here’s the video review of the FLEX:

To read more about the Troy Bilt Flex and other outdoor power equipment, here is their website, plus:

Rochelle of Pith + Vigor reviewed Troy-Bilt’s new Bronco Axis Vertical Tine tiller, which I tested out, and its a nice one.

Kenny of Veggie Gardening Tips also wrote a Troy Bilt Flex review here.

Erin of The Impatient Gardener wrote about the Troy Bilt XP Horse Lawn Tractor. Note the cup holder. nice.

Kim of Sand and Sisal reviewed the Troy Bilt 4 cycle trimmer that has a ton of attachments. I got to use this gear when we went to meet Troy Bilt, and its a nice set of tools.

How To Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades – GF Video

June 9, 2015
Troy-Bilt teams with GardenFork this summer!

Back in the middle of winter I got an email from Troy-Bilt asking if I would like to work with them this year. I’ve known Troy-Bilt for their rototillers, which are the Mack truck of garden power equipment, for as long as I can remember. My neighbors have Troy-Bilt equipment from 40 years ago that works to this day.

So yeah, I said yes.

In early March Troy-Bilt flew me and 5 other DIY – Garden bloggers to Charleston, SC for a 3 day get together. Why Charleston? Because when I got off the plane it was 80F outside. What a change from freezing New England. Sap season hadn’t even started and I’m in a t-shirt testing out mowers and tillers.

I got to meet people from Troy Bilt and their media agency, plus the 5 other bloggers, we are called The Saturday6. We toured Charleston, which is a beautiful city full of history, and had several great dinners.

Really humbling was meeting Katie Stagliano, a 14 year old who founded her own non-profit, Katie’s Krops, to grow food for America’s hungry. Troy-Bilt works with her organization, which inspires and helps kids start vegetable gardens to grow food for the hungry. The Saturday6 will be working with Katie’s Krops this summer.

Yes, My eyes are closed.

We spent a morning learning the history of Troy-Bilt, and their plans for the future, and the new products they have for this summer. More on the new products here soon, plus some videos demonstrating their gear.

Then after lunch we went outside and tested the new gear. I’ll be making videos about Troy-Bilt outdoor power equipment and writing about their gear this summer, but in short, they have some great new tools:

The Mustang Pivot is a zero turn riding mower that doesn’t cost a fortune. I was skeptical until I drove it around in Charleston, but it does what the name says.

The Flex system is a power unit with multiple accessories – mower, power washer, snow blower, leaf blower.

The Bronco Axis. A Troy Bilt walk behind tiller with blades that turn vertically. Think of a kitchen egg beater made of steel.

Erin testing out the Axis Tiller

Vertical tines like an egg beater. This rig doesn’t jump around like a regular tiller will.

I’ll be posting more about Troy-Bilt over the summer. You can read what Erin Schanen wrote about the new products here.

I had a great time in Charleston, here are the other garden & DIY bloggers that are part of the Troy-Bilt Saturday6 team this summer:

Erin Schanen theimpatientgardener.com

Kenny Point veggiegardeningtips.com

Rochelle Greayer pithandvigor.com

Teresa O’Connor seasonalwisdom.com

Kim Wilson sandandsisal.com

Full Disclosure, I am being compensated by Troy-Bilt, plus they are giving me some of their products. I wouldn’t work with them if I didn’t truly like their products and the company behind them. As usual, i’ll be open and honest with my opinions about Troy-Bilt and life in general.

March 31, 2015