Comments on Mantis tillers?

[Paul]

That's an important point. Many people don't even like to read the manuals. Of course they are going to have problems starting the engine next season.

I enjoy the tough little mantis. I actually used it for the initial breaking of the sod on my garden. It got grass tangled around the tines the first time I tried it, but then I mowed the area short and the Mantis chewed through the clay like a champ. It also pulled up some substantial sized rocks out of the planting bed. I started piling them up next to the 20 x 30 garden area and will have a good amount of nice looking river rock for decorating.

Mine still starts on the first pull. All it takes is a few minutes of maintenance, from time to time.

Paul

[zxcvbob]

I have 2 Echo chainsaws and an Echo weed trimmer, and a 4-cycle mower, and a new Honda tiller that is too new to make a judgement about its reliability. I run the same gas in all the 2-cycle engines, and I run them dry in the fall or whenever I'm not gonna use them for a while.

The Mantis tiller is the only one I've had any problems with; I thought it had an Echo engine. The Mantis is the only one that has a carburator that's partially made out of plastic, and last time the tiller was in the shop (because it wouldn't start again) they said that plastic plate was warped and they replaced it. It ran again for about a year. Maybe the newer ones have a different design carburator; mine is about 11 or

12 years old. (the big chainsaw and the weed trimmer are much older)

Buy whatever you want, and good luck with it.

Best regards, Bob

[Doug Kanter]

This is driving me nuts. Half the responses say to stay away from the thing, and the other half are like yours. :-) I **do** read instructions, sometimes multiple times. Maybe that's the key. And, my soil's not clay unless I go down about 3 feet.

[Doug Kanter]

Ya know....I could do this with a spade & fork if I could just get everyone to LEAVE ME THE &$%@ ALONE for a weekend! :-) If you saw a gardener with explosives and wires duct taped to his chest, would you leave him alone, or try and chat?

[zxcvbob]

I'd get a lawn chair and a beer and I'd watch (from a safe distance)

Chattingly, ;-) Bob

[Ann]

"Doug Kanter" expounded:

I keep mine in the cellar over the cold of the winter. It starts reliably each spring. 5 years now. I highly recommend it.

[Suuzzee]

Ayup. We always winterize our garden equipment at the end of each season. The Mantis and the lawn mowers and the farm tractor ... all get cleaned and drained or antifreezed or whatever they need. We aren't neatness nuts by any means. It just makes sense to maintain equipment to make it last. Suz

[Suuzzee]

You can send it back within the first year if you don't like it. No questions asked. This is why I purchased it in the first place. Suz

[Suuzzee]

Keep an extra couple of spades and forks around for company. Tell them, "We can chat while we work." Word should spread fast that there is a lunatic gardener digging up your yard and everybody best stay away until the digging is done. ;) Suz

[Doug Kanter]

The word's already spreading, although the dog owners are responsible. I've asked a few to NOT stop their dogs on my property. Some of the morons ask why. I asked "Excuse me??? I asked you politely". The nerve of me, thinking I have something to say about what happens on my property. Must be out of my mind.

[Suuzzee]

Doug Kanter wrote

"We can chat while we work." Word should > > > spread fast that there is a lunatic gardener digging up your yard and everybody best stay away until the digging

Ahh yes! The nerve!! :)) Ain't it a shame that doggie doo doo don't make good fertilizer? ;)

Suz

[TOM KAN PA]

How deep ya digging? I got a small Ryobi tiller that scratches the surface down to 3-5"

[Ann]

[e-mail] (TOM KAN PA) expounded:

My Mantis will go down 11" or so if I work an area thoroughly.

[Doug Kanter]

I solved my tiller problem yesterday. Found a guy who will do JUST what I need for $70-$100, which beats buying or renting a tiller.

[dps]

Impressive. At that depth you would have only the top of the engine sticking above ground level.

[Ann]

dps expounded:

There abouts. But the soil is mounded up around, and I move it back and forth. It's very well worked soil, few rocks, I only do this once a year, in the spring, to break things up for the season and work in organic matter. Does the job.

[Bill]

No it doesn't, nothing beats having a good tiller handy when you want it or need it.

[Doug Kanter]

Maybe for new garden creation, but unless you trample the soil in your existing beds, you shouldn't need a tiller to loosen the soil each year. Now..having said that, I will include the fact that my vegetable gardens have never been larger than about 30x30 ft, easily manageable with a fork.