Be sure to follow the directions and work backwards especially when
breaking new ground, and don't try to go down 6" on the first pass
(juist like any tiller).

I've had mine for two years. Gave up my Troy Horse after my back
surgery ub 1991 and went to sqaure foor gardening with a Mantis. I
still have two more ruptured disks and am able to use my Mantis just
fine for putting in new beds and moving beds to different locations on
my 1/2 acre lot.

I owned a Garden Way cultivator I bought from Troy years ago when I
had the Horse and it was real bad about getting hung up with rocks,
weeds, etc. The Mantis will to but not nearly as bad.

I've never drained the tank (live in East Texas) and it takes about
six pushed ogf the primer and three pulls with the choke on full to
start and then the choke goes off immediately. Every engine has its
own little trick. My Dixon rider does not start at all doing what they
said to do, but it starts every time.

Bruce

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 20:31:38 GMT, "FDR"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
We have a dedicated garden, about 25' x 40'.
The soil has been worked every year for about 8 years.

So I'm not looking for something that needs to break sod or heavy
clay.

We can't afford a more heavy-duty tiller this year, and I'd like to
have something of my own so I can stop borrowing tillers.

The Mantis seems decent for the price. I see that Troy-Bilt makes a
similar cultivator in the same price range.

The Mantis comes with a free edger, and they have a plow/furrower
attachment for $50.

They also have a 1-year, no-hassle return policy.

Can anyone comment on these cultivators from personal experience?

I just got a Crafstman Cultivator/Edger with a 4 cycle engine (no mixing of
gas and oil). It also has Incredi-Pull for easier stating. I've used it
for an hour so far and like it a lot. It's smooth running and doesn't
bounce around. I chose it because of it's small size, the oil mixing issue,
and also because it was the heaviest engine. I believe the extra weight
helps it dig in better. I had tried a rentedmantis a year ago to dig up a
strawberry patch but I foubd it hard to work with and fairly bouncy.