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?

wrote:

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?

Folks either love 'em or hate 'em. I've had mine for about 6 years and
haven't seen anything that it won't handle yet. Don't know if I'd wanna
do a 25x40 with it though. Even though it would do it, it would take
quite a few passes back and forth.

--
Steve

Thanks for the quick reply.

My father-in-law has a huge tiller on his tractor. He does the
initial tilling for us every Spring. So I need something to go
between rows, or to use in the flower beds, etc.

Does the Troy-Bilt seem about the same as the Mantis?
The Troy-Bilt is he
http://tinyurl.com/77chl

It's a 4-stroke, which means no gas-oil mixing.
I have a $100 gift certificate for Amazon.com, and they sell the
Troy-Bilt (not the Mantis), and free shipping.

wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply.

My father-in-law has a huge tiller on his tractor. He does the
initial tilling for us every Spring. So I need something to go
between rows, or to use in the flower beds, etc.

Does the Troy-Bilt seem about the same as the Mantis?
The Troy-Bilt is he
http://tinyurl.com/77chl

It's a 4-stroke, which means no gas-oil mixing.
I have a $100 gift certificate for Amazon.com, and they sell the
Troy-Bilt (not the Mantis), and free shipping.

I don't know anything about the TB. 4 cycle typically is smoother but a
2 cycle usually has more torque/power per cc of displacement.


The mantis is an "animal". I dug up a very large rocky area last year to
put in a 20' round patio and 3 sidewalks. It handled it with no problem.

You don't walk behind it though, you pull it backwards.

--
Steve

The mantis is an "animal". I dug up a very large rocky area last year to
put in a 20' round patio and 3 sidewalks. It handled it with no problem.


Well, I went ahead and ordered the Mantis. They had a glitch with
their ebsite. They list the Mantis at $299, but if you do a Froogle
search, there's a link that puts it at $269. It added to my cart just
fine at that price.

Looking forward to it.

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 13:23:13 GMT,
" wrote:


The mantis is an "animal". I dug up a very large rocky area last year to
put in a 20' round patio and 3 sidewalks. It handled it with no problem.


Well, I went ahead and ordered the Mantis. They had a glitch with
their ebsite. They list the Mantis at $299, but if you do a Froogle
search, there's a link that puts it at $269. It added to my cart just
fine at that price.

Looking forward to it.
I have the "easy start" version...wouldn't sell it for three times
the price I paid.

By the way, in my research I came across some web forums where a few
people said that if you don't drain the fuel completely after every
use, it will gum up!

What do you guys say to these claims?

wrote:

By the way, in my research I came across some web forums where a few
people said that if you don't drain the fuel completely after every
use, it will gum up!

What do you guys say to these claims?


I have a Mantis tiller with a bad carburator. perhaps I should say "had"
a Mantis -- I put it in the shop last year and the guy never called me
when it was ready. I stopped by the shop several times over the next 2
months and it was always closed during posted hours. I didn't persue it
because I hated the Mantis anyway. I bought a little Honda tiller and
it works much better than the Mantis ever did.

Anyway, my Mantis was easy to start the first year, but the second year
it was very hard to start even though I did keep fresh gas in it and
drained it before storing it. I have lots of 2-cycle equipment, and the
Mantis is the only one I ever had trouble with. Maybe I just got a
lemon. It's been in the shop lots of times, and a couple of years ago
they said the bottom plate on the carburator (the hard plastic piece)
was warped. They replaced it with one salvaged from another dead Mantis
and it ran OK for a few months until the priming bulb split. I replaced
that, and it wouldn't start again.

Also, the Mantis in general is *too* light. It bounces around and is
hard to control. The Honda tiller that looks just like it weighs about
2 or 3 pounds more (because of the bigger 4-cycle engine) and that added
weight makes it much more controllable.

I bought my Mantis tiller about 10 or 12 years ago. I doubt that they
still use the same carburator. But if you look at the base of the carb
and it's made out of plastic NO NOT buy the thing under any
circumstances because when the manifold gets hot during heavy use, the
plastic will warp or crack. If the carburator is all aluminum, it might
be OK but I still recommend the Honda.

Best regards,
Bob

wrote:
By the way, in my research I came across some web forums where a few
people said that if you don't drain the fuel completely after every
use, it will gum up!

What do you guys say to these claims?

What do I say? Bunk! I've had mine for about 6 years and have never
emptied it yet. Mix the gas and oii with gas stabilizer, keep the tank
full when in storage and I haven't had a problem.

Starting is pretty easy as long as you follow the "normal" 2-cycle
method. Push the primer 3 times or so, put the choke on full and pull it
until it sputters once, turn the choke off and pull again and it should
be running.

--
Steve

zxcvbob wrote:

I have a Mantis tiller with a bad carburator. perhaps I should say "had"
a Mantis -- I put it in the shop last year and the guy never called me
when it was ready. I stopped by the shop several times over the next 2
months and it was always closed during posted hours. I didn't persue it
because I hated the Mantis anyway. I bought a little Honda tiller and
it works much better than the Mantis ever did.

Anyway, my Mantis was easy to start the first year, but the second year
it was very hard to start even though I did keep fresh gas in it and
drained it before storing it. I have lots of 2-cycle equipment, and the
Mantis is the only one I ever had trouble with. Maybe I just got a
lemon. It's been in the shop lots of times, and a couple of years ago
they said the bottom plate on the carburator (the hard plastic piece)
was warped. They replaced it with one salvaged from another dead Mantis
and it ran OK for a few months until the priming bulb split. I replaced
that, and it wouldn't start again.

Also, the Mantis in general is *too* light. It bounces around and is
hard to control. The Honda tiller that looks just like it weighs about
2 or 3 pounds more (because of the bigger 4-cycle engine) and that added
weight makes it much more controllable.

I bought my Mantis tiller about 10 or 12 years ago. I doubt that they
still use the same carburator. But if you look at the base of the carb
and it's made out of plastic NO NOT buy the thing under any
circumstances because when the manifold gets hot during heavy use, the
plastic will warp or crack. If the carburator is all aluminum, it might
be OK but I still recommend the Honda.

Best regards,
Bob

I haven't had that problem (yet, knocking on wood) I did have to have
the carb. rebuilt last year after using it for the five previous years
and digging up a very large area of the yard last year for our patio and
walkways. Whihc digging it up the dirt was very dry and dust was flying
everywhere so the re-build didn't surprise me. I agree that it does
then to bounce so ya have to keep ahold of it when you're using it.

--
Steve

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.

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.