Mantis Tiller???

I'm not a fan. Count it as one of the gas powered tools that caused me to expend several more orders of magnitude energy yanking the cord trying to start it as actually getting work from it.

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Honesty and integrity are homesteading virtues.

The original one was indeed notorious for slow starting since the spark was so weak. Both of the new ones are: prime 3 pumps, pull choke, pull cord twice, close choke, pull and start. They are entirely different motors than the original.

Martin

Great for flower beds, established raised beds and cultivating in the "regular" garden.

It does what it does, very well.

I have a Mantis and an 8-hp Honda tiller. I love them both for what they can do. I use the Mantis for tilling goat and chicken manure into raised beds, and for tilling up small areas. As someone else mentioned, it is meant to be used by pulling backwards-not walking forwards. Also, if you follow the directions for starting, it is very easy to start.

We used to live where we had hard clay soil. Hubby mounted a 5-pound weight plate at the bottom above the engine (I can post a picture if anyone is interested) and that cut way down on the Mantis jumping around. Also, at our last place, we had an enclosed chicken run. Every fall, I gathered up bags of leaves (neighbor also picked them up for me roadside when she saw them) and put them into the run. I usually started the season by dumping 7-8 bags full into the run (12 x24'). As those leaves got broken up through the fall and winter, I dumped more bags, usually adding 15 or so bags total. Now the fun part...when spring rolled around, I would run the Mantis through the leaves, chicken poop, and compacted dirt below, shovel it into the wheelbarrow, and dump the delightful goodness onto my raised beds. It was so much fun!

I use it in the chicken pen and coop to loosen up the manure -- we use the deep bedding method and it builds up (no smell, though!).

For those who want to use it this way or loosening deep manure in stalls, reverse the tines so that they are not clogging with straw or other coarse material. I had a big compost pile with mostly oak leaves to move last spring. Raked off most of the outer layer which was dry and ran that through a bagging mower. The rest was chewed up by the Mantis.

Martin

I have had 2 the first one i used for 6 or 7 years loved it, broke several tines ,no problem replaced for life free. the second one is a pain in the u know what. hard to start and will not rev up as high as the old one due to the carburetor is set up for the EPA. BUNCH OF CRAP. i would not buy another unless you get the honda engine which is more expensive.

My BF has the Honda version and I just love it. It is great for raised beds. There is a larger rear tine for the regular gardens but those little ones sure have their place!

I love mine. What the Mantis can do in 5 minutes would take me a half hour+. It won't break new ground here, perennial grasses have too tough of roots. What I do is break the ground first with a shovel. Just rock the handle back, I don't turn the soil over. Then till. Or my favorite, kill everything in the late summer with Roundup, pile leaves, clippings on and let set over winter and till in the spring. Got LOTS of rock and so far no broken tines. This is by far the best time and back saving gardening device I've ever used. You learn to build your garden around what it can do.

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