mantis tiller- how do you like it?

considering buying a mantis roto-tiller and was wondering if anyone has one and how they like it.

Yep, I got one and it does it's job quite suitably and as shown on TV. In fact, Mantis is in Watchdog if you want more opinions. My only wish is that I had done some comparison shopping first because Home Depot had similiar ones for much less money. Live and learn.

I tried a friend's. If you have good tilth on previously tilled ground, it's a good little weeder. If you expect it to break new ground or hard clay, then all it does is skitter around on the top. How much are they going for?

279.00 to 369.00 depending on where you find them. 299.00 at sears. some on ebay are 239.00 but they are some that were sent back to the factory and are re-conditioned.

i've had for years and i agree with agrinerd, if you have ground already broken its great but if you have to cut out a new patch its not good enough. i found that the grass gets caught in the tines and i have to stop every few minutes to get them off. if i remembver the commercial they always show you ground that is nice and soft.

I don't have one but would like to try one out. (Friend of mine loves his!)

If you buy direct from the factory there is no shipping charge plus you also get a one year trial with full money-back guarantee.

Send off for their literature/video; I bet they have a "Special price, buy now!" leaflet included!

Shoe.

JFREDT,
I ordered directly from Mantis and got a bunch of extras (and a nice payment plan, too). This is the third year for me and had trouble getting it to run. It would start, but not come up to full throttle. Replaced the sparkplug, air filter, mixed new fuel, and used spray gumout carb cleaner - runs as good as new.

Broke one part - bolt for the handle - had a new one FREE in less than a week.

As for heavy sod, Houston has about as much clay as north TX. First 20 minutes I had mine I had doubled 3 weekends of shovel and spading fork work - abour 3' x 7'. Placed it on 7 year old St Augustine - bounced a bit, then finally tore up enough to get a bite. Just held it there and it went down 8".

Have to stop every few feet to pull out the risomes - they are as tough as fence wire. But it will do the job.

Used in Bellaire on some 20 year old sod - took a lot longer, but did break it up.

If you want to speed up the process, remove the top 2" of the sod and most of the grass first.
I like the fact that it is light, can fold up and fit in the car trunk. It is also great that you walk backward with it so no footprints mashing the freshly plowed ground.

I have used it to mix in sand, topsoil and peat moss with the native clay mix - best garden ever this year.

Just replowed 1/2 of my 10' x 20' garden in about 30 minutes including edging through some virgin St Augustine. Only stopped twice to clear the tines.

If you were closer, I would give you a demonstration on your ground.


This message was edited Jun 22, 2006 5:51 PM

Depending on how heavy a load you need to put on it, you might want to look into a Honda "Harmony" as well. They have a little 4-stroke engine with a good bit more torque. It's a little tougher, but I still wouldn't recommend it for the rough stuff.

We have had one for over 14 years and love it. I have broken up some hard sod with stones and good size rock as well as old machinery parts and horse shoes with little trouble. I agree with everything Bubba said. I have learned to carry a long screw driver and hammer with me when breaking up sod. One never knows what might be down there to jam between the tines. I also keep the axle of the tines greased well just so they will come off more easily. The axle protector is worth every penny of it's price.

i don't own one but have run one, and my dad has a simular one that came a little cheaper. they work great for little bitty jobs. i like it for tilling spots in grow beds inbetween other things. even our horse troybilt won't break new ground very well, my garden scale demands a tractor and 3 point hitch tiller. that tears up tree roots and kicks out huge rocks. Oh yah! it even demands a catapillar to get the trees out of the way. the two tractors just got done doing up 50 acres of hay, got the barn stuffed. winter munchins for 10 horses. (oops, got off subject)

This summer we got a new Troybuilt weedeater. We noticed that there was a small tiller attachment also available for less than $100. We got it and it's just great for basic cultivating / tilling between the rows. We really like it a lot. Great for the flower beds etc. May never have to pull out the big tiller for the veggie garden again.

It seems to be more powerful and digs in deeper when pulled backward rather than forward. Found ours at Home Depot.

RubenT,
It would take a very long time with the Mantis to do 50 ac. LOL
But for a flowerbed or family size garden it is just the right size.

Their video showing competition with a Honda on a waferboard panel is most impressive. in 24 hours the honda was still bouncing and had made a few scratches, but the Mantis was all the way through.

And there is the testimonial of a man that dug his own swimming pool, so it can do a lot if you have the time and energy.

If I had a large garden to dig in virgin soil, I would rent the biggest rear tine tiller I could find. Might take a day or two - then return the rental and buy a mantis for maintenance and cultivation.

I remember pushing a 1-wheel 3-tine garden cultivator as a boy. We had about 2.5 ac in gardens. I could get all rows done in 3 days. Probably could do all with a Mantis in half a day.

Thanks leaflady. The person who pointed me in the right direction had hers for about 20 years. Very ill with cancer, but refused to sell hers - so bought my own.

Thank you for all them responses. I borrowed a sears tiller last weekend from a neighbor. It was small like the Mantis, only weighs like 20 pounds. I thought it would be a joke but that thing tore the ground up. I have clay soil but it is usually moist so that helps.. I just wonder if the reason it works well is because of the design of the tines and it would not matter if the tiller was sears, ryobi or whatever if the tine design was the same?

I love mine. It's been instrumental in setting up my raised beds. I think this is my 3rd summer with it and it starts right up every time.

Mantis here too.... I tried for years to convince hubby we needed one, now he doesn't know how we lived without it. The biggest advantage to ordering directly from Mantis, is the tines are guaranteed for life which was a big selling point for us since we live in rock central.... of course, if you go with sears, I'd buy the extended warranty just in case.

This message was edited Jun 24, 2006 10:58 PM

We absolutely love our Mantis. We bought one locally that had been a demo model for a couple months. We got a significant discount by buying the demo that had most likely only been started so people could see how it ran. It probably never saw dirt until I brought it home.

It will cut through hard soil, it just takes a little longer.

The only complaint I have is that grass and tall weeds do wind around the tines and you have to stop and clean them off. But that would happen with any other tiller also, so it's not a fault of the Mantis, but my own garden cleaning/weeding practices. LOL

I bought the Mantis and returned it. I read the book and thought, gee this is toooooo complicated. Changing spark plugs, draining gas if don't use for 2 weeks, mixing gas with oil, pulling cord to start, etc...

Looked in their catalog. They have an electric one. GEE, why didn't the lady tell me that on the phone. After all, I do own an electric mower for very good reasons, like no starter cord, no spark plugs, no getting gas from station, etc.

It was too late, already had to dig the garden myself by then since the elec ones were on backorder by then. Hoping will get the electric one, next yr or two. ~ Suzi :)

We bought a Skil Tiller that is the same size as the Mantis. I cna't remember the model of it right now but the place we bought it sold both Skil and Mantis. We did a new bed with it. Unbroken lawn,, extrememly hard ground. The grass does tend to wind around the tines but it did the job. You just hold it in place and it will go deeper and deeper. In the regular vegetable garden it is a dream! We have raised beds and it is easy to pop in and out of the beds

Jazzpumpkin - are prices similar and do they have electric? Thanks, Suzi :)

I have a Mantis and I like it for the most part. Already had to have it worked on two times, each under warranty. The carb. had to be rebuilt and then they just put on a brand-new one. If you are going to make a new bed you may want to use the edging blade to cut the sod first. What I do is cut the sod into managable sizes so I can just pull it right up. That way you don't have to keep pulling weeds and grass out of the tines. Otherwise, I'd agree to rent a real powerhorse of a tiller to get throught everything. The tiller does bounce quite a bit when it's chewing the soil but that's expected with any machine. Also, it's a good idea to slighty work it side to side as it's tilling so it gets everything. I also have the have the dethatcher/aerator combo and the furrow attatchment. I dethatch my lawn every spring with it and it's the best looking lawn on our street.

BriarRose.. I believe the prices were similar. OK..I think I just had a brain glitch.. it's Stihl.. not Skil.. duh.. not a tool person
The salesman felt like the Stihl had a little more oomph than the Mantis. I don't know if they have an electric version. I imagine you could Google for Stihl Electric Tiller and see what pops up!

edited because I don't know my skil from my stihl

This message was edited Jul 7, 2006 11:19 PM