Mantis Tiller

[huntingmaxima]

Does anyone have one? And do you like it?

[The Grebe]

I'm not much for gardening but from the looks of that thing, I would expect you could get just about as much out of a tiller attachment for the weed whip and spend a whole lot less!

I've used our attachment a few times when my wife has asked me to till up something in the flower garden and it seems to work just fine? I don't think I would want to do a whole big garden with it, but some folks might?

[backlash 1]

MY wife wanted one and I checked them out. Ended up buying her a Honda FG110. It comes with the transport wheels, and is about the same price. ($330)

She loves it! Has lots of power, you will not bog it down.

Also purchased locally. I even saw them at HD the other day.

[Eckie]

My wife bought me the Earthquake from HD for Father's Day. I have a small veggie garden (16 X 24ft) and wanted something to work between the rows. This thing works awesome! The soil I have is very rich, but also full of clay, so it can be very tough to break up. This little tiller does the job and then some. It comes with transport wheels that adjust and move out of the way when tilling, and also has an adjustable drag stake to control how "deep" the tines are working the soil. It comes with electric start -- which I've not used. I'd highly recommend. From a price standpoint, it's slightly cheaper than the Mantis. I doubt I'll be using it for "spring thaw", but it's exactly what I wanted to de-weed and work in grass/compost type stuff.

Hope this helps -- it's worth a look.

[zent]

I had an EQ and had a lot of trouble with it, went out and bought a Mantis and there is no comparison between the two in my opinion. It has a lot more power and the tines really turn it up. We use it to weed the garden and aireate the soil. Hope this helps.

[bottomdweller]

We have a mantis and love that thing for cultivating. Our garden is about 20x60 and growing. We bought ours ten years ago and it is still running strong. I know of others that bought small cheaper tillers and they only lasted a couple years. gl

[Eckie]

Zent...not to steal Huntingmaxima's post, but I'm curious to what kind of problems you had with the EQ? I've only had mine for a week and a half, and so far so good, but your post got me thinking about longevity. Your info might also help Huntingmaxima with his decision on which to buy.

Thanks.

[zent]

Eckie, Sorry I could't answer back right away my internet was down for a while after the hail damage. I might just have bad luck but we bought the EQ at a local box store and brought it home, put it together and started it up just fine. However the tines would not rotate, so back to the return desk and got tiller number two. Put it together and the same exact thing happened, the tines would not turn. Next was a call to EQ in Cumberland and was told they had a problem when a bearing was installed it was pressed on too tight and it was causing a problem. The guy at EQ couldn't believe that I got two in a row that were bad. He was very helpful and had a new one set up for me to exchange with him the following weekend when we were going to our land near Cumberland WI. All went well the remainder of last season but this spring the gas tank was leaking and the on off switch wouldn't shut the unit off. I pretty much lost confidence in the EQ and found that the Mantis has a lot more power and turns the soil much better. Hope this helps and wasn't too late to reply. Zent

[DRH1175]

I have the mantis. I guess it just depends on how good of a cultivator you want. They all work. Power like stated there is no comparison between the matis and the cheaper ones you can buy at the box stores. The only other one I would really look at is the honda. My father in law has a cheaper Menards brand. And so does the grandpa in law And although they work in Sand. It wouldn't do didly squat at my old house where I had clay. The mantis shined there. You can use the matis for many other duties as well. Edging trenching digging holes etc... As far as transport it comes with a carrying handle and at about 10 lbs makes it quite easy to get to the garden. Yes the Price is more than some of the others. But for a cultivator there is no equal. Mine starts the first pull and I have had it for 4 years. At my new home I have very dusty sand. I do have to clean the air screen each spring for it to run right but after doing so it runs great! The Mantis also runs a comercial grade engine more comparible to the Stihl, Echo's etc... Where as the earthquakes and others run a residential series motor. Good luck on your decision. They make weeding between rows a breeze and a lot more fun!

[huntingmaxima]

Thanks to all you guys. My Mantis is on its way. I must have talked to about 15-20 people and not a one was unhappy with theirs.

[bottomdweller]

I am pretty sure you will be happy with your decision.

gl

[DRH1175]

Good decision. If you are serious it is the way to go. You won't be unhappy!