I wondered if anyone on here owns a Mantis tiller..I have read so much about them being handy for breaking new ground as in clay etc ,digging holes,Weeding between crops .So has anyone got one and what do they think of it? ..
I have got a big rotovator and use it for most things but thought a little one would be handy for tilling raised beds etc ...cheers Jim
Jim
There was a long thread last year:
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,1821.0.html
Jerry
We have one with all the attachments which we bought about 9 yrs ago. It's been very handy as we are converting cow pasture to garden so there's been a lot of serious digging to do since the chappy with the bulldower scooped out the pond and smoothed the bumpy surface for us. It also does trenches, holes and can scarify the lawn. It doesn't dig very deep but it's fine for our purposes and I don't believe in double digging anyway.
The one negative is that it is very fussy about its fuel mix. OH didn't grasp this and so we had to shell out for a new motor. It's been fine since then. It's light and doesn't take up much space when not in use.
Regard it as a cultivator rather than a rotovator.
I've had my Mantis for a couple of years now and used it to dig the trenches for the spuds. It's a little work horse and cuts through clay. The tines are pretty solid as I've caught it on many a stone. I
It's true, you do have to walk backwards, this prevents you from walking over the soil you've just cultivated. The soil looks so good when you've finished, and you just need to rake the soil over to level it off again. It's pretty quiet too. If you turn the tines around they will do the weeding. The tines are easy to dismantle if you get weeds clogged in them.
I've often spent ages trying to get it started, only to find that I keep forgetting to flick the start switch ::) I wonder how many other people have done that same.
Hi Obbelix, I lent mine to someone the other day, they brought it back clean and tidy, and filled it with petrol. I do hope they remembered it takes petrol and oil mix. I'll be using it again shortly to get the rest of the plot ready for winter.
They're worth having.
Lily
Thanks Jerry and Lily , After reading this and previous thread I ordered one and the ridger /trencher as well .They sound ideal for getting into small places and with the reach for digging raised beds etc. cheers Jim..
Let us know what you think of it?
Will do Tm,Mower magic said it should arrive tomorrow (Monday)so.if weather is okish will give it a go . Cheers Jim...
I have had my Mantis a year now and I am delighted with the performance....
Yes, I have had a few scares with non starts only to find I haven't flicked the switch to 'on'
My neighbour commented only this morning how well my soil was looking... a year ago it was solid clay hadn't been properly cultivated for a few years.
I have taken it into the greenhouse and run over the borders in there too...saves so much time and effort
Have fun
Derek
I'm considering getting Baz a four stroke one for christmas. I've seen a new one on ebay (usa) for £205 plus £40 postage, which i thought was an ok price.
I borrowed one a couple of times and in my humble opinion it was a load of crap, no wonder they're always up for sale second hand.
Now I use a MAN SIZE tiller for breaking in compacted soil and a Bantam that does a proper job of making a seed bed, boy's toys eh ;)
Know what you mean - but I could not have kept the plots in order over the 14 years I was away from home without mechanical help.
And, if you keep the revs down - only possible with a'real machine' - you don't get graded grains.
But you MUST hand dig every year or so.
If not electric silence, then you must have a 4 stroke. Different world.
In the business that I work in some form of machinery is essential.
There are oodles of different types and each of the technicians who use them thinks their's is the bees knees
I have come to realise over the years that it is not the equipment it is the technician who does the work...in other words we make the equipment work to its optimum performance.
This is good for if it were not so there would be only one machine to buy and all the other companies would go bust.
Derek
HI Wardy - Don't believe in too much digging either but it is essential when first clearing a bit of land to make a new bed as we are. We don't have a lottie but do have a decent veg garden of raised beds which now just get topped up with compost and hoed or hand cultivated before planting. Our Mantis is handy for scarifying the lawns and digging new beds but OH says it's having a holiday from the latter for at least a year!
It came yesterday afternoon .I found it easy to assemble very good instructions in hand book . Just got to get some fuel mixed this morning and will give it a whirl ... cheers Jim.