Re: [CH] Mantis tiller advice....
Ted Wagner (trwagner1@yahoo.com)
Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:23:55 -0700 (PDT)
Linda,
I bought one three years ago. I love mine. A couple of points to consider though...
A) for what it is, I do think it's a bit over priced.
B) I've not had any mechanical problems with mine, ever. When it shipped, the throttle wasn't working right. I called customer service, they told me to box it back up, the next day ups came to pick it up and in a couple days the new one arrived.
C) for most people, it is pretty obvious that in the commercial they use the thing in already loose soil. ;-) This is a LIGHT DUTY tiller. There's no weight and it's a tiny engine. Expect to spend a LOT of time going over harder soil.
D) mine came with an edger attachment. I don't think there's much value in this attachment as a $40 edger at WallyWorld does a much better job. I just don't like the design.
E) due to the size of the tines if the soil doesn't have a high ratio of peat or is 100% dry, expect to stop frequently to clear the compacted dirt. ;-)
My garden isn't big...I have a bunch of raised beds and most of those are 25% peat and 75% bagged soil. It works well there and is very portable and easy to handle. In the places I till the ground where I ammend the soil, it is still easy to handle, but takes a bit more patience. If you have well ammended and lose soil, it should do well. But, again, I don't think this would do well in a big garden unless all you were doing was tilling the aisles....spring or fall tilling would be laborious in a large garden.
Ted
--- On Mon, 4/28/08, Linda Reynolds <lr21@cornell.edu> wrote:
> From: Linda Reynolds <lr21@cornell.edu>
> Subject: [CH] Mantis tiller advice....
> To: chile-heads@globalgarden.com
> Date: Monday, April 28, 2008, 1:01 PM
> O.K. so I have made my actual garden smaller and I would
> like to be
> able to till my own garden
> and not have to ask someone to haul some beast over to do
> it for me..........
>
> I have heard both positive and crapola reviews of the
> mantis tiller
> so I figured I would ask the resident
> experts on this list what they think.....anyone with
> experience they
> would like to share? I see on listed in
> the local pennysaver but would like to know whether
> it's worth giving
> them a call or not....?
>
> Thanks much!
> Linda