tallpines
Pro Member
Posts: 298
Zone:: 4a
Favorite Vegetable:: This week, it’s Rhubarb
Joined: February 2019
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Post by tallpines on Apr 23, 2021 6:16:05 GMT -5
garden
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Apr 23, 2021 10:49:31 GMT -5
I’ve never had one, but like everything else, I gotcha a story. An internet buddy of mine that I’ve kept in contact with over the years has one. Let me tell you about the company. My buddy went by “flintknapper” on gardenweb. You probably remember me an Annette talking about the bean forum over there. Harry and I were talking a couple years back (he’s in his 90’s now) he still gardens a little bit. His Mantis got so old that it wouldn’t run anymore. He called the company and told them how much he loved it and how it had made his life so much easier over the years. They sent him a brand new Mantis free of charge. I’d say that says something about the company.
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Post by paulf on Apr 23, 2021 11:04:14 GMT -5
My wife uses a small tiller for her flower gardens. We have had three of four of them that she could not start. When the last one stopped working we looked and looked for an electric start (our yard is so big and spread out an all electric is not feasible). Somebody made an electric start several year ago but stopped production. We bought one called Taz because it was supposed to be easy to start, even for old ladies (don't let my wife know I wrote that).
The first few starts she was able to do it by herself, but after that I had to start it anyway. She handles the tiller just fine after I get it going. I think Taz is made by Earthquake. It is a nice small tiller, 2 cycle.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 23, 2021 11:28:07 GMT -5
tallpines I have a Mantis - a 4 cycle - that I use in areas that my larger 'tiller won't work in, like the front flowerbed, the raised beds, the narrow areas, etc. Easy to start, often on the first pull, though not after sitting in the shed all winter - sort of normal, but still didn't take long, and an easy pull every time, compared to the TB. Not sure how heavy it is, but it's not difficult to lift into the beds. And it's easy to "walk" it to where you want it - just run it slowly, and walk behind it, as it walks over the surface of the lawn; doesn't do any damage. You just have to hold back on it, as it chews up the ground under the blades, then go a little forward, and repeat - will make your arms stronger, for sure! I still use the workhorse Troy-bilt in rows like the garlic and squash rows, as the Mantis is simply too small for those.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 23, 2021 14:30:48 GMT -5
Story with me and Mantis go back a long way, to when they first came out. At the time, early 1980s, it was just the 2-cycle and weighed 15 pounds. As that, it was just a neat cultivator. We experimented with adding weight and found that a 5# brick made it a perfect tiller. As soon as I got on garden forums, I kept mentioning that and Mantis listened. Wasn't long before next generation was 20 pounds. Then it was a tiller.
I am now on the third one. Wore out the second one in the community gardens when it might be used for 5 or 6 hours at a time. There was a flaw in that the tans mission was not changed for the more powerful motor. Mantis extended the warranty period, probably because of that.
There are two ways of playing with it. One is as previously mentioned by letting it dig and then moving ahead to repeat. That will build arm muscles. The correct way is to only hang on and pull. That's why I can't walk 100 feet but can hang onto the Mantis for an hour.
The first 2-cycle motors were a bugger to start. The spark was really weak. Second generation disappoints me if it's not running after 4 pulls. So far it's been first pull one time and 3 or 4 for the rest. (It was 3 today.)
One annoying thing is roots or vines getting tangled in the tines. Since my soil often has a lot of stuff like that, I have them turned to cultivating rather than just tilling. Still does the same job but takes a little longer.
One thing will stop it and that's a rock about the size of a walnut. It will jam between tines and transmission. All you can do then is sit down and pry it out.
Best advice I can give is to get one, you will never regret it.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by september on Apr 23, 2021 16:14:44 GMT -5
I am on my second Mantis as well. My first 2 cycle on probably would have lasted much longer, but we were not very good at maintenance for winter storage, so it eventually just got too gunked up to be salvaged. Plus by that time I went to raised beds, and had a strong enough back that I could do all my soil turning with a fork or shovel. Well, it's been 30 years, and the trees that were bordering the gardens 30 feet away are getting tall and mature and sending roots into the beds, too time consuming to dig and pull by hand. Decided to get a new 4 cycle Mantis two years ago to help speed up tilling the 4'x12'raised beds. Walking backwards is the way to deep till. Then you can go forward to mix it up and smooth it somewhat, though I do need a shovel to smooth next to the boards. Long viney things do twist around the blades, but it's easy to pop the wheel off and pull them off sideways. A large tiller would not work for me, I really like the Mantis. I like the kick stand, though it is very strong, and I do indeed have to KICK or STOMP it to get it moved up or down.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 24, 2021 18:55:51 GMT -5
I hadn't even thought about that, september, but when I do the deep tilling in my front bed I also walk backwards! I start at the steps, and walk backwards through the bed, and let it chew through the roots that had accumulated, and moving backwards gradually. Fortunately, the tree that used to send its roots into the beds is gone - a maple, that was getting old, and my neighbor was just getting tired of dealing with it (she just turned 89, and did this a few years ago. And when I had to clean out those roots from the blades, I used a heavy boning knife I keep in the shed, and just cut through the roots, to remove them. Same knife I use for root pruning, slicing through heavy roots, when transplanting.
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tallpines
Pro Member
Posts: 298
Zone:: 4a
Favorite Vegetable:: This week, it’s Rhubarb
Joined: February 2019
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Post by tallpines on Apr 26, 2021 20:30:51 GMT -5
Ordered a Mantis today from our local “motor store”.
It’s a 2-cycle fast start.
Should be here by the weekend .....
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Post by paquebot on Apr 27, 2021 15:34:32 GMT -5
You will not regret buying it. I suspect that your soil is already loose up there and the Mantis will dine on it. You have seen the size of my garden. Since 1963, there was only one time when a friend came in with his tiller. He said that it was the hardest that he did due to all of the coarse compost.A case of something good being bad!
Before and after that one time, it was always by spade. Not all at once but a little at a time to wind down after work. I'd set a goal of maybe 4 or 5 passes from side-to-side even before going into the house. When I blew out a lumbar disk in 1986 there was no shoveling. That's when I got my first Mantis when it was just a fancy cultivator and used a 5# brick and duct tape to make it a deep tiller. I've never regretted it for a minute.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 27, 2021 19:36:49 GMT -5
The fuel is 50:1 mixture. When you get the new machine, it will come with pre-measured quantity of oil for a gallon. The bottles are white plastic so you can't see how much it is. Pour one into a clear plastic container and mark the level. Use that when you have to buy a pint at your hardware store. Also, do not try running it on just plain gasoline. You will lock that engine solid!
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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tallpines
Pro Member
Posts: 298
Zone:: 4a
Favorite Vegetable:: This week, it’s Rhubarb
Joined: February 2019
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Post by tallpines on Apr 28, 2021 0:42:26 GMT -5
DH always has a smaller gas container ready for the gas oil mix that he uses for his chainsaws ...... hopefully it will be the same ratio of mix.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 28, 2021 9:01:38 GMT -5
Most chainsaws are also 50:1 so you will be fine. Our True Value store rents Mantises. Several times a year they get one back that's almost locked solid. It;s from using straight gas.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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tallpines
Pro Member
Posts: 298
Zone:: 4a
Favorite Vegetable:: This week, it’s Rhubarb
Joined: February 2019
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Post by tallpines on Apr 30, 2021 19:09:12 GMT -5
That was quick! The Mantis arrived today!
I’m committed to attending a VERY GOOD AMISH AUCTION tomorrow ...... so after church on Sunday, I can start “playing” with my new garden tool!
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