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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 90 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 51 found the following review helpful:
 Disappointing tiller Apr 08, 2007
By A. Dasgupta
I purchased the tiller a couple of years ago and have been largely disappointed by it. Yes, it is light weight and can churn up soil, but I agree with another reviewer who found that it drags. Also, getting it started is a matter of trial and error and has nothing to do with the amount of choke. However, my main problem is with the way it handles weeds. I have a lot of weeds in my yard in Louisiana and what attracted me to the tiller was the promise that it would chop up the weeds. In fact the misleading advertisement claimed the machine to be almost a substitue for a weed eater. Well, not only does it not do that but the weeds entangle in the tine shaft so that within minutes the tines have ceased to run. This usually means stopping my work; taking apart the tine pins; and then untangling the weeds manually. By the time one is done, one has spent more time on untangling than in tilling. Incidentally, this is also a perfect opportunity for loosing the pins {note: Mantis is no longer selling the pins by themselves as they used to do, but one has to buy them as a part of a (mostly) unnecesssary kit}
I am sure it would work very well in a location where the only job requirement is to break up the soil...but lets face it, that's not a real life situation, is it? There are usually weeds and grass in those locations one wants to till.
All in all, this is a very disappointing product. I wish I had sent it back when I had the chance.
30 of 30 found the following review helpful:
Mantis Tiller Aug 08, 2006
By S. Roomian
I purchased this item as a gift for someone else. I did assemble and test run the tiller and watched the operation of it in the hands of the new owner. The tiller performed very well both in tiller mode, and with the edger attachment which was included. Engine runs great, and everything functions as it should. I did not give a 5 rating, as the powerhead arrived crooked (which I adjusted) and there should be a better way to attach the control cables to the handle bars. Also, I agree with another reviewer on the subject of the choke knob. A little too tight a fit within the engine shrouding to easily grasp the knob. Overall though, the Mantis works great, and the Amazon price could not be beat.
26 of 26 found the following review helpful:
No Mantis in my butterfly garden, I guess. Apr 27, 2008
By Elihu
I bought a new Mantis from our local hardware store today. I was so excited, as I am doing quite a bit of work in the yard this year and was ready to prep a butterfly garden. Here's how it went:
The Good =
1. It was light, as promised.
2. No problem starting up.
The Bad =
1. No-go on the tines at ALL. We read the troubleshooting section of the owner's manual, followed the directions under "tines won't engage," with no results. That puppy was NOT going to go.
The Ugly =
1. We were in the parking lot of the hardware store to make an exchange or return (depending on if they had another one available) when the man who runs the power equipment rental aspect of the store called across to us, "Trouble with that one?" My husband and I walked it over to where he was and explained the fact that the tines would simply not engage. The man told us this: "Those things are infamous for giving people problems where the drive shafts are concerned. We used to rent them out here. Had five of 'em. But you go look on our shelves now and you won't see a single one. I just said I wouldn't rent them no more. The drive shafts kept going out on 'em. The folks at the register won't like me for telling you this, but I wouldn't recommend that to anybody. We've sold brand new ones and the drive shafts just go completely out in no time. You just give that to me, and we'll go in and get your money back." And that's what we did. He's dealt with a substantial number of these machines and apparently had more trouble with them than not, so I'll be looking for something else.
49 of 54 found the following review helpful:
 Disappointed Sep 27, 2006
By Timothy L. Freund
"Tim"
The Mantis arrived fine and was shipped promptly by Amazon. I have about 1/4 acre and was attracted to it's durability, handyness, and easy storage. The first time I used it, I hit a small piece of crab grass which got tangled up in the gear area so I had to stop, take it apart and remove the grass. No matter how I adjust and operate, weeds get wound around the gear drive. The Mantis is also not easy to operate. The video shows by pulling back on the Mantis it actually works better but it pulls [...] your arms. I am disappointed and I think that the ads over promise. I am sorry that I purchased this product.
20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
 The secret to using the Mantis Tiller May 24, 2007
By Guy Owen
I have owned two Mantis Tillers. The first one was stolen from my shed before I ever used it. Now I am putting in over 200 feet of 4-ft wide mulch beds - breaking new ground and I've discovered the secret after doing 80 feet of it. Many people complain about these type of units hopping around on hard soil. Once the ground is broken they work very well, indeed. The secret is this: They are designed with the handles in too high of a position relative to the angle of the engine and tines. I quickly learned by trial-and-error that if I leaned over at the waist and lowered the handle grips down to the level of my knees the hopping around stopped IMMEDIATELY. In fact, the tines then feel as though they want to burrow into new ground, rather than trying to skid across it. However, that leaning over is uncomfortable for my lower back. So I simply disassembled the two handle extensions where they join in the middle, exchanged their positions and flipped them over so the hand grips face upward. This is an easy one minute process. I then rerouted the control wires to the gas lever -- which was not very difficult. My unit now cuts AMAZINGLY WELL in new ground. I just wrote Mantis to inform their Engineering Dept. Whether they test this or not will be up to them. But I can swear to you it improves the cutting proficiency by -- dare I say it? -- leaps and bounds. Ha! I am now cutting into rock-strewn hard-packed soil like never before. Highly recommended in this configuration.
See all 90 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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