New tiller on the way....

[longwinters]

I've had a mantis tiller for probably 10 years and my mom had it before that.  It has worked flawlessly and is exactly what I need for my raised bed garden plots.  I've shared it with a buddy from work as I only need it spring and fall, then he uses it during the summer and does the maintenance (of which there hasn't been any).  I also have a TroyBult tiller that works great but with the raised beds its useless as it is too big.  I've had it for 3 years.
 
I want to try the 4 cycle Mantis so it was ordered tonight.  The old Mantis will get sold to my buddy and the Troybult will be put into storage just in case I ever retire and move someplace where I can have a bigger garden.
 
Guess if I ever want to retire I'd better quit buying tillers...
 
Long

[charles p]

I have a 4-stroke Honda in a small tiller.  Starts and runs like a dream.

[jvs]

I have a 20" Craftsman with a 7 hp 4 stroke Briggs that I picked up at a Moving Sale for $350 a few years back.  The guy was moving to North Carolina and didn't want to take it along.  He bought it 6 months prior for around $900 with all the add-ons and the paint was still on the tynes.  Not a scratch on it anywhere. 


If I had a choice on a new one I wouldn't buy a Craftsman.  But when you buy used, you don't have many options.  It has been working out so far.


Long, you might regret giving up that older Mantis.

[longwinters]

You might be right.  Maybe I should keep it for a spare.
 
Long.

[powderman]

I'd love to have a mantis but that aint gonna happen. I've had a troybuilt 8 hp for at least 15+  years and it was 8 yrs old when I bought it from a friend. Still works great, but with my heart I need something smaller and lighter. POWDERMAN. 

[chefjeff]

For my use,a mantis is just too small. Rear tine tillers are great if you don't have a tractor and equipment. I still use a front tine tiller in the 1/2 ac. garden,you can cock it over and throw dirt to your plant row.This is an advantage over the rear tine.

[Old Syko]

For my use,a mantis is just too small. Rear tine tillers are great if you don't have a tractor and equipment. I still use a front tine tiller in the 1/2 ac. garden,you can cock it over and throw dirt to your plant row.This is an advantage over the rear tine.

I use my rear tine to hill potatoes and such.  I simply raise the tine guard on the side I want to discharge extra soil, reverse rotate the tines and go.  The rear tine allows me to walk outside the row I'm working and run the thing with one hand which ain't gonna happen with a front tine.


I've used one of the 4 stroke Mantis and I ain't giving up my 2 stroke.  With the 2 stroke a slight exhaust modification and a carb adjustment increases rpm quite a bit which makes all the difference. 

[Drilling Man]

  I have a Troy Bilt "Horse" model, don't ever use it, i hate running it.
 
  I also have a Mantis 2 stroke mini tiller, i hate how loud it is, but it starts/runs good.
 
  And i have a Honda 4 stroke mini tiller,
 

 
  It's starts easily, is quiet and works quite well.  Much nicer to use compared to the Mantis.
 
  If you have stones, they get stuck in the tines of the mini tillers fairly easy and can be a pain to get out.
 
  DM

[jvs]

I have to say that the Briggs motor starts without too much trouble every time.  A couple of tugs and it's off and running.  One thing I would change on the Craftsman if I could, is to have counter-rotating tynes, instead of what it has.  It took a little getting used to.


I also have a real old front tine tiller that I bought used over 30 years ago.  I don't know who made it but it doesn't matter how many years it sits around between uses, that thing starts on the second pull every time.  It's kind of remarkable.  Which is one of the reasons I suggested that Long doesn't get rid of his OLD Mantis. 


They don't make them like they used to.

[Old Syko]

I have to say that the Briggs motor starts without too much trouble every time.  A couple of tugs and it's off and running.  One thing I would change on the Craftsman if I could, is to have counter-rotating tynes, instead of what it has.  It took a little getting used to.

Your Craftsman doesn't have counter rotating tines?  I have 2 of these tillers and one of them is counter rotating only while the other is shiftable from forward to counter rotating.  The second of the 2 has a much better tine design and does a better job because of the changable rotation. 


I do know that on the Craftsman transmissions, if you ever have trouble you can't afford to fix it.  Had a couple bearings and 1 sprocket go bad last summer and the repair parts equaled the cost of a new tiller.  Bought a complete trans assembly from Sears parts for $209 and was quickly back in business.

[jvs]

I probably shouldn't complain too loud because so far the Craftsman has been good to me, it just isn't something I would buy new.  I think I did pretty good for $350, since I put the first scratches on the tines.  If it lasts without any major repairs I'll get more than my money out of it.  It's been a few years so far and all I replaced was Shear Pins.


Any machine with priority parts is expensive to repair.  A friend of mine has a Troy that developed bad bearings and I think Gear Box problems.  You want to talk about EXPENSIVE.....  He still didn't pay out to fix it.

[Drilling Man]

  Many years ago, we wore out a Troy Horse model, it cost waaay too much to fix.  I bought another one, but never used it much.  These days my Troy "horse" sits in the loft in the barn.  IF, i had to go back to a walk behind tiller, (and i hope i never have to) my first choise would be a BCS!
 
  Next time i get my "horse" out of the barn,  lol  it will be to sell it!
 
  DM

[keith44]

  Many years ago, we wore out a Troy Horse model, it cost waaay too much to fix.  I bought another one, but never used it much.  These days my Troy "horse" sits in the loft in the barn.  IF, i had to go back to a walk behind tiller, (and i hope i never have to) my first choise would be a BCS!
 
  Next time i get my "horse" out of the barn,  lol  it will be to sell it!
 
  DM

  really???


We are still running a 1966 model Troy Horse.  It is on its second engine, but other than 2 sets of tines, three reverse shives, and four or five sets of seals it has been very dependable.  Other than the engine swap (actually cheaper than rebuilding the original) no repair has cost over $150.00  At one time this tiller was working a total of four acres worth of gardens (six garden plots at five different households)

[Drilling Man]

  Many years ago, we wore out a Troy Horse model, it cost waaay too much to fix.  I bought another one, but never used it much.  These days my Troy "horse" sits in the loft in the barn.  IF, i had to go back to a walk behind tiller, (and i hope i never have to) my first choise would be a BCS!
 
  Next time i get my "horse" out of the barn,  lol  it will be to sell it!
 
  DM

  really???


We are still running a 1966 model Troy Horse.  It is on its second engine, but other than 2 sets of tines, three reverse shives, and four or five sets of seals it has been very dependable.  Other than the engine swap (actually cheaper than rebuilding the original) no repair has cost over $150.00  At one time this tiller was working a total of four acres worth of gardens (six garden plots at five different households)

  Yup, and we are FAR from the only one to wear one out...
 
  My uncle wore one out too, and that's why Troybilt (back in the day) would let you sent one in and get a total rebuild for about half of the price of a new one.
 
  Anyway, lots of them had rods go out of the motors, the motor is on such an angle when tilling, it sometimes starves the rod of oil.  Both ours and my uncles went through one motor each.
 
  The axle seales go quite easy, and start leaking out around the axles.  Those axles are "bushed" and should have had REAL bearings.
 
  The belts wear out, and sometimes can be a PITA to keep adjusted.
 
  Although less common, the mainshaft in the tranny wears out along with the gears in the tranny.  You won't know that until they just start slipping some day.
 
  Those are the main things, and things that could have been made better on a tiller that cost so much.  Our old one had all of these problems, and so did one of my uncles.
 
  A BCS tiller is head and shoulder better made, real bearings and seals...  A REAL clutch instead of belts ect...
 
  DM

[longwinters]

Well my new Mantis has a Honda 4 cyl motor.  I wear hearing protection.  And since my original Mantis is sold.....I enter a new frontier.    
 
But I guess I should have started a thread on Tiller Reviews......Which might be a good idea as it is that time of year.
 
Long

[keith44]

I agree a real clutch and roller or ball bearings would be a much better upgrade, but 46 years of service and no bushings, no real issues with the seals (average 1 full set per 10 years)  The original engine lasted into the mid eighties.  On the model I am talking about when you shift into gear it raises the motor and adjusts the angle to keep it near level, we actually wore the valves out, and the bore was so sloppy it had nearly no compression and used more oil that it should.  The rod never did fail.