Tillers

Hi all,

Has anyone used either a mantis rototiller or a Sthil rototiller and what do you think of them.

mantis rotillers are very compact and a decent bit of kit but of course you pay for that,sthil also is a reliable name, how much land have you to work and what state is it in.both of these tillers are ok if you have dug the ground

I love my Mantis. It won't dig deep into heavy ground, or break up large lumps of claggy clay, but it will do the job on loamy / sandy soil without needing to dig first. It's great for preparing 'a fine tilth' and for working in manure / garden compost. It's light and reliable, starting first time after nearly a year. 

I started a thread on this subject a little while ago.

On my heavy ground I have to say I found my Mantis it a little disappointing, but as Gold1locks has said they are probably better on light soil. Then again, on dry clay soil they do an excellent job in breaking down lumps of clay. 

Also, I have found that unless the ground is absolutely weed-free, the blades have to be removed every few minutes to clean them.

I bought the more expensive one with a four-stroke Honda engine.

Thanks for the info, sorry for not getting back as I couldnt find mmy origional post and it never showed up in my mail box that i recieved replies still trying to find my way around this site , tks again