I have a Mantis that I use as my primary tiller. Because of this, I have the 4-cycle machine that cost more. You don't need this.

I'd say that for your purpose an electric would do the job. They're the lightest.

thank you for the input

any suggestions as to the best ones in the 200 to 250 range?

You can probably find a good condition, used Mantis on Craigslist for $100-150.
-Mark

i'm sure gonna be looking Mark. i'd like to get it bought but i don't need it in a rush we just moved in to this house and will set up the garden after the turn of the year just wanting to get my needs and supplies stockpiled if i can and on the tiller know a deal when i see one

so the mantis ones or any with no wheels they walk along nice or do they tend to dig in? i guess they must move along or people wouldn't be so up on them

I don't follow what you mean by 'walk along or dig in'?

i mean never having used one when i see one it looks like it would dig a hole rather than move forward or walk along

but like i said i've only ever used large walk behind with powered wheels .. so i figured wheels powered or not would keep it from just digging in and help keep it moving forward

I've only used a mantis and it was hopping and jumping all over.
here is a link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g91dSGiJ924 a video of a small tiller review

Here is a link that might be useful: small tillers

thank you looks like except for the mantis the others he reviews are more than i want to pay for now but i really would like to try a stihl

i'm hoping since i will be putting down new dirt i wouldn't have a bouncing issue but i've dealt with that before even with an old heavy full sized walk behind tiller as one property we gardened on once was at some point a 100 or so years ago a brickyard so there were old brick pieces everywhere in the dirt

Far from digging in, my Mantis likes to take off and the effort in using it is to rein it back. Or, as I usually do, pull it backwards instead of forwards. This works much more effectively.

It will, indeed, jump if it hits an obstacle like a heavy lump of clay - abundant in my garden. With the setup you describe, however, that shouldn't be much of a problem.

walking it backwards is a good tip

thanks much

I purchased an electric till this summer and I love it. I do have better success with it going backwards. It doesn't till as deeply as gas powered tillers but I am not strong enough to operate a gas powered tiller.

Linked below.

Cindy

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon

thank you Cindy
i'm really on the fence about the gas versus electric. i like the price of the electric but i like almost everything else about gas so i just hope to come across one onsale or from a private individual.. so i can get as much of my moneys worth as possible

guess i'm going to have to practice walking backwards no matter what

I had an old one long time ago , trying to till a rough rocky area. It kept breaking this and that part. So I finally gave up on tillers.

I use shovels. That gives me some healthy workout.
But let me ask you this if you don't mind: How many square foot area are we talking about ?
In addition to buying an electric one, you can also rent one from HD. Get feel for it and see if you like them.

it's not going to be a huge area .. for starters it will be maybe about 500 sq ft

never even thought to rent i'll take a look see when i go shopping next at what they got and rates locally

This post was edited by stoic on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 19:30

Renting is a good idea. I rented a Mantis before I bought mine. When I returned it I said, "Sell me one."

I got my wife a Mantis about 10 years ago. The dealer sold both Mantis and Stihl. The Stihl was more substantial and I'm not sure why I bought the Mantis, but I did. It works well in loose soil with no weeds but that's about it. The tines can be reversed to either cultivate either shallow or deep. If you use it in any weeds or grass they tangle around the tines and you have to stop and clean them out often. You really don't have to practice walking backwards, you just pull the tiller towards you with your arms and continue to move forward as you go. I guess what I'm trying to say is works ok on soft soil with no weeds. It's not what I expected.

I bought one this year -- an electric mantis, and read loads of reviews first. The people with the gas/oil powered ones had lots of complaints. I have no complaints on the electric. We used it to till heavily quack grass infested pathways. Yes, had to stop and clean the rhizomes out the tines every so often, but it is so much easier to use than the Troy Bilt Pony I have, it's well worth it. It was $300 new from the company, and the Co is great to work with. I'd say worth going $50 over your budget if you can't find a used electric one.

Never having used one, or been inclined to use one of these, I have to say that I'm awestruck at how shallow these things till. They dig, what, about six inches down?? With some muscles and a shovel, I'm not satisfied unless I've turned one and a half spade depths deep. Maybe 14-16".

I think the big tillers at least pretend to go deep enough.

Pardon my skepticism, but what do you use these mini-tillers for -- planting lawns?

Mini tillers work great for breaking up clumps on the soil surface, like when prepping a bed for planting. They work great to cultivate weeds around established plants. They can loosen soil alongside potatoes for hilling. And they can easily go 6+ inches deep in loose soil.

I have 3 rototillers. A walk behind BCS, a 40 inch Agric for the tractor and a mantis. Different tools work for different jobs.
If you can't figure out what to use one for, you probably don't need one.

-Mark

my big walk behind will go through anything.. but this will just need to go through new stuff we will be putting in raised bed .. and just no way that i want to drag a full sized walk behind up a 6 foot flight of stairs to get to the upper yard.

i was thinking of going gas powered but the more i look around the more i think i'll go electric plus they seem cheap enough that i won't be out a ton if we don't get along

maybe one of the 8.5 amp earthwise models

Ah, I understand. Sort of a powered rake. (At least the "mini" ones.) Nope. I certainly don't need one.

A Garden Claw and iron rake do the job for me after first loosening with a shovel.

A word of caustion
Use only gas without ethynle on small engines
I have a chain saw ,power washer and a weed eater that no longer runs I was told that water in the gas has ruined the engines
The repair shop is overrun with small engins and are not able to fix them.

thank you hementia i'll make note of that for future reference .. good bit of info

Yes. The alcohol mix mandated for gasoline will cost you a carb cleaning once a year or more. You can either buy a fuel stabilizer or buy aviation fuel (very high octane gas without the destructive ethanol) from a local airport. Tell them you need it for a model plane kit, since the gubmint apparently won't permit them to sell fuel for any other purpose than flight.

I find myself using just the garden claw more and more. It's tiring, but so is wrangling the rototill.

I have a ryobi expad-it, and love it. All I have is raised beds and two kitchen garden beds that have been worked for years. Would not use it for new earth. Maybe I have a good one, the reviews are so so, but many of them seem to be using it for fresh dirt.

We have to drive to Iowa to get gas that doesn't have ethanol. We spent so much to have the gunk removed from several small engines that it was worth it to us to drive the distance to get pure gas. BTW, even though you 'save' 10cents a gallon with ethanol, your gas millage is MUCH better without the ethanol blend. You didn't save anything for gas in your car. For small machinery, you save huge amounts in repairs.

Hmmmm and now they want to increase the amount of ethanol to 15%???????

thanks for the tips on the fuel..

i never would of known about getting gas from the airport or what to say.. very good tip

Aviation gasoline has lead in it. I wouldn't use it for that reason.

What I do is treat the fuel with StaBil. I put the stabil in the jerry can before I fill it from the pump.

If the fuel starts to get up to around 1 year old, I put it in my car to use it up.

For two-stroke fuel, (chainsaw and stihl kombi-motor) I use tru-fuel. It is expensive, but I don't burn that much, and it saves a lot of hassle when it comes to maintenance. I don't try to drain the carburetor or fuel tank or anything, but I do try to run all my motors periodically so that the fuel doesn't get too stale.

--McKenzie

You can also use a product called Seafoam (I get it from amazon.com) in your two-cycle engines. We tried it last year in our Mantis tiller, Stihl weed whackers and chain saws. Also put it in the mowers.

This is the first spring they ALL started up without having to be cleaned (and we forgot to empty the fuel last fall, too, so it was in there all winter). DH was ecstatic. From our experience, it works much better than Stabil.

Thanks for the tip malna! I have heard of sea-foam, but I haven't tried it. When I run out of stabil, I will give it a try. It is hard to sort out the marketing claims, so I do appreciate you sharing your actual experience.

We have been "dreaming" of a Mantis for years, but the cost was just too high. While working on one of my customers homes, I saw a small Craftsman electric mini tiller. When I asked him what he thought of it, he said he had purchased it to work in his flower beds but because of his age, he had a hard time keeping it where he wanted it. He said I was welcome to try it if I wanted to. We had some new beds I was planning on double digging anyway, so I figured I would give it a try. I will have to admit I was not expecting much, boy was I in for a surprise! One of the beds was an old walkway, and the ground was literally as hard as a rock. Like most front tine tillers it liked to jump, but it chewed through that hard dirt without any complaints. I felt the motor housing numerous times thinking it was bound to be getting hot. It never got much more than warm, so I ran it as hard as I felt like. It worked so well, I ended up double digging the rest of the beds. I added mulched leaves and grass clippings as I worked my way back to the top. And yes, I had to stop once and a while to clean the grass off the tips of the tines as well as remove a rock or two that stopped it quickly. Not a problem though, flipped it over on it's top, cleaned the tines, and dropped it back in the bed. I ran it really hard for 2 days and never tripped the thermal overload. I am a bit of a tool snob, but I will also have to give credit where credit is due. This thing rocks! I called my customer back to let him know how impressed I was, to say thanks and to set up a time to return it. He told me he was glad it had worked so well for me, and he had hired a landscaper to keep up with his flower beds, so I could just keep it!

Perry- NICE!!!!! I got a leaf mulcher from a yard sale for free! It's been my neighbor's best friend for 5 years! LOL Nancy

after a lot of help her3e, thanks everyone, and looking at a lot of reviews and youtube videos i decided to for now go with the Earthwise TC70001 .. just 100 bucks which is less than half of what i planned on so worth a shot especially since it won't be to break new ground but to mix new stuff we'll be putting in, which i am beginning to stock pile now .. little every month till we have enough in a few months just in time for the new garden season