Kitchen Garden Forum

Whilst i rather admire the old, and the quirky my old merry tiller is no longer becoming a viable option, and whilst my back is strong and in good condition I want it to stay that way. So rather than struggle with the Merry Tiller next spring which needs serious overhaul, I thought I would invest in a Honda. I have looked on e-bay and the 'mantis' derivatives seem readily available in new or second hand forms and wondered if it was big enough or should I go for a more powerful item? I have a standard plot (Approx 90' by 30') (Which I would not want to till all in one go) .

Are these hondas and their derivatives what they appear to be or should I look for something else and if so what power option?

Thanks

CoMpO

Mantis is small, so will take time to cover an area, also rotors are very fast, so I suspect stony ground would be "interesting" for the user, I'd certainly wear safety glasses same as for strimming.
Avoid 2-stroke like the plague, acquaintances have found they get steadily more difficult to start.

Near neighbour had a small genuine entirely Honda 4-stroke rotovator and its a quality item, smaller than the Merry Tiller but bigger than the Mantis.

Dilwyn and Windsor both bought 4-stroke Mantis rotovators this year wondered why they hadn't bought them before!!Actually Dilwyn's was a present and had some of the extra attachments and he reckoned that the "plough"was the best but that the stand should be included as standard and not an extra.Windsor's was bought second-hand and looked brand new and could have been a refurbished job bought off E-bay or Mantis' own outlet shop.No matter,they are well pleased with them.

We have two Honda - one is the mantis and the other is a bigger machine F220
I haven't used either but my husband says if the larger machine broke down now he would make do with the Mantis. Our ground is clay soil but not as rough as when first starting a plot when the larger machine was required.
The tiller is easy to lift in and out of the car which is an issue as we have to drive to our plot.

It's also quite good for quickly tilling over the soil before planting or turning over where annual weeds have started to pop through.

Hi Compo,
I have had a Honda Mini-Tiller FG110 for over 4 years and have found it to be very good indeed. It is however a tiller and not a rotovator, ie. the ground really needs to be in use and not "virgin ground". It tills as you pull it backwards and gets through the work ammazingly quickly.
The "Drag bar" can be adjusted to control the tilling depth down to 203mm and the two outer tines can be removed to give you the ability to get between very closely spaced plants. With all four tines in place a tilling width of 230mm is achieved. It also has a five year warranty with it and has a four stroke engine.
The Honda Importers for Ireland didn't import it at the time so I bought mine on-line from West Skelton Services in Dumfries and found them to be very helpful and delivery didn't cost an arm and a leg.

I hope this helps. Regards, Gerry.

Hello Compo
There should be some old posts on this topic lurking around somewhere. I remember it coming up a while ago.
I have a little Honda and an old MT. They are both extremely good at what they are designed to do and that's really the answer to your question. The MT will 'dig' and turn over the soil easily covering a large area. The Honda is superb at producing a fine tilth on well cultivated ground - ideal for sowing or planting out. The Honda has a centrifugal clutch and only one speed.
I know the MTs are heavy and sometimes awkward beasts but if you plan your work to give long runs and get the machine to help on the turns they are not too tiring.

John

Hello again Compo
Forgot to say yesterday that with my MT I usually run it with both the skid and the back wheels fitted when rotovating. My soil is light and this stops the machine digging itself into a hole all the time and does make turning a lot easier.

John

The problem with the MT, is that it is getting on, the compression is poor and the carburettor and throttle mechanisms need work beyond my capabilities, I do not find it too difficult to dig the plot as it is well manured and never compacted or seriously overgown, the idea of the honda tiller is literally to give a fine tilth.

So without a lot of TLC the mery tiller is going to a new home, someone will have more luck with it me if they are mechanically minded.

CoMpO

I run a 30+ year old Honda F400. Admittedly my plot isn't as big as the OP's but then the machine is too big for my plot. This is an excellent machine, plenty of power and quite capable of rotavating 'virgin' ground I recently ploughed up a chunk of lawn to extend my growing area which the Honda ripped into with out missing a beat. Honda build very good stuff

I have a f400 rotavator but i am not shure about the drive belt fitment a spring seems to keep tbe belt engaged and you pull the hand lever to disengage unlike a Merry Tiller is this correct many thanks roger

The only engines I but are either Honda or Briggs an Stratton nothing to choose between them both reliable I have a Honda Mantice and one bought from screw fix it’s powered by Briggs an Stratton it’s larger than the mantice but not to big to do my back in when moving it was cheap as well I think it is a worsley not sure