Honda vrs Mantis

[tracie]

Hi All,

I have a mantis and a Honda tiller, Both are 4stroke and both about the same age and been used about the same.

My question is which one should I keep, I do not need two, but both were a good buy second hand.

Thanks

Tracie

[tigerburnie]

Honda engines tend to be better, when I worked in horticultural engineering a long time ago, many were having Honda engines put on/in their equipment, lost count of the number of football clubs and cricket clubs that did it to their grass cutting gear.

[Gerry]

I have a Honda tiller but have never tried a Mantis. However I'm very happy with my Honda.

[robo]

Mantis four strokes are normally Honda engined

[Geoff]

I've often thought of buying one of these lightweight cultivators for breaking down dug ground but as I have never got round to it I can't advise. Agree that Honda engines have a good reputation but if they are both the same as Robo suggests it is really down to your own experience - have they been equally reliable? - are they equally effective and easy to use?

[robo]

I've got a mantice, they are ok for breaking down lumps of soil but they are limited

[peter]

People on my site who have them tend to drag them backwards and get a trench of very finely minced soil.
Often the intend is potato planting, but also just breaking down unwintered clods.

[robo]

I have a small plough attachment it's ok for spud planting but not much else

[Westi]

I have a Mantis which for several years was great for earthing up the spuds if the rows were a bit further apart, it would just throw fine soil on top of either side & they were covered in a blink. It has died but it was not 4 stoke & we obviously didn't get the mix right. They kindly offered me £30 to upgrade in an e-mail recently, but cost of return if I took that offer would have been more than that & it cost soo much more even back then! I have killed our savings on the Keder so it will be trenching up for me for a few years while Mr gets over the shock of the tunnel!

I'm not sure I'd bother replacing it though, as that was it's main attraction for me. Even though my soil is reasonably sandy I just don't have enough land to justify the cost of either option.

[robo]

Westi if I ever decide to get shut of mine you can have it ,one of the guys on our plot bought a two stroke one it lasted around two months I can't remember the make of the engine but they are still made I was asked to have a look at it which I did I phoned the firm up and explained the position to them they were not very interested

[richard p]

mantis always seem to make good money at local auction or on ebay.

ive got a rotovator attachment for my ryobi strimmer, that works surprisingly well.

[Shallot Man]

Hi All,

I have a mantis and a Honda tiller, Both are 4stroke and both about the same age and been used about the same.

My question is which one should I keep, I do not need two, but both were a good buy second hand.

Thanks

Tracie

Hi Tracie. Me and a fellow plot holder have shared one for some eight years, so far no trouble. One bit of advice [ from HONDA factory ]
Always use a filter when filling machine, [moister in petrol ] and always switch of the petrol, and let it run until it runs out of juice. [ very tiny carb]

[includedcamping]

For me Mantis is ok but Honda is the best.