THE REST OF THE STORY:

Poor Manty!!! I finally did it I killed the Mantis when I made my new hosta garden! It was tilling along fine and then it starting making some crackling noises in the motor and would slow down then speed up-I only did a lil more and it still was running but HORRIBLY!!! I shut him off and waited till my DH got home-he can fix anything!
I started it up and the first few mintues it seemed ok then like rice crispies in milk SNAP CRAKLE POP again! he said shut if off i will look at it. He came back after a few and said yep you did it this time!!!


Heres my new off/on switch DH just added 2wks ago!

here's manty on the operating table!

heres a shot of the lil piston-I broke the rings in it!

side view of the broken rings!!!!

They call me: wreckemdori!

More to follow-soon i hope!!!

wreckemdori....methinks you just know how to get your moneys worth outta sumpin'!!

Wonder how many hours you put on that thing!?

kim i know we put in alot of 8hr days together for the past 3 yrs
Ive had alot of blisters from manty!

I added a tranny this spring and im on my 3rd set of tines-well i was! :(
Ran lots of gas through him!!! sniff sniffff I will miss my old garden buddy!!

Poor thing, now is your chance Dori to get a big daddy tiller. I have my new area tilled and widened one bed for more daylilies, yesterday. Trying to beat the storms.

The mantis is a well made SMALL engine. Designed for a few hours a week, will last a lifetime. You need a Troybuilt. It will out live you. I don't think they make anything as small as a Mantis. So if you really liked the small amount of work, but a very easy to handle machine, Beat another Mantis to death. I know a machine can't have a soul but we do get attached to them. You could almost spend what a new Mantis costs to repair yours. Another trick is to put more 2 stroke oil in the gas. It may smoke a little more, or foul plugs more, but the little engine will take more abuse. If they made a Mobil 1 for 2 strokes, I would buy it. A 2 stroke engine only does catastrophic failure. When they stop at full throttle, something very bad happened to that engine. (I know it might have run out of gas, this can damage it as well, no lube)

i have a regular size tiller and a 3ft one that is attatched to my garden tractor and a 6ft one attatched to the BIG tractor but i need a small one like manty!!!
manty was used slightly when i got him!


I have already bought the 4 stroke off ebay. Brand new in the box with the guarantees n edger!!! i cant wait to get the new n approved one!!!
THATS THE REST OF THE STORY!

***I garden on a large scale! ;)

Methinks dori ain't no 'gardener'....

She's a "Flower Farmer" !


Lookin' might good to me! And you need all the equipment you can get!

I like the on 'n off switch. When you said that I really expected to see a shovel. LOL Jeanette

I like that new switch! I would be lost without our Mantis. I just got our second one early this summer. Slightly used too but it sure starts & runs better than the old one. DH mixed the fuel incorrectly several years ago and it has never run well since then. We put a new transmission in our old one about 3 years ago.

And me thinks! You are just now workin the bugs out of that Mantis,I did not see hair one of Duct tape on it!Ain't wore out,just needs a little tightnin!

Yeah, duct tape fixes everything. LOL

Po' manty!!! And a mitey wee tiny lil piston she's got ... The baby was apparently straining to hang in thar fer ye, all the while!

Even with the purchase of the new'un on the way from Ebay .. Eeeks !! Pray tell, don't play taps fer ol faithful .. and put her 6 ft under YET!! .. Give her a ring job and an overhaul ... I'll bet you'll find she'll still till out many a couply thousand more hours fer ye!

Geez .. I'm with horseshoe! 'Fraid you no longer qualify fer a mere gardener. You're a flower farmer - big time !! - mags

Have reassessed my view. I think you need 2. Most of us could not kill a mantis. I really recommend you get 2. Idle and cool down is a nice thing for engines I believe at the rate you use one up 2 would last longewr due to rest time.

Yoo Hoooo notmartha ?!?!? .. Did you got that thar new 4 stroke in yet ? ? ?

Been kindly spectin' you to post a few pics of that new'un you ordered .. here soon !!!

I got it and i LUV it!!! It starts first pull-no choke!! Its so quiet too! I have been tilling my.......head off!! ;)

Here SHE is and this is her BIG BIG brother I got from NHGC to test and report on. Then I get to keep him -FREE!

This is me after mowing,tilling,vacumming and planting!!!