Searching the best mini gas tiller

[davidlortiejon45]

We are doing some severe space clearing and leveling to move a storehouse unit (aluminum skeleton and dense coated tarp roof/sides). My tiller died of a broken transmission (mini - but got lots of years of use). It was great, but I remember holding many times to stop and get a stone out that would be jammed between tines. Can anybody suggest me the best one?

[RoyM]

Mantis and Echo (made by Mantis) are the best I have seen, lots of power and durable. The cheap box store models don't stand up and are disposables, they cost more to repair than replace.

[Skywatcher]

Hi David

I'm with Roy on this one. I've seen Mantis tillers over 20 years old come into my shop for minor repairs like fuel lines and carb kits. I had one 25 year old Mantis come in with a dead ignition coil which was NLA so that one finally died. I guarantee you'll never get that sort of life expectancy from any of the cheap box store mini tillers. The only ones which may come close are Stihl, but they haven't been around long enough to really prove themselves like the Mantis. Hope this gives you some food for thought. All the best,

Sky

[bgsengine]

Yep Echo built the engines for those Mantis tillers (Engine Models starting with SV-xxx) Mantis built the gearboxes. These days Echo still builds engines onto the gearboxes under Echo branding, but I believe Mantis has been lately building theirs with Honda engines. But from my experience, those gearboxes are nearly bullet-proof, have had some where they've just gotten a newer Echo SV engine popped onto them, and they keep on going. Current Echo builds seem to last just as long, have sold quite a few, and they are still in regular use.

[tuffnell]

I have had a Honda FG110 (I think that's the model) for over 10 years. It has served me well.
It's small enough that I can till inside my compost box, which makes the grass clippings break down quicker.
One thing I like about it is, I Don't have to mix gas and oil.

[bobodu]

Mantis for sure. Store them properly over the winter and they last forever.