Your old mantis probably has a dirty carb. and a weak diaphram. Which is common among two strokes after years of use. You can try to spary carb. cleaner directly down the carb as a primer it should start of it immediately. You will get some cleaning action by doing this but the best way it to take the carb apart, gas tank off and clean them. A carb kit cost about 8 bucks plus a can of carb spray cleaner. If you keep the air filter clean and the gas tank clean then you may get away with adding carb cleaner to the gas tank and it may remove any tarnish or guu inside the carb. but after years of use and storage IMO you have a low precentage chance of this working. As for the elect. If battery pack I would check on how much the battery pack costs, you might have to replace the battery pack ever few years which would be the only cost involve. If 120V then you have to have and extension cord or a portable gen. I would think they would last a long time provide you didn't get them wet and leave them wet.

Good Morning Phyllisfrommantis, thank you for restoring my faith in the American business world. I'm sure you yourself have tried to contact businesses via e-mail, only to have them ignore you. As you say, many of them are answered and fall into the 'undeliverable' category, but there are also many that are simply ignored. I'm glad Mantis is not one of those companies. I too have owned a Mantis for several years, and never knew I could get individual parts. The Mantis is a really great little tiller and I haven't had the need for parts yet. Like Scaly, I was also put off by the apparent need to purchase things I don't need, or want, just to get one item in a 'kit'. I also now know that some manufacturers are watching such forums as this, and hopefully seeing some of their customer's frustrations, and will follow your example of trying to help those customers. Thank you again.

As many seem to be doing, I am weighing whether to purchase the Stihl MM55 tiller or a Mantis. My online research has revealed the opinion on the various blogs and message boards to be that the Stihl is a good tool and comparable in performance and quality to the Mantis in most every way. Opinions vary from person to person, but adjusting for this, the two seem to be in a statistical dead heat. However, I have noticed something which I feel may be the fatal flaw of the Stihl. Whether in Facebook video clips, or even in the demo video clips on the official sites of both brands, it looks like the Stihl just doesn?t dig down anywhere near as far as the Mantis. In the multiple clips I have viewed, rarely is the Stihl to be seen in up to the "axle"; that is, the rotational axis of the tines; but the Mantis can often be seen buried right up to the fender. Hence, the Stihl seems to only be providing half or less of the tilling depth on average as does the Mantis. Has anyone else noticed this? I have a theory as to why this tilling depth disparity exists? The in-line configuration of the Stihl; i.e., the engine being between the operator and the tines; combined with the design of the handlebars, which induce the operator to lean forward or hunch over, results in the tiller being held at a severe angle to the ground. If you envision the thing laying on the ground and call this "zero degrees" and imagine it standing perfectly vertical and call this "ninety degrees" it appears that in most Facebook clips of the tool in use and even the demo video clip on the official Stihl site the tiller is usually only 20-30 degrees from horizontal. I am not a physicist or a degreed engineer, but I have to believe this takes a lot of the Stihl?s weight off the tines and forces the operator to carry it. After all, the engine is between the end supported by the ground and the end supported by the operator, thus, the operator has to be carrying some of it. The closer to horizontal the tool is held the more weight is carried by the operator. For a nominally 20 pound tool, I would not be surprised if only 12 pounds or so was working to push the tines down into the ground. By contrast the configuration of the Mantis puts nearly all of its 20 pounds above the tines. I suspect the operator of the Mantis carries none of its weight, but rather only holds it up in operating position. This then accounts for the greater tilling depth I see the Mantis achieving. Any physicists out there care to comment?

Love my lil' digger. The legendary SC clay is no match for this buckaroo. Have been using since last 3 years, belive me it is very easy to go overboard with this machine. Making perfect veggie beds, digging holes for planting trees, incorporating soil amendments have never been so easy. It's a pleasure to garden with mantis. Last weekend I had to install 150 feet of cement edging (using 18" scalloped pieces) around the flower beds. I marked the lines with chalk powder, and made perfect 4" wide and 4" deep grooves with mantis (using tines on one side only). The entire job was finished (including the cleanup) within 2 hrs, without breaking a sweat.