Eager for an update on your progress at the new home/grounds.
Not familiar with the brands you mentioned. I have a Honda rear tine and the measure of it's durability is that it sat outdoors under the trees for several (maybe 7 years) and with fresh gas started up right away.

Wow that is super impressive Dottie!! Maybe I should check into them. I had a Mantis and couldn't keep it running long enough to till one bed. So I gave it to my lawn care guy last summer. I was so disgusted with it, I had just had it over to the shop and had a tune up and it fixed. Brought it home, started on a former bed to till it up for veggies, and bam, it broke with less than 5 minutes on it after repair. On the much brighter side, I've got things underway. I've got my back yard beds laid out, and they are going in now. I have grass growing now, I elected to just put in seed to get things started and will decide on grand plans later on. I had to have something to help control the mud and cut down on the standing water after a rain. I've got a guy helping with some of the digging and my plants from the old house are going in now. I think I may have been pretty lucky. Out of over 75 pots of plants, I've only lost 3 so far. I'm still waiting for some of my smaller EE's to sprout, but my big guys are sprouting like crazy. I managed to save my big bananas, my roses are growing like crazy and my hibiscus haven't come out yet. Keep you fingers crossed, looks like we made out OK even with them being out of the ground almost a year. I finally got the first round with the builder finished last week and that is a huge relief. It took us 4 months to get the initial punch list of stuff wrong worked thru. I'm finally getting to relax a little and enjoy the house now I have all the workmen out of here. And things are busy as always. I'm taking the Master Gardener course at Clemson right now, and I've got a new German Sheppard puppy on the way, scheduled to be born 4-24 and be ready to come home the end of June. So never a dull moment around here! :-)

nannerbelle , amazed at your energy ! Now the trees are leafing out and the sun is on its warm weather path it's easier to judge light and shade for siting certain plants here now I've cut down so many trees.
I don't have a hole-digging fellow..that's got to be better than having a maid !!
I too have had a Mantis, two of them (gave one away) and they are sensitive as you would expect out of a small very fast running machine that gums up very quickly.
I hear there is a new canned gas mixed with synthetic oil for two-stroke engines. Clean gas, no alcohol additives.

Love the Mantis when someone else gets it started but I may replace it with Honda's version or just continue the manual, slower method of turning over new beds. Mantis wants to be used frequently and run til all the gas oil mix is gone. Think I wasn't using it frequently enough.

I've been in this new residence for almost three years now and where I stored my moved plants is now sprouting stray
peonies, spiderworts and others I've yet to identify but I know they're mine I dug and moved.
Always something to do.
And look at you..adding a rambunctious puppy to the mix, wow you do have abundant energy.

I have had 2 mantis tillers first one was great but the 2nd not so great. If you run high test gas mix they work better and less trouble cranking them. i would buy another one in a heart beat but would go with the Honda 4 stroke engine next time.