Mantis Tiller Repair for Dummies

mantis tiller

It should come as no surprise that the eHow.com contributors who were unfamiliar with their topics were still perfectly happy to find a reference and simply reword it in order to collect their fifteen bucks. Who could blame them? the website didn't care about accuracy, only eyeballs. On the other hand, we here at the Antisocial Network are far more concerned about accuracy, which is why we regularly nominate eHowians for the DotD, eHowians like Fern Fischer, whom we caught  pretending to know "How to Fix a Mantis Tiller That Won't Start" for GardenGuides.com.

Fischer, being nobody's fool, simply found a couple of online copies of Mantis tiller owner's manuals, and made a good-faith effort to reword them (as much to avoid the wrath of the plagiarism police as anything else).  Unfortunately, Fern's unfamiliarity with tillers in general pretty much put paid to that strategy. Here's why we say that: her instructions for troubleshooting a non-starting tiller start with,

"Check the tines for obstructions."

No, that's not troubleshooting a tiller that won't start, that's the first line in the safety instructions. Then there's

"Plug in the tiller cord, turn the switch to 'ON' and start the tiller."

No, Fern, Turning the tiller on starts it – there's no "neutral" setting on the electric version. Or how about,

"Check the oil level in the sump chamber of a four-cycle Honda engine, if that is your tiller model. "

Although proper oil level is critical to the life of the four-cycle Honda engine, a low level will not prevent a gasoline engine from starting, dummy. And finally, there's this bit of... misinformation:

"Turn the switch 'OFF'. [sic] Pull the choke button all the way out. Pull the cord three or four times, and the engine should sputter. "

No, Fern, the engine will not sputter, because it will not even attempt to start with the switch in the OFF position. With "advice" like that is there any wonder why Fischer's the latest to receive the Dumbass of the Day award? No, of course not!

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