WHICH ROTOVATOR ?

[sallyann993]

Has anyone recently bought a rotovator for the allotment ?what brand name type etc im thinking of buying one but im unsure as to which to buy,ive got a budget of around £800 my allotment has been well dug every year in winter and summer the soil is reasonably soft although if you go more than 14 inches down there is clay in places although ive never had any problems with this.im just looking at buying a rotovator to make things a little easier for me as i dont have a lot of time to dig the whole plot and im sure i could rotovate some of the older allotment holders plots to help them out.many thanks

[sallyann993]

[supersprout]

hi sallyann, worth checking out the Which? report (two years ago?) in your local library - pretty comprehensive and full of tips for what to look for (and what to avoid!) :) they call them cultivators I think ???

[tim]

Dammit - knew I should have kept the spread in last week's papers. Was it one of the Alko range that came out tops for value?

[Artisan]

I bought a second hand Camon rotavator off Ebay for about £150 I think.  Its not one of the big ones with tractor type wheels, just more of a tiller I guess, but it does a really good job of turning over my heavy clay soils.  Only drawback to it is that it has no reverse gear, which means that you can drive yourself into a corner then have a hell of a job trying to turn it around!! 

[sjg12]

Hi there Sallyann

I bought a second had Alko hobby mh350-4 tiller, i find it excellent, you do have do go over the area a couple of times to get a good tilth but it seems to cope with every thing from hard soil to giving a decent tilth, i don't think the tilth I'm left with is as fine as a mantis tiller leaves but it's good for me.

It is quite heavy and the transportation wheel is a bit flimsy but it does a good job all the same.

Simon.

[tim]

Wrong again - sorry - here it is - out of the recycle bin -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/scan0003.jpg

[telboy]

Hi salleann,
Do you need to buy a new one?
Have a look on e-bay there's always lots. I have a collection of Merry Tillers/British made & tough machines. They also made many accessories for all tasks.
Good luck!

[Roy Bham UK]

Hi salleann,
Do you need to buy a new one?
Have a look on e-bay there's always lots. I have a collection of Merry Tillers/British made & tough machines. They also made many accessories for all tasks.
Good luck!

:o Good grief ;D I used to collect fag cards years ago that caused clutter :o where on earth do you store "Tillers" merry or otherwise ??? ;D

[ruffmeister]

i have 3!!!  ;D last yuear we used a mary tiller and did the job for us we have had that for years though, however have bought one off ebay for 99p!!!  8) and with half an hours messing around with the timing on the engine got it working, we then went to the tip and got the exact model from there for £5 :o so we will use that for spares however it starts fine just needs some tines!! but we are to use the 99p this year as is 7.5hp so that will definitly do the job.

i reccommend looking on ebay or check your local tip. ours always has ones in variable condition.