We've always had mowers and strimmers that members can borrow, for their own plots and for use on communal areas of the site. Over the last couple of years - as the older, cheaper stuff has broken down on us - we've invested in decent, more robust stuff. There's always the odd idiot, of course, but on the whole members are very good about using these machines.
The suggestion has now come up that we might buy a lightweight tiller for members to borrow. My immediate reaction was that: a) if it's light enough for most members to use (and be suitable for raised beds), then it's not going to be sturdy enough to resist the wear & tear of communal use; and b) if it's sturdy enough, half the members won't be able to cart the thing around, it's going to take up too much space in our machine shed, and going to cost a fortune.
I don't want to dismiss the idea out of hand, so I said I'd ask. So, A4A peeps - is it a good idea? anyone had experience of it (good or bad!)? and if we go for it, what machine(s) should we be looking at?
We have three to lend out, a Merry tiller, a small Honda FG200, and a Mantis, the Honda has been good since 2004, we have it serviced by a Honda dealer (best thing) , just the job for knocking a small area down before planting. Elf and Safety / Insurance issues :-\ We get members to sign a record book that they been trained on the use of the machine and are competent to use it at there own risk. We also keep a accident record book and equipment maintenance record book for all our equipment.
I think two is the way, a mantis for the ladies, and a Merry Tiller for the men.
I wouldn't suggest a Merry Tiller for the inexperienced, a Mantis is fine as a cultivator but it isn't a ground-breaker, if you want something to do that then a driven-wheel rear-tine machine is best, there are several onesout there, they have an advantage over the MT's of not bucking around so much when they hit harder bits of soil, using an MT can be like trying to rotavate with a Springer Spaniel sometimes....
chrisc
Quote from: chriscross1966 on April 14, 2011, 08:10:29
I wouldn't suggest a Merry Tiller for the inexperienced, a Mantis is fine as a cultivator but it isn't a ground-breaker, if you want something to do that then a driven-wheel rear-tine machine is best, there are several onesout there, they have an advantage over the MT's of not bucking around so much when they hit harder bits of soil, using an MT can be like trying to rotavate with a Springer Spaniel sometimes....
chrisc
Thank you for that! I'm still laughing!! Do you think it would work with a cocker spaniel? ;D ;D ;D
Thanks for that advice. We'll do some research on those and discuss it on Committee.
I would not call a Merry tiller lightweight, having just got rid of mine as it was too difficult to control (Springer Spaniel effect) now that I am 82. I replaced it with an Einhell BG-MT 3336 Petrol Mini-Tiller. An excellent machine for the price. When the moisture content of the land is right it will fine down to a good seed bed (and our land is heavy clay). I run it at low revs. and find it's very economical on fuel. When running at full depth I find it is better to remove the front wheel altogether, otherwise it gets in the way.