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I was intending to buy one of these machines, until a couple of months ago. I went to core a lawn and it wouldn't work as the lawn was to dry/hard.
It's a poor design IMO
Thanks Rowly for your time and effort even though you got the machine wrong.
I have never had a problem getting this machine to penetrate the ground. I cant see the drum type aerators working any better than an offset cam type (like the Camon) unless they are ridiculously heavy. The Camon is 90Kg and if they made it any heavier it would need to be self propelled (in my opinion of course).
They do propel themselves Stuart in a fashion. The trick being to apply rearward pressure to the handle bar. As well as driving the machine forward, it also ensures the tines penetrate vertically. Like you I've never had any problem getting it to penetrate the ground. Just choose your weather conditions to suit. I guess the reason they cost an arm and a leg is because they are a low volume manufactured item.
Thanks Phil. Yes it does propel itself to a degree. I have never tried to use one when the soil has been dry and hard so cannot comment on its abilities in those conditions.
Camon dont sell the crank unit as a whole it would seem. The engine which is a GX160 HX4 is quite expensive £550+. This model has the 6:1 reduction gearbox - this gearbox must be expensive as a normal GX160 can be had for under £300.
Looking at the offset crank unit, it does consist of a lot of complex, expensive parts so i assume this contributes a lot to the end price. A bit to complex to build your own!
Hi Stuart
Sorry for the late reply to this. It is very unlikely you will ever have to change or replace the crank system on the Camon LA20. In the 8 years we have been manufacturing and selling this, mainly to Hire companies and Landscapers, we have only had to repair/replace one of these. As you mention the main cost in this unit is the Honda GX160 c/w reduction gearbox, which is nearly double the cost of a straight forward GX160.