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Replies

• 

  GORDON February 21, 2011 at 10:39pm

  Hi Stuart

  thanks for the info, wasn't aware of the permeation, nothings ever as simple as you want it to be. Thought about hiring  but its £40 per day and I would have to collect and return. 8 hires and I could have purchased one.

   

  
  Stuart said:

  There are various types of blades that are used and many different configs ie, amount of blades, tines, free or fixed and so on.

  The more blades the better the removal but they tend to be thinner material on fixed blade types like your John Deere machines so best on nice lawns free of stones.

  Like you I looked at many machines but opted for the Eliet E401 which Paul recommended and I am very pleased with the results. As its a fixed blade type and the blade config for this machine uses the slighty thicker blades(3 different blade options are available) it will take the odd stone hit.

  I've not used a spring tine device but would think they would remove moss better but they can't penetrate the soil surface if you need that little extra depth for removing thatch say in the top layers of the soil ready for over seeding as an example.

  I can only compare the Eliet with a bosch scarifier which had fixed blades which a customer owns and we did his rear lawn with his electric job and the front with mine. The electric did  remove the waste but left a horrible finish and did more harm then good where the Eliet was a clean finish. Customer no longer uses his and I managed to obtain the work.

  Perhaps hiring one or maybe a member near you that has one could help.

   
• PRO

  Adam Pilgrim February 21, 2011 at 11:31pm

  I have just purchased an old model Wolf scarifier, a 32 B plus. I went for a 350 mile round trip to get this machine as I have hired one from my local mower centre on several occasions last year and was very impressed, not only with the results but also the weight of the machine. As it is plastic body it is very light and the little Kawasaki engine is superb. This is a fixed knife model - now the 32B plus sadly seems to have been discontinued and replaced by the UV40 Briggs and Stratton engined, spring tine model.

  My local mower centre has had 3 of the 32B plus on their hire fleet for four years, so they seem to be up to the job, wheter the same can be said of the new model, only time will tell.

  As another point, I have had similar experiences to Staurt as I have used various spring tine electric machines before and always found the end result very rough. The Wolf seems to leave a much better finish with fixed blades.
• 

  Gareth February 22, 2011 at 7:12am

  Like yourself i dont do alot of scarifying so I invested in a honda multi tool:

   

  http://www.gardenmachinerydirect.co.uk/honda_cultivators_fg110_comp...

   

  The cultivator attachment is the other attachment I use the most. I've had decent results with the spring tines but as said before they dont cut into soil and on very poor lawns can drag whole patches of weakly rooted turf out. On the positive side, it does the job effectively, great for medium to small and occassional use, easily transported and  also used for small rotovating jobs. Had it for prob 7 years (?) and still doing the job.
• 

  Graeme @ BGS February 22, 2011 at 8:09am

  But if you only have a few jobs can't these all be scheduled for the same day and only one hire charge?

   

  Also be mindful that scarification isn 't always the answer also consider aeration where applicable.  I think too many gardeners tend to overlook this option when looking at the lawn care side of the business.

   

  
  GORDON said:

  Hi Stuart

  thanks for the info, wasn't aware of the permeation, nothings ever as simple as you want it to be. Thought about hiring  but its £40 per day and I would have to collect and return. 8 hires and I could have purchased one.

   

  
  Stuart said:

  There are various types of blades that are used and many different configs ie, amount of blades, tines, free or fixed and so on.

  The more blades the better the removal but they tend to be thinner material on fixed blade types like your John Deere machines so best on nice lawns free of stones.

  Like you I looked at many machines but opted for the Eliet E401 which Paul recommended and I am very pleased with the results. As its a fixed blade type and the blade config for this machine uses the slighty thicker blades(3 different blade options are available) it will take the odd stone hit.

  I've not used a spring tine device but would think they would remove moss better but they can't penetrate the soil surface if you need that little extra depth for removing thatch say in the top layers of the soil ready for over seeding as an example.

  I can only compare the Eliet with a bosch scarifier which had fixed blades which a customer owns and we did his rear lawn with his electric job and the front with mine. The electric did  remove the waste but left a horrible finish and did more harm then good where the Eliet was a clean finish. Customer no longer uses his and I managed to obtain the work.

  Perhaps hiring one or maybe a member near you that has one could help.

   
• 

  GORDON February 22, 2011 at 6:00pm

  Hi Graeme

   

  what you have stated is the logical approach but I have a full customer round and could only see my way clear for more than 2 hours in any given day by working extra late. I am not complaining, its a great position to be in but by the same token I don't want to lose customers because of a service that is expected but don't provide.

  
  

  Graeme @ BGS said:

  
  
  Graeme @ BGS said:
  

  But if you only have a few jobs can't these all be scheduled for the same day and only one hire charge?

   

  Also be mindful that scarification isn 't always the answer also consider aeration where applicable.  I think too many gardeners tend to overlook this option when looking at the lawn care side of the business.

   

  
  GORDON said:

  Hi Stuart

  thanks for the info, wasn't aware of the permeation, nothings ever as simple as you want it to be. Thought about hiring  but its £40 per day and I would have to collect and return. 8 hires and I could have purchased one.

   

  
  Stuart said:

  There are various types of blades that are used and many different configs ie, amount of blades, tines, free or fixed and so on.

  The more blades the better the removal but they tend to be thinner material on fixed blade types like your John Deere machines so best on nice lawns free of stones.

  Like you I looked at many machines but opted for the Eliet E401 which Paul recommended and I am very pleased with the results. As its a fixed blade type and the blade config for this machine uses the slighty thicker blades(3 different blade options are available) it will take the odd stone hit.

  I've not used a spring tine device but would think they would remove moss better but they can't penetrate the soil surface if you need that little extra depth for removing thatch say in the top layers of the soil ready for over seeding as an example.

  I can only compare the Eliet with a bosch scarifier which had fixed blades which a customer owns and we did his rear lawn with his electric job and the front with mine. The electric did  remove the waste but left a horrible finish and did more harm then good where the Eliet was a clean finish. Customer no longer uses his and I managed to obtain the work.

  Perhaps hiring one or maybe a member near you that has one could help.

   
• 

  Trevor @ Lawnmower World February 23, 2011 at 12:28am

  As a cheaper alternative to the Eliet E401 theres the Viking LB 540 Petrol Scarifier/ Aerator.

   

  Granted, its not a heavy duty as the Eliet and it only has half the blade volume but it still produces good results and its paid for itself in half the time!  Its also one of the most manoeuvrable petrol scarifiers i've ever used so if your mainly working on smaller areas rather than big sites its well worth looking at.
• 

  Gary Orton February 23, 2011 at 6:49pm

  I got myself a great used Camon LS17 from ebay £250 works really well, Honda engine and really over engineered. Paid for itself in the first season. Spikers/ aerators come up occasionally, Sisis ones look pretty good.
• 

  GORDON February 23, 2011 at 7:13pm

  Thanks Trevor
  I have trawled through the scarifiers but the Viking never came up on any search.. I am interested because I have been using a Viking mower and have been very pleased with the performance, like the easy start although it does have problems sometimes.

  I have also found a site where they are for sale at £349 plus vat (£419) http://www.actionlawn.co.uk/Scarifiers/VIKING-LB540-Scarifier.html  so I have asked my local stockist if they would match the price. They did when I purchased the mower so will wait and see. Only thing about the Viking is the polymer body, I expect it is ok but it makes me nervous.
  Trevor @ Lawnmower World said:

  As a cheaper alternative to the Eliet E401 theres the Viking LB 540 Petrol Scarifier/ Aerator.

   

  Granted, its not a heavy duty as the Eliet and it only has half the blade volume but it still produces good results and its paid for itself in half the time!  Its also one of the most manoeuvrable petrol scarifiers i've ever used so if your mainly working on smaller areas rather than big sites its well worth looking at.
• 

  GORDON February 23, 2011 at 8:17pm

  Hi Trevor
  GL Services has just mentioned the importance of the blade design and how quickly or not the blades become blunt. I guess the quality of the steel has a bearing on that also.
  I don't know how much use your Viking has had but would you judge the blades to be in good, bad or indifferent condition on the basis of their work load?
  
  Trevor @ Lawnmower World said:

  As a cheaper alternative to the Eliet E401 theres the Viking LB 540 Petrol Scarifier/ Aerator.

   

  Granted, its not a heavy duty as the Eliet and it only has half the blade volume but it still produces good results and its paid for itself in half the time!  Its also one of the most manoeuvrable petrol scarifiers i've ever used so if your mainly working on smaller areas rather than big sites its well worth looking at.
• 

  Trevor @ Lawnmower World February 23, 2011 at 8:21pm

  Gordon thats a dam good price!  If your local guys can get anywhere near it, snatch there hand off!!!

   

  As you say, the polymer body does cause slight concern from longevity point of view (its only been on the market here for just over a year now I think) and the majority of customers that have bought them from me have been domestic users.  No issues at all to report though so its encouraging so far.  And the bonus to the polymer deck is the weight which makes its it so much more manoeuvrable than anything else out there, it feels as light and as easy to use as an electric but without the cable.

   

  Blade sharpness tends to be a 50 / 50 balance of structure/design and use.... if you use the machine peak season when the ground is rock hard then your blades wont last 5 minutes.  If a scarifier/aerator is used at the correct times and with a bit of common sense then they shouldn't wear prematurely.

   

  Its a shame I can't supply my favourite any more!  The Robin R-BSVT35.  Still have quite a few professional customers using them who love them to bits.  Spare parts are ridiculously hard to obtain at the moment and until something positive happens on that front, I wont sell them !