Today we are going to take a quick look at the Etesia Hydro 80 MKHP4. The Etesia Hydro 80 MKHP4 is a very compact professional ride-on mower which I have owned and spent many hours on. I’m not a great fan of ride-on mowers due to the fact that some of them are not particularly manoeuvrable and you don’t get such a good finish as with the walk-behind lawnmower.
However, I have to say that the Etesia Hydro 80 is extremely manoeuvrable and exceptionally compact. It actually replaced to rear roller walk behind mowers that are used on a regular basis.
As I mentioned, the finish is not always as good with a ride-on mower. However, the Etesia Hydro 80 gives a very good finish. I added the rear roller, which is an extra feature that enables the lawn to have a striped finish.
You can see more about the Etesia Hydro 80 here, it’s a post that I wrote a couple of years ago.
Etesia Mower
Take A Look At The Video Below For More Information
Solid Framework
The Etesia Hydro 80 has a solid framework and yet is lightweight. One of the best advantages of the Etesia range of mowers is that they are designed to collect wet grass. Many of the competitor’s machines cannot compete with the Etesia range. Due to the fact that they don’t have the ability to collect grass as the Etesia’s do.
Etesia Hydro 80 Cutting Deck
As you can see, we are looking at the cutter deck on the Etesia Hydro 80. It has a large flap at the side that is easy to open, the opening gives access to the blade and to the large grass chute. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, Etesia is famous for its ability to cut wet grass. As you can see, the grass clippings take a very direct route into the 240 L collector.
If a blockage does occur, it’s very easy to unblock the machine as the door on the side can quickly and easily be opened. More often than not, I have found blockages are normally due to small twigs getting lodged in the chute. Which can often then cause a blockage as the grass wraps around the twig!
The large 32-inch single blade has bolt on lifters that create the air or a fan effect to push the grass up into the grass collector. The actual lifters are replaceable, as they obviously have quite a bit of wear and tear. The lifters are simply held on by a couple of bolts; they are very quick to replace.
Today we’re looking at the Hyundai leaf blower which is battery-powered and currently selling for £189, including VAT. Now, we are also going to take a look at two other Hyundai models, which are, are not battery-powered. A two-stroke petrol engine powers these two models. Now, this is the handheld petrol leaf blower, the Hyundai 26 cc two-stroke three in one petrol leaf blower, which is a cheaper price at £139.99 including VAT. And we are going to look at the larger backpack model briefly; this is the Hyundai 52 cc two-stroke backpack petrol leaf blower, which is £169.99, including VAT.
So the battery-powered model is actually more expensive! I just want to give you a few pros and cons for this leaf blower. So the good thing is it’s very quiet and the great thing is with any leaf blower, I actually use mine all year round. It’s the tool that I use most in the garden it’s almost used on a daily basis. So if you think you just want one for leaf blowing, it’s also great for doing driveways, patios, and clearing moss off the lawn if you have scarified your lawn. They have many uses, I even use my leaf blower for clearing out gutters. A leaf blower will clean your gutters quickly; on some models, you can purchase an extension tool specially designed for cleaning gutters. I’m not sure if this one has that or not, but that’s another subject.
How Long Can I Use Hyundai Battery-Powered Cordless Blower Between Charges?
So back to the Hyundai battery-powered cordless blower, the low speed is 101 mph of air, the battery will last up to 34 minutes on this setting. But if you’re on the high-speed setting, it will only last for approximately 15 minutes. The full speed is 132 miles per hour, there is a variable switch on this, so you can vary the speed.
You Can Purchase The Hyundai Battery-Powered Cordless Blower Here
Key features
40 V battery-powered leaf blower.
More than a leaf blower, can be used for many jobs in the garden.
Lightweight at just under 2.5 kg.
132 mph airspeed.
Easy-to-use.
Maximum battery time 34 minutes.
The battery is interchangeable with other 40 V models.
Three-year domestic warranty.
One-year commercial warranty.
Lightweight
Sometimes when you’re getting in corners with a blower, you will want to reduce the blowing power or pressure when going around delicate plants or something similar. Another plus point is that it’s very lightweight. It’s just 2.46 kilograms. So much lighter than a petrol model, which can be a big advantage for some people. However, I have never found petrol handheld blowers tiring to use, as they are not particularly heavy. And of course, with knapsack petrol blowers, they are carried on your back, so you don’t really notice the weight.
Charging Time
So the charge time for, for a battery for the battery is 75 minutes. So if you’re going to be using it for more than half an hour, you probably need to think, is this right for me. There is nothing worse than having to wait for a battery to charge up so you can’t finish the job. This is why it may be worth looking at the petrol models. Now, another good point is that Hyundai offers a three-year warranty for domestic use and a one-year warranty for commercial use. I wouldn’t recommend purchasing these leaf blowers for commercial use, even though they do guarantee their machines for commercial use, which is a good sign.
Let’s Look At The Blowing Power
So this one here, the smaller handheld petrol model, the Hyundai 26 cc two-stroke three in one petrol leaf blower, which has an air speed of 153 mph against 132 mph for the electric model. It’s also quite a bit cheaper at £139.99. Another cheaper option is to look at the larger backpack model which is known as the Hyundai 52 cc two-stroke backpack petrol leaf blower. This has blowing power up to 170 miles per hour. Once again, these two petrol leaf blowers have a three year warranty for domestic use and one year for commercial use. So as you can see, there are pros and cons with both models.
I Would Go For One Of The Petrol Models
With the Hyundai battery-powered cordless blower you haven’t got too much engine noise although is still get quite a bit of noise from blowing. Personally, if I was buying, I would definitely go for either the Hyundai 26 cc two-stroke three in one petrol leaf blower, or the Hyundai 52 cc two-stroke backpack petrol leaf blower, but this is just my take. The biggest thing for me is that you can’t, carry on working if the battery runs out, unless you have multiple batteries!
To Conclude
I like the idea of just being able to use a petrol leaf blower anywhere without worrying about the batteries running out of power. Provided you have petrol, you can use it all day and you don’t have to worry about batteries charging up. And I like the fact that the petrol models give better value for money. So if you’ve got any comments, please feel free to comment on this video. I’m here to try and help, I like to try and advise people to get the best machine for the job. I always advise people to buy the best machine they can afford. I know we’ve all got a budget, but if you purchase a quality machine, it can give you many years of service in the long term. In my experience, it works out much cheaper in the long run and you’re using a quality tool.
Today I want to talk about four main implements used with the BCS two-wheeled tractor for market gardens. And so there are many other implements out there, but I just want to do an overview video talking about the four primary ones you’ll see in market gardens.
So let’s start with the machine itself. This is an old 853 BCS two-wheeled tractor. I actually use a 739 and for my application for the market gardening, I’ve been doing what you guys know me for; it’s served me just fine. It’s, it’s a smaller machine, which I prefer primarily because on my farm, I have 50-foot beds and I do a lot more turning around. So I wanted something that’s a bit leaner, but also because I am loading that into a truck to take it to different plots. So I wanted something that was a little bit light.
The Prime Features
Now for the BCS two-wheeled tractor itself, there are some features that I think aren’t absolutely necessary, I actually, you know what, it’s pretty much just one feature that I think is an absolute must. And that is to have a differential wheel lock. That means that when you turn the machine around each wheel, you can pivot in a perfect 180-degree turn. So when you go down a bed and then stop and turn around, you’re not gonna shift over into the other bed or shift out into the path; the main path between you’re going to stay perfectly stationary. I find that is the most crucial feature of a BCS. Now some of these handles here are things like brakes. I mean, this is your primary clutch on your on here, but then you’ve got these outside ones, which are basically wheel breaks. And I don’t actually find them necessary at all.
It depends on, you know, what some people do. but I find if you have your differential wheel lock, when you put your clutch in and you turn around, you’re gonna turn around perfectly in 180 degrees. And so the wheel breaks aren’t really that necessary. That’s just my opinion. And then this handle here is what actually just rotates the handlebars. This is one thing that BCS is really known for, which is very handy for market gardeners, is because you want to offset your handlebars like this when you’re going up one way in the bed. And then you’ll want, you might want to offset it another way if you’re gonna come back down. So that’s really handy. Now that’s all I want to talk about on this machine. There’s a lot more we could go into and talk about different models, but this is an older 853 and I’ve been using the 739 forever and I think it suits me just fine. The thing that’s important too to understand is that there are certain models that will or will not allow certain implements. The 7 39 that I have is big enough to run all of these implements that we’re going to look at.
Various Attachments
So let’s start with just an overview of our implements that fit the BCS two-wheeled tractor and then we’ll go into each one in detail. So we have a rotary plough here. We have got a power harrow here. We’ve got a flail mower here. And then attached to the machine itself, we’ve got a rototiller equipped with a PDR, a precision depth roller. And I’ll talk about those two things separately as if they were two implements.
The Rotary Plough
So let’s start with our rotary plough. Basically, a rotary plough is a plough that has a screw-like action. And what it does is it shifts soil from one side to the other.
And there are different types of rotary ploughs out there. There are stationary ones and then there are also ones that you can change the direction of the ploughing.
I don’t know anybody using the ones you can change; I find that it does its job just fine if you know which way it goes.
And you just move in a different direction to move the soil from one side to the next. So this tool is typically used with market gardeners for shaping beds. So you can see some beds behind me here to create raised beds.
You can go up one side of the bed and push soil from the walkway into the bed and then you’ll come back around the other side and do the same thing.
I know someone who really made this kind of famous for in his book by showing how they shape beds. Now, this isn’t needed for everybody; like on my farm, I don’t need this tool.
I used it earlier in the day as I really found it was good for ripping up initial ground, like when you’re breaking ground. And that’s another purpose that it has, is one, you know, breaking ground, but you have to be very careful about how you move the earth around.
And another is shaping the ground. So you might want to create some terraces and move a bunch of soil over one way. there are probably other things you can do with it too. But typically, for a market gardening context, people use the rotary plough to shape beds and create slightly healed-up raised beds. Now you’re going to use this tool in tandem with some of the other implements, particularly the power harrow, to finish the bed to get a nice level.
The Power Harrow
So let’s talk about the power harrow. A power harrow is essentially a soil-working implement like a rototiller, but it doesn’t rototill. So on a rototiller, which we’re going to look at, you’ve got tines that have an access that is horizontal, meaning that they turn vertically and that inverts the soil. There are many reasons why you would or would not want to do that, but the power harrow is essentially a solution for people who want to operate low tillage.
So they want to have minimal soil disturbance on the top. They like to be able to create a fresh look, it looks like it’s just been ploughed, but it’s not the tines that turn the soil in this way. And so there’s, this is the newer, 28-inch from Trivia Edge BCS. America sells this particular rotavator
And so the times still really go about two inches deep.
You can see here from the side curtain. And, this is, you know, a finishing machine for the BCS two-wheeled tractor. So what Eric had said he has done for years is he wouldn’t use a rototiller for a long time.
He was just using the rotary plough in tandem with the power har. He would kick dirt from the walkways into the beds to give them a little healing and then finish them off with the rotary plough.
And so many farms can just, could really just use this, depending on what you’re doing. you could do most of your bed prep with this, but probably not initial prep. So breaking new ground, forming new beds, things like that. You’re not going to use this tool for this. A hero is really for a market. Gardens is just used for when beds are, they’ve been shaped and prepared. And this is just what you might use on an ongoing basis. So you’ve pulled a previous crop out, then you’re gonna run this to maybe mix in some new fertilizer or compost to get a nice level bed. And you, and then you’re gonna seed the bed after that. So it has a roller on the back that basically, you know, you’ve got your soil disturbance with the tines that mixes the soil up and
then the roller finishes the bed to give you a nice even level. And you can see, this is a Josephine lever. So you can basically adjust the wheel’s height or the wheel’s depth, I should say, which makes the tines higher or lower off the ground.
The Flail Mower
Here we have a flail mower. This is a favourite of many market gardeners who are trying to keep their organic matter in place. And essentially, what a flail mower does is it’s like a mower, like a lawn mower. But instead of just having vertical access, which spins a horizontal blade, it has a horizontal axis and spins the vertical blades.
So underneath, there are flails. The difference between a flail mower and a normal mower is that the flail mower not only mows, but grinds and mulches up all the organic matter. So you’re left with basically a fine mulch.
You can take this tool and go over two or three feet tall crops.
You will be amazed at how with one pass over, you’re left with basically nothing apart from a green mulch. it looks like everything is chopped up!
Even with fine grass, it does an incredible job.
So if you want to keep your organic matter in place, this is the tool to do it. You run any of your spent crops, you basically running over with this tool, and then you might finish it with a power harrow.
You can then finish by placing a tarp on top.
Now with a tarp on top, it can compost down for one to three weeks and then you come back and then finish the job with the power harrow.
You can use a power harrow to put in your new amendments and then plant again. That’s kind of typically how these are used, though. There are different combinations on how you do certain things. Each market gardener has their own way of doing it, but the flail just mows down and turns your previous crop into mulch.
The Rotavator Or Rototiller
So let’s talk about the PDR and the rototiller. First, we’ll talk about the tiller; then we’ll talk about the PDR.
So a rototiller is very common; it’s probably the most common implement that you could use for any type of two-wheeled tractor.
A tiller basically just mixes up and digs your soil. So it has a horizontal shaft and the tines spin vertically.
I will just point out one pro and one con of rototilling. The pro of rototilling is it allows you to mix in soil amendments into your soil. So, the biggest reason for that would be if you’re turning a raw piece of land over and want to change the composition of the soil; you put in a load of compost and then rotavate it in. That actually allows you to change the physical composition of the soil, which is beneficial to getting production in there quickly. And it also loosens it up so that roots can grow down and there’s more air in the soil and they can grow faster.
Now the main con to rototilling is what’s called hard pan. And this happens with excessive rototilling. If you’re tilling the soil constantly, those tines are spinning. You might be going down about eight inches at the bottom of those eight inches. You’re gonna be compacting the soil down a little bit, creating a hard pan.
So you’ll stick your hand in the soil after it’s been tiled, it looks like nice and fluffy, but then you’re gonna reach this area that’s kind of hard. And what’s going to happen is your roots are going to grow down nice and easy for eight inches and then they’re gonna hit that hard pan and they’re not gonna know where to go. And so that can, can stunt your crops and make your carrots look short and stumpy. There are many, many things that it does.
It can also affect the water flow. It can affect how nutrients and how nitrogen and oxygen cycle through your crops. It does many things, but that’s the most common drawback to rototilling. And what most people actually do to combat the hard pan is to use a broad fork.
And people like Jean Martin Fortier have made that tool famous. And in a market gardening context, that’s how they’re combating hard pan. There are many ways to combat that.
On a larger scale, you could use a subsoil or a certain type of cultivation chisel that basically chisels down the soil and rips up that hard pan.
Precision Depth Roller (PDR)
Now the PDR that fits on the BCS two-wheeled tractor is essentially an implement that I helped BCS come up with where I said I want to have a shallow cultivation, but I don’t want to run a power harrow. The main reason I didn’t want to run a power harrow on my farm is because at the time, it was a lot heavier than it is now.
But also, I didn’t want to have to change implements. I wanted to have something all in one because it’s really all I do on my farm. I don’t change implements, I don’t use any of the other implements. And that’s partly because of the way that we operate our production. And I’ll talk a little bit more about that. But essentially, we wanted to have a cheaper, lighter, and easier-to-use implement that could establish a shallow cultivation. And so we came up with this idea of the PDR. When I came to BCS with this idea, I essentially said, Why don’t we just put a roller on the back of a tiller and see if we can jack it up and essentially do what a power hero does? And that’s more or less what we’ve done. So we have, a roller on the back of a tiller, and it’s attached to a Josephine lever.
And you can adjust the height of the tiller to get a really shallow cultivation. And the thing that happened with this that I really liked the way it is it made it so that the tiller actually operated better because a tiller on its own has a steel curtain on the back that is just attached to a hinge point and it kind of moves freely. So if you’re prepping new ground and you’re rototilling up a big area, those curtains kind of flop around. And so if you hit a, a root in the soil or a rock and your tiller bounces a little bit, you’re gonna see that little wave in the soil. Whereas with the wheel, you actually get a better finish because the wheel doesn’t move around as the steel curtain does. It just kind of keeps it level. And so I found when shaping brand new ground, I get a way better level ground finish with the PDR.
It Keeps The Ground Level
And that’s something we discovered after the fact. That wasn’t something that was initially thought about with the original design. It was just to establish a shallow cultivation. Now there’s one thing I want to point out: a disadvantage with the PDR versus a power harrow. And that is the fact that the tines spin vertically. That means if you’re going through something with a lot of organic matter and say you’re just trying to rototill in an old crop, that crop can get tied up in the tines. And it doesn’t happen with a harrow because the harrow tines are not vertical access, and they spin horizontally. They don’t get tangled up. And so that’s what can happen with the PDR the rototiller can essentially you can get stuff blocked up in the tines, which means that you have to go pull it out manually.
Now the way to combat that is two things. Either run a flail mower before grinding up that crop into a mulch. Then when you go over with your PDR, it’s not going to get tangled up in your tines. The second option is that you actually remove the crop, put that in your compost, then you go over with the PDR; you might put in some new compost or some new fertilizer, basically put in your new soil amendments and then you till them in shallow or however deep you want at that point. So that’s how you get around it. And this is the primary reason why on my farm I don’t use a flail mower and I don’t do it the same way, is because my farm is so small I don’t have the luxury of time to basically flail mow a bed and then run a PDR or a harrow and then tarp that bed for a couple of weeks.
Two Wheeled Tractor
I don’t have that time. My protocol is to fully remove the organic matter, put in some newly finished compost or soil amendments like fertilizers, manure, what have you, and then till them in and then those beds are prepped to plant again. So I’m not doing an active stale seed bedding process in my growing season. I do at the beginning of my season and I do at the end of the season, but not in the middle of the season. And so that’s the difference between a farm like mine and say a farm that Jean-Martin Fortier is doing is that he’s using a tarp in tandem with all these implements to allow the crop to decompose and then they come in and refinish the bed and then plant again. So on my farm, I can’t do that. And so that’s the difference. So for me, I don’t need to even use a quick coupler and I’ll talk about that in a minute.
But I basically have this permanently set up on my machine bolted right to it. And I’m not changing my implements on a day-to-day or weekly basis.
So that brings us to a conversation about the quick coupler. The quick coupler is essentially a piece of steel with a pin in it that can be attached with a simple lever can be pulled out with a simple lever that allows you to change your implements really quickly.
Without the quick coupler, you have to bring out a wrench and change two bolts every time you change an implement. And that just makes things really slow. So it really depends on your protocol. Just like how I explained the reasons why I’m only using a PDR, it’s because my protocol is to remove the previous organic matter from the crop. Then I run my PDR. If you’re not doing that and you’re running, say, a flail mower and then you’re going to immediately use a PDR or a power harrow right after to finish that off, mix that in with the soil a little bit so the crop can decompose and then you might tarp it or something like that for a couple of weeks.
Then you should have a quick coupler because you’re going to have to change that implement on a regular basis. And by not having that quick coupler, it’s going to be a hassle. So you really need to have that if you’re going to change your implements daily.
So those are the four primary implements that we are using in our market gardens. And yes, of course, there are many different BCS implements out there. You can really go down a rabbit hole, you know, on my farm. I have a snowblower.
I use the BCS snowblower in the winter to manage my sidewalk, driveway, and some of my neighbour’s driveways and sidewalks. It fits on my BCS two-wheeled tractor but that’s not a farm implement. So that’s a whole other conversation. But those are our four main implements, our rotary plough, our power harrow, our flail mower, and our tiller and PDR, I kind of put together as one.
Today we are looking at the JCB 8010 micro excavator or mini digger. We looked at the slightly lower-spec JCB 8008 micro excavator three years ago. It never fails to amaze me how much work a small excavator can do against a man on a shovel, despite the compactness of these machines.
Many properties and sites can have very difficult access, which makes the JCB 8010 micro excavator ideal for limited access sites. These types of machines are ideal for landscapers who need access to rear gardens.
At the time of writing, the JCB micro excavator is the most powerful machine for its size on the market today. The increased digging power and lift capacity allows the use of larger attachments.
JCB 8010 micro excavator
Extending Undercarriage
The JCB micro excavator has tracks that narrow down to a width of 700 mm. The tracks extend out to 865 mm for added stability, which helps to extend the reach and digging depth. Which enables the machine to go through a standard garden gate.
Compact Excavator
The compact size and the minimal tail swing make operation in confined spaces much easier. The narrow width means that the excavator can work in buildings and small gardens, including up against walls.
Common Sense Controls
Although the JCB 8010 micro excavator is small, there is still plenty of legroom for the operator. All the functions operate independently controlled, making it easy for the operator. Whether they are professionals or novices who are just getting used to the machine.
JCB 8010 Excavator
Economical Diesel Engine
A 1131cc diesel engine powers the 8010 micro excavator. The engine develops 13.8 kW, which is 18.5 hp. The manufacturers claim that the 11.5 L fuel tank gives you a full day’s work, so there’s no need to fill up halfway through the day. That sounds fairly economical to me! There is also a battery version now available.
Lightweight Excavator
At just 1.1 tons, the JCB micro excavator is easy to move around on a trailer. At this weight, the majority of vehicles have the capacity to move the excavator around.
Accessories
JCB has a range of accessories for the JCB 8010 micro excavator, many of which work off the auxiliary hydraulics. The accessories can make the machine extremely universal.
Technical Support Service
As with any machine, it’s important to have a good parts service and support in case of any breakdowns. 95% of parts can be delivered to anywhere in the world, within 24-hour’s.
JCB offers an extended warranty for peace of mind; this also includes service agreements and maintenance contracts. I always like the idea of a good warranty; no unnecessary bills has to be a good thing!
Today we are looking at the review of the MTD chipper shredder. Petrol chipper shredders start at around £500, we have a range of chipper shredders on our website. They are great for composting and ideal for chipping prunings etc. I wrote another post about the MTD chipper shredders here
The reviewer has a larger 15 hp Titan chipper, but prefers the MTD chipper shredder for shredding work. It can obviously chip larger branches, having more power than the 5 hp MTD. The spindly types of prunings do not chip very well; that’s where the MTD chipper shredder comes in.
The MTD is a capable machine that will chip pruning’s up to around 4 to 5 cm. However, for shredding purposes, up to half an inch, in other words, just over a centimetre, is ideal for shredding.
This particular MTD petrol chipper is powered by a 5 hp overhead valve 4-stroke engine. The 5 hp Tecumseh engine is now getting harder to find parts in the UK. The fuel tank is becoming a bit worn, although it’s not leaking at the moment. If I have to order one, I will probably have to order it directly from the US. Although the engine is several years old, it runs on unleaded fuel.
The actual machine in the video has had a new carburettor and a new fuel line added. The carburettor is off an old Qualcast Suffolk Punch engine. The original carburettor had a primer on it; the original one was moulded into the carburettor! It seems to start okay without the primer, I just use the choke now, which is controlled through the throttle cable.
I added a new fuel line due to a few cracks, as the fuel line was weeping slightly. The old float in the carburettor was also sticking, hence the new carburettor.
The MTD chipper shredder is quite compact and ideal for loading into a van. I take it to all sorts of different places, especially in the wintertime when I am doing lots of pruning.
As you can see in the video, I have some light laurel prunings that I will put through the shredder. The great thing is that all these prunings, after they have been chipped or shredded, they can all be composted and put back in the garden.
The MTD Petrol Chipper Shredder
As you can see in the video, all I have to do is to drop the prunings into the chute. Sometimes the prunings may need a bit of gentle persuasion to allow them to be shredded.
This particular machine was purchased cheaply as it was sold as a non-runner. However, with a few basic repairs carried out on the engine, it appears to work fine.
To start the engine, we need to open the choke and then pull the recoil starter. The cutting head is permanently engaged, so there is some resistance when we pull the recoil starter. Once the engine is running, the choke can be released. After a few moments of warming up, the MTD chipper shredder is ready for use.
Find Chippers And Shredders On eBay
Using The MTD Chipper Shredder
With a small machine like the MTD chipper shredder, it takes time to shred and chip the material. It’s not like a commercial machine where you can keep feeding it and leaving it to pull the material in. There are no rollers to assist you; it’s purely gravity fed.
The larger material is being chipped and the smaller material is shredded. It’s important to lay out your material neatly, ready for chipping, it saves a lot of time in the long run. The chipper works better just by feeding in one piece at a time. With the shredder, handfuls of small material can be placed in the hopper. The material is quickly shredded and ready for composting.
Review Of The MTD Chipper Shredder Shredding
Moving The MTD Chipper Around
Fortunately, the MTD chipper is provided with transport wheels, making it easy to move around the garden. The large handle which is attached to the hopper makes it very easy to manoeuvre the chipper around the garden.
The shredder hopper can be placed at different angles, making it easier for the operator to use the machine. This can also be useful for storage purposes, as the hopper can be completely removed.
To Conclude
I’ve always liked the idea of having a chipper/shredder in the garden. I like to try and put everything I take out of the garden back. With the chipper, there is no need for any more bonfires; everything can be chipped and shredded and then composted.
The MTD chipper shredder is a relatively small machine, we do have larger machines available on our website. These machines are definitely a good investment for any garden. As always, buy the best machine you can afford.
Today we have a new toy out with us. It is the Billy Goat KV601 wheeled vacuum. In the past, we have blown all the leaves with knapsack leaf blower’s. But now we will carry out most of the work with the Billy Goat. We didn’t actually have the Billy Goat wheeled vacuum demonstrated, however, I looked at lots of videos on YouTube and saw the potential.
I will run you through the machine and then we will show you some camera footage of the machine in action. So stay tuned; you’ll also notice we have our chipper with us today as we’re going to cut this willow down. You can see how much it’s grown in a year, around 12 feet or so. We’ll snip those branches down and also a couple of these branches to reduce the size.
The Billy Goat Wheeled Vacuum
So coming back to what we’re here for today. This is the Billy Goat 601 it doesn’t come with a vacuum hose, however, we thought this would be a useful extra.
To change from vacuum sweeper to vacuum hose, we have a cap on here and a bar across the bottom. Without the bar on, it would just suck up like a normal vacuum so you remove the sides and then it turns into the vacuum for the car park. I will show you around the back and show you optional the hose, like I said, this is an extra attachment. It just clips in here, it is a fairly bulky hose, but it does the job. So you just flick it off like that and we go along the car park with it, and then it sits nicely back on the kit. It’s not rubbing on the floor or getting in the way.
There are four large plastic wheels on the machine; this particular model is a self-propelled model. I noticed that it takes a while to get used to the bag; there are some instructions, but it is a bit fiddly. Initially, you can either take the bag off or empty it or just take it off the top here. Just clipping it off and lifting the whole thing off, but it’s not the easiest way. The easiest way is to drop this bag, flick it up, and open it out. And then you can just pull the leaves out under a pile.
Loading A Truck Or Van
However, if you’re loading a van or truck up, then you’ve got to leave that shut. Then you would just clip these top bits off here and the whole bag just slides out the back.
There is a decent chute which is a decent size to get the leaves into the bag. Well, as I said, it takes a bit of getting used to. You must first fold the sides in, do it correctly, and then fold it up. It’s all numbered, so it makes it easier; it’s just a bit of an art doing it for the first few times.
You can see here that I am folding the second flap down, and then it clips back in. So once you get the hang of it, it’s a doddle, but initially, it takes a few sessions to get it set because if you put that side in the wrong place, then the leaves will just come straight out back. So you may remember we did this a few weeks ago and as you can see, just about all the leaves are off the trees now. There’s a little mound where they’ll be blown down there next to the car park. This mound of leaves will just be blown to the grass area’s back. The whole area will be cleaned off. So we’ll get the machine operational with the hose first just to show you the channels of how the hose works and then drop on and take the plate off.
One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that it is self-propelled but I have hardly used the self-propelled function. I have just been pushing it because it’s like a shopping trolley! It really requires minimal effort to push the Billy Goat leaf vacuum, so I wouldn’t bother to put it into drive. So if you’re going to spend the extra money, I would just purchase the push model.
The Billy Goat Works On Wet Grass
On the wet grass, you’ll notice a couple of bits the Billy Goat missed. Obviously, this is a children’s playground, so some areas are trampled on and wet so you have to pass over twice. However, it gets 99.9% of the leaves and debris. To be fair, yes, you would usually have a man going around afterwards with the hose.
As I mentioned earlier, you don’t have to purchase the hose, but it’s a useful optional extra. It would probably almost be as quick for a man to go along with a traditional backpack blower. However, as we have the hose accessory, we are making the most of it. I certainly would recommend the optional hose accessory, as it’s great for getting awkward spaces. It can also pick up rubbish and other debris in public areas.
To Conclude
The Billy Goat garden vacuum is a great asset to any garden or a contractor who is looking to clear leaves and debris. It is great for clearing leaves and debris in gardens as well as for clearing car parks and lawn areas.
As mentioned earlier in this post, the machine is available without the vacuum hose. I feel it’s actually a useful asset that makes the machine more universal.
Today we are looking at Dan’s Stihl BG86C leaf blower review. I believe that the Stihl BG86C leaf blower is one of the best leaf blowers on the market. It offers excellent value for money and is great for professional and domestic use.
The Stihl BG86C leaf blower is available for around £300 mark, including VAT. I have owned and used the Stihl leaf blower on many occasions. They are a very popular choice for landscapers and tree surgeons.
So Let’s Hear Dan’s Review
Let’s get straight into the Stihl BG86C leaf blower review. We will take a look at the specifications and some technical information and then go into a demonstration and a final review.
Technical Data
Looking at the technical data (I will put the specification below this post), the co2 output is 848, and the performance in kilowatts is 0.8. The sound power in decibels is 104, the sound pressure is 90 and the vibration value is 2.5. The air velocity is 69 and the tank capacity is 0.4 litres. The equipment comes with a flat nozzle and a round nozzle.
Moving on to the features now and what it actually has to offer. The Stihl BG86C leaf blower has the standard features of a reduced emission engine technology. This means it’s a two-stroke engine with reduced fuel loss during a single charge cycle. This results in more power and lower weight by up to 20%; lower fuel consumption than a regular two-stroke engine which is a bonus. It’s got a manual fuel pump, the purger or the purging bulb. It has a standard Stihl recoil start or the e start. This is basically less effort to start the engine. Stihl is saying that it takes one-third of the normal force and it takes two fingers and a gentle pull action to start the leaf blower.
The Stihl leaf blower has the HD2 filter, which offers 70% more protection than the previous filters. The air filter is made of polyethene and which repels oil and water therefore, it is very easy to clean. It’s got a 100 soft grip, as you can see from the video, for a secure and comfortable grip. With the antique vibration system in place, it has a throttle lock withbuilt-in stop switch, so you don’t have to hold the trigger down, which becomes a hindrance after a long period.
Now For The Demonstration!
Trust me! Now the first surface was a play surface, kind of like a rubbery material. The type that you often find in playgrounds. The Stihl BG86C leaf blower managed to shift most of the leaves with ease with no hassle whatsoever.
Moving on to the next surface, this was all very worn astroturf. It did struggle a little bit with the wet leaves, as you can see. Especially with bird feathers, but I found with a little bit more concentration in that area, it managed to do the job as expected.
Now moving on to the grass area, as you can imagine, it was almost like blow-drying hair! It was a bit of a nightmare, but after a while and a bit of patience, I managed to move all the leaves to the side. The grass was also slightly long and wet, which made it more difficult to blow the leaves.
Now, we are moving onto tarmac and concrete again, another easy surface to work on. I manage to move all the dried and wet leaves very easily; however, again, with some of the sticky patches, a little bit more blowing and patience were required. With a bit of concentration, we managed to shift all the leaves.
Now moving onto the final surface was the tarmac again. This was an area where people were walking on the leaves quite often as it was a very busy road. As you can see, some of the leaves were very trodden into the surface, however, a little going over backwards and forwards and we managed to get all the leaves shifted.
The Importance Of A Good Air Filter
Before we finish up, guys, I just want to check the air filter and what condition it’s in. It’s been going for a good 11 months from start to finish; I have not taken the cover off once! I use this probably three times a week, sometimes four, so we give it some grief; as you can see, it is in very good condition that’s not what I expected! To be perfectly honest with you, the new filters are much better than the old ones. The old filters were letting in a lot more dust than necessary. You can see that the filter still looks spotlessly clean, along with the carburettor.
This is why I upgraded to the new filters if anybody’s into that sort of thing! It always pays to have a good air filter on a engine for longevity.
To Conclude
So there we go, guys; now, in my eyes, this sort of kit is brilliant. You pay a little bit more for it but you get what you pay for. The Stihl BG86C leaf blower has had a terrific amount of use over the past 11 months.
There is only one niggle that really gets to me. I am ambidextrous, so I tend to use my left on my right when I’m using my left hand. The fan itself is, obviously, on this side of the motor. And by all means, I know they’ve got it put it somewhere. But when you’re blowing the leaves, if you’re wearing a high-vis vest, what’s going to happen? It’s going straight on the engine fan cover, but for the
sake of switching over to your right hand, I mean, you’re not writing an essay with it; you blowing leaves for God’s sake!
As I say, that is my only niggle in there, but they’ve got to put the fan somewhere! So that’s it, guys, I hope you enjoyed the video; make sure you give me a thumbs up and hit the subscribe button and I’ll see you on the next video.
Today we are looking at Jay reviewing the Barreto 30 SGB stump grinder. All right, exciting stuff for you today. I have shown you in the past how to burn out a tree stump. That was a very fun and interesting video. Today I am going to rent a stump grinder. I’ve never done this before as it is expensive. Having someone come to your property and grind a stump can be several hundred pounds. I am not saying I don’t do that. It is a good idea if that’s within your budget. I have a good four stumps here that I need to remove; I can rent a stump grinder for $187 for a half day or $300 for a full day.
I really can’t say too much about preparation, it’s really important when you’re renting expensive equipment to clean and prepare your work area. I’ve excavated the areas in preparation for grinding the stumps. In my humble opinion, you do not need to excavate the area before grinding tree stumps. Make sure you have plenty of gas on hand, so you don’t return the machine empty and get charged a lot for gas! Large petrol stump grinders burn quite a bit of fuel, however, the more modern EFI engines are much more efficient.
The Barreto 30 SGB Stump Grinder
Let me tell you a little about this equipment; this is Barretto’s 30 SGB stump grinder. It’s manufactured in the USA. It’s a 31-horsepower track-driven stump grinder; the Barreto 30 SGB stump grinder retails for about pounds 26 000. The Barreto 30 SGB stump grinder is an amazing piece of machinery; this is a beast! This Barreto has a 14-gallon hydraulic reservoir; the blades are carbide; they’re carbide cylindrical teeth, so they’re very, very tough. The cutting wheel is fully hydraulic so you get a lot of power and it eliminates having those expensive belts that you need to replace. And, of course, no belts to stretch; there is no need to tighten belts with a hydraulic drive regularly. It is just an amazing piece of machinery built right here in the U.S.
When you grind a tree stump, make sure that you guard the area around the machine, as stones and woodchips can be thrown a long way. If you are in an open area with no cars or properties around, then there is no need to guard up. I have come to a point where I’m going to clean out the debris so I can see what I am doing, so I think I’ll sweep it out or rake it out and maybe pressure wash lightly just to get more exposure. Personally, I wouldn’t bother using a power washer to clear the area. To my mind, this is pointless and unnecessary.
With a full-day rental, there’s no telling how many stumps you could take out, but I think it’s all in preparation. You know you save time with preparation; get your stumps ready and clean out around them. I am going to show you. You can see that I pressure-washed around the stumps. I am going to wash out a little more around here this one, it is not that big a deal, but I don’t know if you can see it but the ground swells with the root mat. You see, I have elevated ground all around here is going to be a gravel bed, 35 feet of gravel by 22 feet wide. So I don’t want sinkholes that are not going to be a sinkhole and neither is this when I’m done with it. However, if you leave a lot of material, you will have sinkholes.
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There Is No Need To Excavate
Jay suggests that you need to excavate around the stump area; once again, this is unnecessary. Commercially, when I grind a tree stump, I’d literally go straight in with the grinder; there is no need to make extra work! It is imperative that you excavate your area. The more I do, the more I realize how important that is. That is where my stump was. Look at this massive root over here! This runner! It’s as big around as a torso!
I started about 9 am, this one took me an hour to get to the bulk of it and now I am just fine-tuning it and then I’ll move along to the next one. And then we’ll go over to Mike’s and maybe that one and maybe the two or three on the drain field.
The Barreto 30 SGB stump grinder is on track, so you want to watch out when turning it around sharply because it will tear up your grass. Take caution when you’re on a wet field. This is a wet field; I don’t want to tear it up! I just want to take the root down to below ground level. Make sure there are no bricks or anything in here because you don’t want to tear up those expensive teeth.
How Long Does It Take to Grind a Tree Stump?
Obviously, a lot depends on the size of the stump. For example, there’s a huge difference between a 1-foot tree stump and a 2-foot tree stump, especially when considering the volume. Here is Jay’s example.
All right again, let’s talk about time; I’ve got two craters where I once had stumps. I am satisfied that I removed all the runner roots. The bulk of the big roots, so that’s two, and I am halfway through a third tree stump.
I picked the Barreto 30 SGB stump grinder up at 8 AM; you have to account for everything as time goes by quickly. I am now working on the third stump and it’s 10 30 a.m. I could probably do a decent job on all of these, so that would be five stumps in a half day. At least if I can get these ground out, maybe not cleaned up. Maybe not everything I want; at least I have removed the necessary and offending tree stumps.
Hyundai 26 Cc Two-Stroke Three In One Petrol Leaf Blower
Today we are looking at the Hyundai 26 cc two-stroke three in one petrol leaf blower. Which also combines as a garden vacuum and shredder. The price of the Hyundai 26 cc petrol leaf blower is just £139.99, including VAT. This is exceptionally cheap, making me slightly question the petrol leaf blower! I always recommend that customers purchase the best machine they can afford. However, Hyundai does offer a three-year warranty for domestic use and a one-year warranty for commercial use.
Recently we looked at the Hyundai 52 cc two-stroke backpack petrol leaf blower, which is a considerable larger leaf blower. It is also a backpack leaf blower rather than a handheld leaf blower. It does not offer the vacuum or shredding feature that the smaller handheld model offers.
The Hyundai 26 Cc Two-Stroke Three In One Petrol Leaf Blower
The leaf blower is the machine that I use more in the garden than any other piece of machinery. Despite being called leaf blower’s, leaf blowers have many more uses than just blowing leaves in the autumn!
Leaf blowers are great for clearing up after carrying out jobs in the garden. They’re excellent for blowing patios, driveways, courtyards etc. I will often use a leaf blower to blow down machinery after use. They’re great for blowing down mowers and removing all the loose grass.
Something I like about the handheld leaf blowers is the fact that they are very compact and easy to use. Also, from a storage point of view, they don’t take up much space in a vehicle or shed. Whereas backpack-type blowers are more cumbersome, especially when carrying them in a car or truck. To be fair, backpack and handheld blowers both have advantages over each other.
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Two-Stroke Petrol Engine
The Hyundai 26 cc two-stroke three in one petrol leaf blower is powered by a 26 cc engine, which produces 0.65 kW of power. It has the traditional recoil start method and a variable speed throttle on the handle grip. The throttle can be locked if necessary. The Euro five engine helps to burn the fuel efficiently and enhance fuel consumption.
The fuel type is a petrol/oil mix; it’s important to mix the fuel and oil correctly. The fuel mix is 40:1. A 2-stroke engine does not have a sump full of oil, it relies on the petrol oil mix to lubricate the engine.
The engine produces an air speed of 70 m/s, which equals up to 157 mph at variable speed. The maximum rated rpm is 7500.
Hyundai 26 Cc Two-Stroke Three In One Petrol Leaf Blower Diagram
Vacuum And Shred
Although many of the handheld blowers also act as a garden vacuum cleaner and shredder, I personally think they are much better used as a blower. I have found the vacuuming and shredding to be exceptionally slow. In my experience, I find it better to blow the debris into a corner and pick up the material by hand or shovel it into a barrow.
The Hyundai 26 cc two-stroke three in one petrol leaf blower has a vacuum and shredding feature. It also comes with a 40 L collection bag. The manufacturers claim that the material can be reduced to 1/10 of its original size through shredding. Once again, I find it far quicker to blow the material and to barrow it away.
To conclude
The Hyundai 26 cc two-stroke three in one petrol leaf blower certainly offers value for money. However, looking at the reviews, they do not appear to be brilliant. You can see some Amazon reviews here. It appears that the collection bag isn’t magically strong. I have to admit that for £139.99, you can’t expect a leaf blower to be perfect!
The good thing is that Hyundai offers a three year warranty for domestic use. And one year warranty for commercial use.
I appreciate we all have a budget to work to, but in this case, a Stihl blower would be more than doubled in price. Long-term, I know that it would be a much better investment and give the operator many years of trouble-free running, especially if you are using the machine domestically.
My current Stihl blower is used commercially and is still working perfectly after six years of daily use!
Specification
Model
HYBV2600X
Start Method
Recoil
Variable Speed Control
Yes
Max Air Speed (m/s)
70
Max Air Flow (m³/h)
348
Volume (CFM)
205
Collection Bag Capacity (L)
40
Handle Type
Soft Grip
Safety Features
Trigger Control
Ignition Type
CDI
Engine Model
1E34F
Engine Type
2-Stroke
Engine Size (cc)
26
Rated Power (kW/kVA)
0.65
Rated Speed (RPM)
7500
Fuel
Petrol/Oil Mix
Fuel Capacity (L)
0.5
Engine Oil
2-Stroke
Fuel / Oil Ratio
40:1
Gross Weight (kg)
8
Net Weight (kg)
6.7
Fully Assembled Dimensions (H x W x L) (mm)
360 x 300 x 1080
Package Dimensions (H x W x L) (mm)
370 x 305 x 510
Fuel Type / Power Source
Petrol
Product Type
Leaf Blower
Warranty (years)
3
Commercial Warranty (years)
1
Model EAN
5056275799267
In The Box
HYBV2600X, Collection Bag, Over Shoulder Support Harness, Suction Nozzle, Debris Tube, Tool Kit, User Manual
Today we are looking at the Dipperfox SC400 Stump Crusher, which is a very unique and novel way to remove a tree stump. This is Dipperfox’s smallest and latest stump grinder, I believe it will be very popular! A few months ago, we looked at the larger Dipperfox SC600 Stump Crusher and the even larger Dipperfox SC850 Stump Crusher.
Drilling Action
The Dipperfox stump crusher works in a different way from the traditional stump grinders that most of us know and use. The stump crusher uses more of a vertical drilling action rather than a grinding action. On the cutting head, an auger-type drill creates a pilot hole that helps pull the machine into the wood. There are two steel blades that literally drill the stump out of the ground. It’s a very simple and unique way to remove a tree stump.
The Advantages Of The Dipperfox SC400 Stump Crusher
I think one of the greatest advantages is the fact that there is no debris flying. So there is no need to place debris guards around the machine. Placing debris guards around tree stumps in confined areas can be time-consuming, especially when it’s windy! The Dipperfox SC400 Stump Crusher does away with any debris guards, as there is no flying debris.
The Dipperfox SC400 Stump Crusher is also considerably smaller than the original Dipperfox SC850 Stump Crusher, making it a great option for grinding tree stumps. As you can see in the video, it doesn’t take a huge machine to power the Dipperfox stump crusher. I believe the Toro Dingo is around 25 hp, which appears to be coping fairly well with the stump crusher. And the Avant loader is also around the 25 hp range. It’s also great that the stump grinder can be used on a relatively small excavator. The minimal-sized power requirement for the Dipperfox SC400 Stump Crusher is a 1.5-ton excavator. The output also looks very impressive, as seen in the video, much quicker than the traditional grinding method.
The manufacturers recommend running an angle grinder across the blades before starting work each day. The blades can be turned around for longer life. I’m sure keeping the blades sharp makes a huge difference to the output per day and puts less strain on the machine.
The Dipperfox SC400 Stump Crusher is expected to come into production in December 2022. The price is expected to be around €12,500 to €13,000. It could be a good investment.
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To Conclude
When I first saw the original Dipperfox SC850, I could see the machine’s huge potential and great work rate. However, it was too large for most people to get into domestic gardens. The Dipperfox Stump Crusher could change the way we traditionally grinder tree stumps due to the low power requirement. I like the idea of not having to put up debris guards every time I’m working in a domestic garden!
