The Rotorvator. What an amazing machine. This particular model was purchased for the very reasonable sum of £100. This was a bargain. It is a Howard 352 (NOT a Gem, which is a much larger machine.....I think I am right in saying Tom Good's Rotorvator is a Gem). It also has a Briggs and Stratton engine onboard. This is important, as the parts for these power plants are still readily available. Which is good, as it has recently developed a splutter, and needs looking at before the autumn, when it will be required to do the bulk of its annual work.
My experience of Rotorvators is limited to 2 machines. My first was an old Qualcast model, which had no driving wheels, only the rotor to pull it along and into the soil. This appeared to work fine, but involved a lot of humping about, making it very hard work.
The Howard has driving wheels at the front, with the rotors at the rear, and also comes with a 2 forward / 1 reverse speed gearbox. This makes for much easier rotorvating. But they are more expensive. If you are going to spend all your money on a rotorvator, go the whole hog and buy one similar to the Howard. Don't buy one of these 2 stroke or electric toys. They aren't any good. Get a real machine.
Howard, (and Dowdeswell who kept making this particular brand of Rotorvator after Howard) made a real good job of these machines. They are tough. Parts may be a bit of a problem to locate, as these rotorvators have not been made for years, but cutter blades are available from various sources, and of course engine parts are still available.
It developed an oil leak from one of the axle hub oil seals a month or so ago, and as I am lucky enough to have bought digital scans of the original owners manual, repair manual and parts lists (good old ebay), I was able to track down the neccesary oil seals from a bearing factors, remove the hub, and replace the faulty seal. This was a good move, as the gearbox contains a good quantity of Hypoid 90 gear oil, which it had vomited over my lawn, and this is one type of oil you do not want in your soil!
New cutters and bolts come in at about £100 for the lot, which, considering how much work they do, is pretty good value for money.
It uses a reasonable amount of petrol, probably using a gallon to do all 3 plots once. But the cost of this is nothing compared to the cost to my back of digging all that land over by hand.
I have heard a couple of people say that using Rotorvators on a clay soil (likes wot I has) will wreck the soil structure. I have found that if I overdo it, after it rains all the 'fines' that have ridden to the surface during the rotorvating tend to bake hard and form a crust. I noticed this the first year more than the second, as by then I had managed to get some organic material in the land which helped. I have a Wolf Garden Hand Cultivator, which cures this as I keep the top of the soil moving during the growing season, and this seems to work for me.
There is also the problem of the cutters polishing a hard pan at the bottom, preventing drainage, although this has yet to have caused me a problem.
After I apply the muck in the Autumn, there will be a period over the winter when the soil is damn near unworkable. It becomes sticky, and it is evident that it needs stuff like leaves and sand to add to the quality of the soil, but all this will come in time, as there is a limit to how much I can do in a given time period.
One small piece of advise. I personally, don't lend my rotorvator out to anybody. Period. I do not wish to appear mean or tight fisted. There is a very good reason for this. Rotorvators are expensive. I was lucky to get this for the price I paid. If my Rotorvator breaks, I will have to fix it. Which means time , hassle and money. And if I can't I will have to dig. And then there is the hassle of trying to find the parts. This Rotorvator was made in 1967. Its as old as me. It won't last forever, and sooner or later will break beyond repair. I want to make sure it lasts as long as possible doing the job I purchased it for. The cutters are wearing toward their limit now, and I suspect they will need changing in a year or two. Also, there is the danger involved using one of these machines. I don't wish to sound patronising, but it took me a few goes to get the hang of using it. If the cutters dig in under a large rock or hard panned bit of ground, it will rear up onto the cutter and drag you off over the allotment out of control. It is too old to have a 'Dead Mans Handle', and is powerful enough to drag you into the cutters if it so wished. I do not want to be responsible for someone elses injury or dismemberment.
So no, I do not lend the rotorvator out, and nor do I till anybody elses soil but mine, and my immediate Allotment neighbours if they want me to.
Another fact that people do not take into consideration is that a Rotorvator will struggle on untilled compacted ground (like lawns and stuff). This type of ground really needs either digging or ploughing over first. The rotorvator comes into its own on freshly turned over soil.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
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