[ytyynycefn]

I've got a Briggs & Stratton rotavator in my garage to get rid of - it's not running at the moment, but just needs a bit of servicing.  I don't need it because I have bindweed, and we all know what happens when you rotovate that   :shock:

Can anyone give me any idea what sort of money I should be asking for it?  I'll probably just stick it in my ebay shop at a fixed price.  

Any ideas would be very much appreciated, as I have not a clue about such things.

[muntjac]

what model . year etc . start with reserve of £75 if its a non runner for spares . the ." it will go with a bit of tlc " doesnt add to the price very much .

[ytyynycefn]

Cheers Karl, will try to find out a bit more about it.  My other half could easily get it running with a bit of effort, so perhaps I'll get him to do that before trying to flog it!

[muntjac]

check my site out mel for help ,, also john does a manual on here just search merry tiller

[shaun]

i wouldnt sell it mel,get on top of the bind weed.
without weed killer its bad stuff the only way i can think of is a bit long winded .bit by bit throw your soil into a barrow with a piece of 1" metal mesh over the top filtering the soil as you go of all the roots.i know its a long job and boring but its the only way,a bit quicker than picking it out with your hands.

[John]

Get it running and they go for silly money on ebay -  you can search on ebay including sold items to get a good idea.

Lots of piccies etc. Just a tip on ebay - I bought a scanner but it wasn't as I thought.  Sold it back on ebay and made a £5 - good presentation pays.

[ytyynycefn]

i wouldnt sell it mel,get on top of the bind weed.
without weed killer its bad stuff the only way i can think of is a bit long winded .bit by bit throw your soil into a barrow with a piece of 1" metal mesh over the top filtering the soil as you go of all the roots.i know its a long job and boring but its the only way,a bit quicker than picking it out with your hands.

Cheers for that Shaun!  I'm getting on top of it by continual hoeing, but that's a good method for when I do dig - I'm working a "no-dig" system, so each bed will only be dug over every 3-4 years - I have some back problems I don't want to aggravate, but two small beds a year should be maneagable.  That's the main reason I don't want the rotavator - I just don't need it.  It's quite a big one that was given to us by a landscape gardener friend when he wound his business up.  Goes through ground like a knife through water, by all accounts!

[ytyynycefn]

Get it running and they go for silly money on ebay -  you can search on ebay including sold items to get a good idea.

Lots of piccies etc. Just a tip on ebay - I bought a scanner but it wasn't as I thought.  Sold it back on ebay and made a £5 - good presentation pays.

Good plan - we've found that with ebay stuff.  Photograph something beautifully, and it adds a good wedge to the price.  I always try to add as much background as I can too - we found a Seagull outboard motor at the tip, cleaned it up (wasn't running, but it had compression), took some really good pics and found out what year/model etc it was from the owner's club website, and it made fifty quid - free money!

The rotavator (and a fairly heavy duty chipper) are going to be sold to finance a wind turbine, so we want to make as much as we can.  We're aiming to pay for it by selling stuff we have lying around, we like the idea of free enegy for free money!

[muntjac]

can i just add to the wind turbine thing here . if its for charging batteries you can do what we built for a few folks overseas. we mad a tower from scrap roof framing . and also a pair of bearings salvaged from the ships machine shop (((shhhhhhhh ))) and we attached  a steel rod with a couple flanges made in same shop , with a rod through the bearings. attched to a car radiator fan with  the pulley wheel on the back of the rod we attached that to the framing then belted down to a rather large alternator  ,, ( we aquired )we made it possible for them to charge batteries and run the lights for a couple of buildings importatnt to the village folks .

[Zak the Rabbit]

Myself and a lad at college built one similar, car alternator and an old racing pushbike wheel, with blades attached along the spokes,

He lived in a converted garage next to his parents house.
we also had a 'heat exchanger' heating system that cost nothing to run (we knocked his house wall through to his mums and tapped off the central heating!!!!)

i dont have any metal working gear anymore or i'd make one for myself now


martin

[John]

I knew someone who squatted in Bethnal Green and they did the house up - discovered the empty house next door had a live electric meter and the cellars adjoined. 25 years ago, so think I'm safe mentioning it!

[Bigbadfrankie]

dont sell the  machine just get the howard book of rotovating it will explain how to kill bind weed/ stroyal as we call it. and it works  

[Bigbadfrankie]

how and where did we get to wind turbines?  but as we have i found a great site on how to build them from a few bits of ply and wire  :idea:
but just been to the pub so will have to post link over weekend

[shaun]

the likes of couch grass just gives up if you use the rotavator a lot,if you dont give it chance to grow then it will give up the ghost,i think its a bit of an old wives tale that you spread it when rotavating ,i know it will cut the roots up and spread them about etc but as soon as it pops its head up give it another go over,you dont have to go full depth just a few inches,the same as hoeing realy but much more fun  
weeds are like any plant they need light to grow strong just dont give it a chance and it will die.

[Bigbadfrankie]

yeh you will miss a season but constant disturance will kill the weed not spread it