Viking V440 rotovator

Hi,

We've been reading quite a lot about rotovators on this site but not seen a mention of a Viking. 

The choice in our nearest town is very limited and we opted for a Viking VH440, mainly because it has a Briggs and Stratton engine, reverse gear and is relatively light.  It has a 3.5 h/p engine.

Does anyone elso own one of these machines?  What are the ups and downs of this particular make/model and is there anything in particular that we should keep an eye on?

We've never owned one before but with the amount of untouched land we have to go at, it's now a necessity.

Looking at a neighbour rotovating his land we know to strim down the weeds etc. first and obviously clear away any wire, brick ends etc.  From one of the comments on here about full throttle and putting it on Youtube , we also know that we start off very slowly.

Really hope someone can offer a few tips, advice etc.  Just hope it's not the worst buy on the market

Pauline 

Hi Graham,

I was hoping that you'd see my posting as you seem to be the rotovator expert!!!

Thank you very much for your advice, it really is appreciated.  We will "roundup" the garden before use as it hasn't been touched for about 20 years or so.  Hubby will just have to wait a little longer before he can play with his new toy

One of the reasons we bought it locally was because the man also repairs and services etc. and, although he'd still service it if we'd bought it elsewhere, it's nice to put some trade his way to ensure he stays open. 

He advised us to run it for 5 hours, change the oil and then every 50 hours use after that.

Thank you again.

Pauline