853 for every thing

[Bob Vetter]

A follow up to my first post I would like to know how many of you went with a two tractor in favor of a regular compact tractor.

I am going to use it to work about an acre of garden, an acre of mowing and trail maintenance. Probably going to use it to put in and maintain some wildlife plots.

Like to hear all sides good and bad.

Thanks

 

[farmerboybill]

The biggest question you'll have to answer for yourself is - How much time do I want to invest? A walk-behind tractor is more than capable of doing what you're asking of it - but it's still a tool. You'll be providing the input of labor, the tool just enhances you.

You can do all that needs to be done with hand tools - spade, rake, shovel, scythe, mattock, axe, maul, wheel barrow, wagon. It'll take considerably more labor and more time, but it'll take much less money to buy the tools and no fossil fuel. It's also the most precise way to work. You can use the exact tool at the exact right time versus powered equipment.

You can do all that needs to be done with a 20-40 hp tractor. It'll take very little time and very little labor, but it'll take over $30,000 (probably much more, depending on which brand you buy) in equipment if you buy new. The biggest advantage this path offers is a loader. There's just no answer to what a loader can do. A wheel barrow or a trailer are poor substitutes. I wouldn't operate my farm without my skid steer loader (I do not like loader tractors. I own half of a 2040 with loader, but I seldom use it). Keep in mind, my farm is 360 acres with 200 acres tillable. I have 8300 laying hens. There's no question that I'm gonna have four wheel tractors and a skid steer loader.

And you can do it all with a walk-behind. It'll still take labor, but considerably less than with hand tools and a little more than with a four wheel tractor. It's the best balance between the two methods. You can buy all new attachments, spend around $10,000, and have about all you need to start - tractor, tiller, plow, mower, snowblower, chipper, trailer. Like everything, you can spend WAAAYYYY more than $10,000 on the machine, depending on what attachments and how many attachments you choose.

Still, the question remains - How much time do I want to invest? You're going to be plowing at 10 inches a pass at 1 mph. You're going to be tilling at 27 inches per pass at 1-1.8 mph. You'll be mowing at 20" to 72" (depending on type of mower - sickle, flail, rough cut rotary, finish rotary, drum) at 1-3.3 mph. You can pull 1000 lbs on a trailer. You can blow your snow, chip your garden waste, split your wood, dig your potatoes, etc. Everything done while walking (the best exercise a human can ask for). But it's gonna take more time and more effort than with a four wheel tractor.


So - How much time do you want to invest????

 

[Bentleg]

The big factor for us is character of our land. We are in the NC mountains and tend an acre of garden. The plots are in tight places with no room to turn a 4 wheel tractor. I'm not going to turn over a tractor by getting on a steep spot. As far as the capacity of the 853, it can do it all. The Grillo 107d can also.

 

[mikehaugen]

bentleg, how do you like that 710? I was kicking myself as someone had one on craigslist with tiller for $550 and it looked pretty nice. I am pretty sure it wasn't the usual craigslist scam, unless they have gotten way better at disguising them. I was meaning to call the guy, but the next day it was already gone. I have never had enough interest to investigate new ones, but would assume that setup would run close to $3k new? I was only looking for walk behind tillers.

 

[Bob Vetter]

The big factor for us is character of our land. We are in the NC mountains and tend an acre of garden. The plots are in tight places with no room to turn a 4 wheel tractor. I'm not going to turn over a tractor by getting on a steep spot. As far as the capacity of the 853, it can do it all. The Grillo 107d can also.

Thank You this is the kind info I was looking for. Do you use it for keeping trails around your property up with a mower?

 

[Bentleg]

I bought my 710 with 5 horse Briggs & Strattin in 1995, I think the first year it came out. It has gobs of hours on it, and aside from a bit of carburetor work, has had no problems. Its has 1 speed in each direction and I would dearly love to have something with speeds. But it does a beautiful job tilling and runs a 30" sickle bar well.

 

[mpapiary]

I am currently maintaing the same with my 735 as you are looking to do with the 853, so see no reason why it wouldn't work very well for you. I mow 1.5 acres of lawn with a 38" mower, maintain an acre garden with a rotary plow and tiller, and cut bee yards with either the sickle mower or Berta flail mower. I also clear snow on a 300 ft driveway and mulch newspaper for animal bedding with my chipper. I have been through a gambit of equipment over the past twenty years and find these little tractors well built, durable, and extremely useful. I too have own larger equipment, but as I now do very little farming I find myself using the BCS for most everything anymore except manure handling and running a 20 kw PTO generator on occasion.

Bill brings up some very good points to consider before you buy - these tractors are small and you need to figure how much time you want to spend working versus playing. Remember that these units and implements are designed based on walking speeds, not riding speeds. Combine their overall smaller size with slower speed and you wind up getting less done slower than you would with a regular compact tractor. If time isn't an issue, then there isn't much you won't be able to do with the 853. The tractor and implements are very well built and will prove to be a long term investment. Good luck with your purchase!

 

[Bob Vetter]

I am currently maintaing the same with my 735 as you are looking to do with the 853, so see no reason why it wouldn't work very well for you. I mow 1.5 acres of lawn with a 38" mower, maintain an acre garden with a rotary plow and tiller, and cut bee yards with either the sickle mower or Berta flail mower. I also clear snow on a 300 ft driveway and mulch newspaper for animal bedding with my chipper. I have been through a gambit of equipment over the past twenty years and find these little tractors well built, durable, and extremely useful. I too have own larger equipment, but as I now do very little farming I find myself using the BCS for most everything anymore except manure handling and running a 20 kw PTO generator on occasion.

Bill brings up some very good points to consider before you buy - these tractors are small and you need to figure how much time you want to spend working versus playing. Remember that these units and implements are designed based on walking speeds, not riding speeds. Combine their overall smaller size with slower speed and you wind up getting less done slower than you would with a regular compact tractor. If time isn't an issue, then there isn't much you won't be able to do with the 853. The tractor and implements are very well built and will prove to be a long term investment. Good luck with your purchase!

Yeah sounds like your doing what I am trying to do. I work in the Dairy Industry and am around the Large tractors all the time. Way to much for what I need. My wife and I are not planning on keeping any animals at this time, well not really ever. Sounds like this might be the answer we are looking for.

I am considering purchasing maybe the mower, but then I was thinking of just going with the dirt working equipment to start with?

I haven't really been able to find fault with the machine other than maybe time spent using it. But right now cost difference greatly out weighs time spent.

Has anyone found a winning combination of equipment to start with.? Maybe some to avoid in this case?

 

[wstr75]

Here is my list:
Flail mower. You can do anything from clearing under brush, mulching stalks in place and even mow the lawn providing you are ok with a lawn that looks good from 50 feet.

Berta plow.


End of list. Notice rototiller is not on my list. I own a tiller, but have rocky soil. I hurt my leg last fall because of tiller jump and still have a scar on my leg. Tiller is good for mixing and use in sandy soils IMHO. A power harrow would be my third implement but is 3X the price of a tiller.

 

[Bob Vetter]

Here is my list:
Flail mower. You can do anything from clearing under brush, mulching stalks in place and even mow the lawn providing you are ok with a lawn that looks good from 50 feet.

Berta plow.


End of list. Notice rototiller is not on my list. I own a tiller, but have rocky soil. I hurt my leg last fall because of tiller jump and still have a scar on my leg. Tiller is good for mixing and use in sandy soils IMHO. A power harrow would be my third implement but is 3X the price of a tiller.

Thank you for that, makes more sense and along the lines we were thinking at this point. Right now after contacting several more dealers my wife and I are putting more thought into this. right now the cost between a tractor with basic implements and a BCS with fancy ones is about equal. We live in a large agricultural area and used tractors are every where not so the case with a BCS. Since our lot is level were just not sure a small basic piece of equipment wouldn't work.

Just trying to look at it at all angles.

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey Bob,

When considering prices, keep in mind that you're pricing new walk-behind versus used tractor - sometimes very used. I'm not afraid of used (my tractors are a 1970's 4430 and 2040, an early 60's 4010, and a 1955 JD 60), but I also know that they come with their demons. My 4010 has cost me nearly three times what I paid for it in repairs in the past 5 years. If you consider the cost of a new ride-on tractor (even one of those grey market tractors from China) to the cost of a new walk-behind, the price difference is significant.

If you're not afraid of a used ride-on tractor, you should be even less afraid of a used walk-behind. They're a far simpler machine. Much less can be wrong and much less is needed to fix them. You can find very good deals on used walk-behinds as well. I paid about $1000 for my 830 with tiller and two sweepers, which I later converted to a diesel. It needed work, but that didn't bother me as it was mostly labor.

If you have time, search CL through Google. Type "BCS tiller OR rototiller OR mower OR tractor OR sickle site:craigslist.org" into a google search box. This isn't perfect, it will show you all BCS tractors for sale across all CL's. Eventually, you'll find a 737, 605, 830, 850, 852, or 853 to buy (I posted the pluses and minuses regarding all models in the past year, but seem to be incapable of using the search matrix on this site). Once you have the tractor, you can start considering other attachments that Bill mentioned.

I agree with his attachment suggestions - 3 working speed (plus 4th transport) locking differential tractor with a rotary plow, flail mower, and power harrow. The power harrow can be replaced with a rototiller for lower cost, but the harrow works on a vertical axis, stirring up weed seedlings, incorporating inputs, and firming the seed bed, while not "turning" the soil. This keeps the weed seeds that are not on the surface to stay inactive underground. It's strong enough to go through unworked soil, but, unless you're renovating lawn, it really isn't effective in primary tillage.

 

[farm23]

I have not read everything on this tread so I hope I do not repeat something already said. I have 2 acres of organic market garden and 2 greenhouses. My 853 get used much more than my articulated 30 HP tractor. The 4 wheel tractor is used mostly to carry stuff in the bucket. If I have to choose between the two [I do not want to choose] I would go with the 853. The 853 will do everything I need except lift and carry. I am looking for a second 853 used tractor and am confident it needed I can fix.