Anyone used a power box rake ?

[scraggs]

I am looking to make life easier for myself, and I am looking into getting a blec power box rake, has anyone ever used one and if you have what did you think of it ?

What I am trying to do is cut down on the amount of time and physical effort put in to getting gardens ready to turf.

Apparently I won't need to rotavate as it will do that aswell, I spoke to Les at blec today and he has offered to bring one down for me to demo, but then would it be best on a 2 wheel tractor or fit it on a mini tracked machine like a boxer which I have been considering getting one for a while, I need to keep things fairly narrow to get into back gardens, the boxer would be handy as I could use it to load topsoil up, but are they very good with a bucket on ?

Another bonus with a boxer would be the ability to use it for laying big rolls.

[woodplans]

We have had the 4ft harley rake on our Vermeer skidsteers for the past 6 years. You will never go back to rotorvating again!

But you do need to be reasonably large areas to make it work well.

As for moving soil, we have done up to 80 tonne a day with the s800tx from roadside to back garden 50-60 m round trip. One operator. And levelled and prepped for turf.

[Tradkompaniet]

What is the difference between Box rake and stoneburier?

[scraggs]

What is the difference between Box rake and stoneburier?

 

with the box rake can windrow the rubbish, a burrier puts the rubbish under the surface, I have had the bigger burriers and they only work properly if the conditions are perfect, so assume it would be pretty much the same with the smaller ones.

[scraggs]

We have had the 4ft harley rake on our Vermeer skidsteers for the past 6 years. You will never go back to rotorvating again!

But you do need to be reasonably large areas to make it work well.

As for moving soil, we have done up to 80 tonne a day with the s800tx from roadside to back garden 50-60 m round trip. One operator. And levelled and prepped for turf.

 

Thats good to hear, thanks.

I am quite looking forward to trying one out.

[dave346]

Yes, we have one that we used for finishing fairways during construction where i work. Used it behind a john deere 3520. It is a good bit of kit for large flat areas once you get used to it. We found it easier to use with a hydraulic top link.

[Sandworks]

i use a boxrake on bobcat skidsteer,the bobcat landscape rake…almost the same as a harley, they work best in reverse,so either get an owl to drive or put in cameras….

stone buriers are basically rotators in reverse…….

the box rake will work the soil creating a fine seed bed,is great for sculpting new layouts,especially where stumps have been removed,

you can either window or pull/push stones roots etc to the headland,

best of all you can start on a bit of ground that might be wet and give it a few runs leave it,do the rest of the job then come back and give another go, it is amazing how it will dry out the surface and create a perfect seed/sod bed….

Stone buriers are good but very dependent on soil type, so checkout what is used by others locally to see if they will work:thumbup1:

[woodplans]

As mentioned above, power rakes come into there own in wet conditions ( very handy over the last year ! ) they pulverise rather than chop like a rotorvator so they also work better in dry lumps than a rotorvator.

 

On a skidsteer they definetly work better backwards, but have the ability to run in both directions ( unlike the tractor mounted ones ) which means you can do a prep run in forward and then back up for final grade, eliminating turning round at the headland or wasted journeys.

 

If th OP wants to have look at ours working we have a few large jobs in the next month where it will be in use. ( Northants area ) send me a pm.

[scraggs]

 

If the OP wants to have look at ours working we have a few large jobs in the next month where it will be in use. ( Northants area ) send me a pm.

 

Thanks for the offer I may well take you up on that depending on when Les is coming down.

We have some fairly heavy clay around this area, how do they perform on clay soils ?, I know it's hard to get anything to do a decent job on clay.

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Do you need to remove the old lawn, when you seeding an area?