We have a Grillo G110 (gasoline) 13 hp. It is way more user friendly than our old G107D which in turn was better than our ancient rope start BCS that we got used 20 years ago. There are a wide variety of implements that are compatible across BCS and Grillo.
Joel at Earth Tools is your man. Call him and tell him what you need to do. But do it soon. They are very busy in the spring. He convinced us that Grillo would be easier than BCS for us to maintain ourselves but we were still able to use our old BCS implements. We have a Grillo tiller, Berta rotary plow, flail mower, and sickle bar. We had a Biagoli spud digger and cultivator and did not find them useful. We have friends who have a power harrow and I think they are pleased with it.
I would not use the rotary plow for primary tillage of large areas. It cuts a narrow swath, is hard on your body, and the cutting tips wear out quickly in rocky soil. The flail mower is great. We use it to mow edges, mow cover crops, chop up corn stalks and asparagus foliage, etc
Debby
We have an 853 and a 739
Flail mower
Rinaldi power harrow
Rotary plow
Snowblower
The machines are both great / reliable
The power harrow and the rotary plow get the most use in our applications
Purchased from Earth Tools though we try to purchase as much as possible locally.
Joel at Earth Tools is amazing. Worth breaking the buy local rule for. You will want his support if you buy a machine.
Good luck!
Bryan
If I remember correctly I have used the 730 series. It really depends on what you are tilling. If you are not going into sod and are doing about an acre or less they are great. They create smaller beds than a tractor which can be both helpful and a hindrance depending on the situation. They just bounce on hard ground and rocks and don't make a great seeding bed in those situations, but they are heavier than other walk behinds so don't bounce as much. I think of them as specific small farm tools. I haven't used them for anything other than rototilling. I appreciate that you can rotate the handle so you don't have to walk in the row you are making. That said, if there are rocks or hard ground the machine definitely pulled me around some times. I am 6'4" and 180ish lbs. One thing I did like a lot about it was that when I had the option of a tractor and a BCS and I was only doing 1 or two beds or tilling it made a lot more sense to just run the BCS for a couple of minutes instead of what can sometimes seem like a pain getting the tractor equipment all hooked up. I also was not as concerned about compaction when using the BCS.
All that said, I have only ever used them for two year stretches on different farms and don't know how long they hold up for longer than that. They are pretty beefy but there are some weak points that tend to break if mishandled.
I don't know if that is helpful at all.
Nathan Hammer
Firefly Fields
Hi Gino,
We use a BCS 850. It's 25 years old, and replaced the engine once. I think the comparable model now is the 853. We have a 1 1/2 acre market garden. The BCS is the only tractor we have. We till, plow, harrow, flail mow, haul a cart ( up to 1/2 ton a firm ground), snow plow and snow blow with it. Not sure what your needs are but I highly recommend
Earth Tools . Great folks, really great service. Out of Kentucky but they have walked us through many repairs. They also carry Grillo walk behind tractors. Earth Tools carries BCS implements but also other Italian brands that are much more rugged.
Best,
John
Hi,
I managed a 2 acre operation using primarily a BCS. We had an 853 and a 750. We used all kinds of attachments - tiller, rotary plow, power harrow, flail mower, compost spreader etc.
Our farm was run primarily by average stature women and everyone was trained on the BCS. Some of the implements are very heavy and a bit awkward but once you get used to it, it's great. The machine is a workhorse!
Earth Tools is a great resource. They are super knowledgeable.
Happy to share more info if you want.
Good luck!
Jane
