BCS 730 or 740 ?

[jay22]

Hi,

First, sorry for my poor english as I'm french

I'm starting an organic farm project on a small 3 acres land and I need a 2 wheel tractor. After months of search I decided to purchase a BCS, it seems to be good brand and there's a lot of implements available.

Now, I don't now which one to buy between the 730 and the 740. I'm low on money so I think I will buy a gas model and not a diesel. I don't know if models number are the same around the world so :
- BCS 730 has a Honda GX 340, 9.5 HP and 2 forward/rear speeds
- BCS 740 has a Honda GX 390, 11.2 HP and 3 forward/rear speeds

My primary usage will be :
- till 1 or 1.5 acres for vegetables
- use the berta rotary plow to make raised bed. Is the 730 has enough power for this ? My soil is heavy clay with a lot of rocks.
- and mow/cut almost all the leaving surface 1 or 2 times a month between march and october. Maybe doing this with the only 2 speed of the 730 will become painfull ?

And finally for mowing I'm not sure what is the best tool between a flail mower or a brush mower, what are the pros/cons of each one ?

Oh ! And if you wonder why I ask these questions here, its because each times I look for BCS informations, I fall on this forum and BCS is not well know or even distributed in France so I need to buy it from Italy or England ! So making the good choice is very important to me.

Thanks for your advices

 

[js5020]

I'm not a BCS owner but have looked at them and hands down a 3 speed machine with differential and large tires would be prefered in my opinion. Mowers depend on what you are doing/expected result,,, if your wanting to chop things up and have little residue for soil incorporation the flail is the tool from what I have gathered, a brush mower will leave larger pieces.

 

[jay22]

Thanks for your answer

For the mowing tool, it's not to make a manicured lawn It's for cleaning the land that is not cultivated for a few years and becoming a young woodland with at some places 5 feet tall willows.
Then I will use the tool to prevent undesired plants to drop seed. So it's just to keep the area clean.

As you pointed, flail mower can be use to chop cover crops which is nice. But I don't know if it's a good tool to regulary mow areas around the vegetables garden.

If I unterstand well, flail mower need more power which means more gas use and I don't know if I can use this tool at the highest speed of the BCS 740.

 

[oldmech]

Hi! I have a BCS 735 Diesel take about one liter hour. I have also a Grillo 107d with Honda GX-340 take two liters hour. Diesel engine pay itself by fuel economy.
No problem with GX-340 for Berta rotary plow. Flail mower need a lot more power make a very good job when new. But If you hit many rocks sand etc.. blades come dull and makes uneven cutting Expensive to buy and to repair take more power and fuel for makes same job . For clean bush land or a lot a Bush -hog is better. I will take a 730 diesel before the 740 gas . How much more for the diesel . If you plan make more 200 hrs year take the diesel Important take your tractor with 5-10 tires not the 4-10. Good luck! Oldmech

 

[jay22]

Thanks for your advices Oldmech !

Nice to know that the GX340 can handle the rotary plow.

I know that diesel are maybe a better investment over time but there's a big price difference between gas and diesel. Here, a 730 diesel cost a bit much than a 740 gas. And with the money saved between the 730 gas and 740 gas models, I could almost buy a tool like a brush mower.

As I said I'm low on money so if a 730 as enough power for my needs, it's nice but I don't want to invest and to be disapointed after a few work hours. It's a lot of money for me and life here in Europe has became very expensive, when I see the price of a BCS from earthtoolsbcs.com for example, it's cheaper and the difference in price is huge !

Another thing with diesel is that they make much noise, are vibrating more and weigth much. I'm 5.5 feet tall, I weight only 132 Lbs and I have recurring tendonitis with my right arm, so I'm not sure a diesel is better choice for me :confused2: