Sell me on a Grillo or BCS

   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #1  

Votum

Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
27
Location
SouthEast Mi
Tractor
Farmall A, Case Ih DX55, Bobcat 751
I am replacing my walkbehind rototiller, and am seriously looking into a Grillo or BCS w/ various attachments. I raise produce & perennial ornamental grasses in both field and high tunnel applications. I am leaning towards the BCS 732 or the Grillo 85D. Implement wise I would be going with the 26" or 27" tiller (here the Grillo is my favorite because of the width adjustments), the 26" Flail mower, and the Rinaldi Drop Seeder/Spreader. I like the looks of the Root Digger plow, but would like something powered for digging potatoes and the root clumps of the ornamental grasses, is there such a thing? Also is the rotary plow really worth the money?

Thanks
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #2  
Hey Votum,

I'm sure you conducted a search history on here before you asked your question. I am a Grillo dealer and also work on BCS machines.

Biggest difference between BCS and Grillo is brand recognition. BCS has been sold in the US for nearly 40 years (under "Mainline" the first 5 or so years). Grillo has been imported for 7 years. They are very similar machines with similar features. The Grillo is gonna be a better bang for the buck as there are less middlemen. You'll pay far less for an 85d that will do everything a 732 will do, and you'll have many more attachment options than the average BCS dealer offers. Frankly, neither BCS nor Grillo make a lot of attachments on their own. Rotary plows and flail mowers are made by Berta, chippers and sweepers are made by Caravaggi, many of the rough cut mowers are made by Del Morino or Zanon, all the mechanical unpowered tools are made by Aldo Biagioli and Figli. You're not gonna get anything that BCS hasn't bought and painted blue from the huge majority of BCS dealers.

The Berta flail mower is head and shoulders above BCS's flail mower. It has a much more robust rotor with more and stronger hammers, a better height control system, and a removable baffle to let material pass through for a courser chop when you want to mow but not grind up the material ultra fine. Their rotary plow is unbelievable. I'm amazed every time I mount it to my 850. Words can't describe how good a job it does. In my soil, it tends to burn through points. I get about 4 hours run time on each corner - 4 corners, about 16 hours per set. Its nothing to change them - two bolts per point times four points.

Forget about the 732, it's overpriced for the features it offers and is no good for a lot of mowing as it is missing steering brakes and a third working speed. As I mentioned earlier, you can buy an 85d for $600 less and even a 107d for $200 less. The 107d has all the features of an 853, but has slightly smaller engine options. It'll run anything a 732 will run and it comes with the third working speed and steering brakes.

Grillo has the edge in soil working. They started out as a tiller company in the 1950s and gave BCS their tiller technology while the companies worked together for a while in the late 60's, 70's and early 80's. Today, the Grillo tiller is far superior to the BCS tiller. BCS is building essentially the same tiller they were making in 1982. They've done a few things - beefed it up a bit with heavier shafts, made the height control external, and they did upgrade it with a round hood and their 3 dog PTO in 1994, but it ain't much different than their 1982 model. On the bad side, they took away a width option and made changing tines a real PITA. The Grillo has Bolo tines in a helical pattern, one handed depth control, a more robust yet narrower profile gearbox, 5 width options, and a design that makes tines easier to replace.

The root digger plow is a good tool, BUT you need two things - clearance and traction. Plan on mounting 12 inch tires, 5 or 10 inch axle extensions, and about 100 lbs of weight per tire. For right now, this is your best bet for digging root crops with a two wheel tractor. I've seen some chain diggers and vibratory diggers in pictures or videos, but do not know of any for sale in the US. If there is a source, I guarantee you'll need something bigger than a 732, 85d, 107d, or 853 to run it. I'd bet you're gonna need something like a G131.

Good luck with your decision. Don't forget to report back on what you do. Too many fellows come on here, get advice, and don't bother to come back to follow-up.
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #3  
I have a G85D grillo 10 h.p. kohler which also upgrades to bigger wheels 5x10x 20 I went with a 22" tiller Because I do several smaller patches and you can upgrade to wider . I also just got my 28" zanon mower . I am on 1/2 acre with lots of obstacles , trees grape vine flower patches and garden patches I also bought a hitch and made a trailer work behind it . If I were mowing larger more open area I think the extra gear/speed of a G107D would be better but for my needs I love my grillo G85D
I am an hours drive from earthtools after they brought out my machine Joel the owner came out went over it to make sure every thing was right he made sure I knew how it worked and loaded it for us .
By the way Farmerboybill Joel needs some I love my grillo sticker :D
Roy
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Thanks guys, from what you have said, I am almost wondering if an 85D would be on the smaller side for what I want to do with it. It's main use for mowing would be go into a row to mulch up the remains of broccoli, cabbage etc. so I can work that row the following week for replanting as well as mowing between the bramble rows. Tilling wise would be working up previously said row, as well as cultivating the crops that the A is suited for. I would like to be able to harvest bareroot root clumps of the grasses with it, but I don't think the root plow really is going to work for that.
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #5  
As far as mowing through garden to chop up garden waste, the 85d is fine. You want a slow speed to get it as fine as possible. If you had an 853 or 107d, you'd still use 1st or second gear for this. Where you would find second gear slow is in larger areas that you're looking to just knock down either for hay or just to shorten it. The flail mower would not be ideal for haying, but is great for making paths through a brushy woods or a field. Just remove the back baffle, put 'er in third gear, and GO!

The 85d will also fill the bill for your tilling requirements.

I'm not familiar with bareroot grass harvesting. Are your root clumps in rows or just spread about? The root digger would only be good for lifting the clumps to ease harvest. You'd still need to pick them up and knock the dirt out of the roots.

Hey Roy,

As you know, Joel is VERY frugal. He didn't even have dealership labels to stick on the tractors until a couple years ago. You're gonna need to corner the market on Grillo bumper stickers...
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #6  
To be more clear If your mowing involves Around and between a lot of stuff the G85D will be great. If you are planning to mow 2 acres of hay you would want a little more speed. Being a old school hillbilly raised in the county where gravely's were disigned and for many years built ,,,I hate to admit it but it is a better machine than a gravely :eek:
Roy
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #7  
I don't get here often but we use our BCS853 everyday [we are looking for a second used one]. We have a 4 acre organic produce operation and could not operate without the BCS. I have not used a Grillo but like the BCS it is a fine 2 wheel tractor. My impression is that there are more implements available for the BCS but if your primary interest is mowing maybe the G85D is the way to go. We use the Berta flail mower here and it does a good job on the cover crops.

You will not regret getting either one.
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #8  
I don't get here often but we use our BCS853 everyday [we are looking for a second used one]. We have a 4 acre organic produce operation and could not operate without the BCS. I have not used a Grillo but like the BCS it is a fine 2 wheel tractor. My impression is that there are more implements available for the BCS but if your primary interest is mowing maybe the G85D is the way to go. We use the Berta flail mower here and it does a good job on the cover crops.

You will not regret getting either one.
Very nice post! :thumbsup: :)
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #9  
Changed the deck over to the tiller yesterday to till fall garden 9 minutes from mower to tiller on the G85D
Roy
 
   / Sell me on a Grillo or BCS #10  
If you get the BCS be sure and get the quick connect hubs. I can change implements in about 1 minute.
 
 
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