BCS Power Harrow vs Rinaldi Power Harrow

[josiahgarber]

Is there a reason why the Rinaldi Power Harrow seems to be more popular than the BCS Power Harrow?

My BCS dealer has the BCS Power Harrow in stock, but not the Rinaldi. :2cents:

 

[farmerboybill]

The BCS power harrow is not made by BCS. It's made in a shop in Canada. The one I saw looked pretty crude. Its case was made from flat steel welded together, and it used rubber flaps for the side & rear. It also uses a chain inside the main case to run the tines. They've only been making them for a year now, while R2 has been making them for quite awhile. They may be a great unit, I don't know. But, for the same money, you get a nicer unit from an established company if you buy an R2.

Now, whether or not to buy a power harrow at all is a bigger question. I find them to be much too expensive and heavy for what they do. They only prepare seedbeds. You can use them to bust up new ground, and you can use them for cultivating, but they don't do very well in those jobs. A rototiller is 1/3 the money and will do all three jobs well.

Don't get me wrong. I just spent $20,000 on a brand new Maschio 13 foot power harrow. I'm running it on a 165 hp John Deere 4640. I'm breaking 150 acres of 20 year old CRP this spring and planting organic crops. Power harrows have their place - just maybe not on a two wheel tractor.

 

[rickyd79]

Is there a reason why the Rinaldi Power Harrow seems to be more popular than the BCS Power Harrow?

My BCS dealer has the BCS Power Harrow in stock, but not the Rinaldi. :2cents:

Hi Josiah
Just replied to you on your flail mower question. In a similar way I also have experience with both the R2 power harrow and the BCS harrow. I like them both. Farmerboybill mentioned that the BCS flail is very new compared to the R2. The R2 has metal sides and a removable AND adjustable soil shield in the front of it. This can be used to grade/level the ground or your planting row. I think the majority of harrow users, remove this shield and don't use it. With it on, you cannot achieve full depth. But if you want your row or ground completely level, it will help do that. It could be used by landscapers to level the ground. The BCS harrow is a couple of inches wider. Note it is listed at 32" where the R2 is listed at 30". That is working width not actual total implement width. Both brands have a hand crank to adjust the position of the roller and thus the depth of the shanks in the ground. Even though the BCS has rubber sides and front, it is very thick. I suspect it will last a long time. Speaking of the sides, on the R2, the sides are adjustable, not so on the BCS. Nor can you remove the front rubber flap on the BCS, where you can remove the adjustable soil shield on the front of the R2. The new redesigned R2 harrows are out now, and they supposedly have a little better balance since R2 dropped the weight slightly but also moved the PTO flange closed in to the tractor. Personally if I was buying one, I would go with the R2. Its hard not to since the R2 is priced lower than the BCS. But really both are quality units in my opinion and both do a good job.

As to Farmerboybill's comment about should one really buy a power harrow at all? In my opinion that really depends upon what the user wants to accomplish. 99.9% of my customers who buy them are small scale market growers, usually of the organic variety, but not only. For anyone doing very small scale growing and using a standard 30" bed (perhaps as Elliott Coleman or JM Fortier are doing) than the harrow is an excellent tool. Its main job is stirring the soil for final seed bed prep and also mixing in compost and other amendment that you might only want stirred in the top few inches. The implement is not meant as a deep soil working implement. An upside of course is that it does not invert the soil layers and potentially bring weed seeds up from down below. I would say the power harrow is more of a precision instrument compared with a tiller. I don't believe the intent of this implement is to replace a tiller. To me they are very different. Folks could debate all day on the positives of the harrow over the tiller when it comes to hardpan creation and breakdown of soil structure and microbial/soil dwelling organism life. Both Itiller and harrow) have their place though. I think the power harrow is wonderful and most certainly has a place in the small market growers equipment shed (at a point that they can afford it). It is rare that I sell them to a home grower. Message me if you want to discuss further.

 

[farmerboybill]

Yes, R2 is now offering a lighter, better balanced power harrow, but it is still very heavy and very expensive versus a tiller. I've been asking Joel to offer a rear roller for the Grillo rototiller for a while now. If we had a rear roller, it would be almost as good as a power harrow, but much lighter and much less expensive.

I bought a rear mount power harrow for the fact that it does not invert the soil profile, does not pull up weed seeds to the surface, and it makes a fantastic seed bed. Since it is 3point mounted, I don't have the issue of weight. When you get to 13 foot models, the cost of a power harrow versus a rototiller is the same, so I don't have the issue of cost. At that scale, a power harrow makes sense. As a walk-behind tractor attachment, it is very difficult to justify.

On a side note - I see Cub Cadet now offers a power harrow.

 

[farmerboybill]

....And so does Troy Bilt. Not surprising. Both brands are owned by MTD. Power Harrows are definitely the "In" thing right now.

 

[rickyd79]

Yes, R2 is now offering a lighter, better balanced power harrow, but it is still very heavy and very expensive versus a tiller. I've been asking Joel to offer a rear roller for the Grillo rototiller for a while now. If we had a rear roller, it would be almost as good as a power harrow, but much lighter and much less expensive.

I bought a rear mount power harrow for the fact that it does not invert the soil profile, does not pull up weed seeds to the surface, and it makes a fantastic seed bed. Since it is 3point mounted, I don't have the issue of weight. When you get to 13 foot models, the cost of a power harrow versus a rototiller is the same, so I don't have the issue of cost. At that scale, a power harrow makes sense. As a walk-behind tractor attachment, it is very difficult to justify.

On a side note - I see Cub Cadet now offers a power harrow.

Yes, they are heavy. I don't run the 30" harrow without front bumper weights. They are certainly manageable then. I understand what you are talking about regarding the roller on a tiller. Yes, I call this a "poor man's power harrow". But don't get me wrong, I don't mean that in a negative way. That was just the first thought that came into my head when I pictured this. Assuming that the cost would be much less than the power harrow, it would certainly be a good option. I would still use the power harrow personally. But for those that don't want to spend that kind of money they would have another option.

 

[rickyd79]

Yes, R2 is now offering a lighter, better balanced power harrow, but it is still very heavy and very expensive versus a tiller. I've been asking Joel to offer a rear roller for the Grillo rototiller for a while now. If we had a rear roller, it would be almost as good as a power harrow, but much lighter and much less expensive.

I bought a rear mount power harrow for the fact that it does not invert the soil profile, does not pull up weed seeds to the surface, and it makes a fantastic seed bed. Since it is 3point mounted, I don't have the issue of weight. When you get to 13 foot models, the cost of a power harrow versus a rototiller is the same, so I don't have the issue of cost. At that scale, a power harrow makes sense. As a walk-behind tractor attachment, it is very difficult to justify.

On a side note - I see Cub Cadet now offers a power harrow.

Yes, interesting thing to point out Farmerboybill. That should eliminate the advantage of the "untilled strip in the center". I am not a fan of MTD and I don't think they are anywhere close to the league of BCS, Grillo, R2 and Berta. I remember using a 1970s year Troy tiller when I was a teenager and it was a very different machine to what I see Troy making now. If one already owns a walk-behind tractor you can purchase rotary plow for not much more than the cost of one of these MTD "vertical tillers". You would get close to the same worked soil width (4" or so less with Berta plow) but about twice the worked soil depth. I guess for folks that like small and inferior quality products this "vertical tiller" might be an option. In the long run I don't think there is any money saved UNLESS all the user wants to do is till a small area and VERY slowly. Note: the Troy Axis has 1 speed. I imagine if it sells they would put this on other models with a few working speeds. Not sure..

As to power harrow being hard to justify...how well does your 13' power harrow scale onto a market growers 30" raised bed growing system? I think adapting it to that would be problematic. Its good to have the right tool for the job. Some folks think that is the tiller, other folks prefer the power harrow. Plenty of room for both views.

 

[wstr75]

I have a 30" Rinaldi. My thoughts:
1. Great for going through a residential yard with 50 to 70% grass coverage when set at a very shallow setting. You get soil breaking sufficient for seeding without tearing all of the existing grass out (with one pass about 20 to 40% of the grass gets ripped out, but often the roots enable it to put out new shoots.
2. Great for rocky areas or areas with heavy, packed clay. I've hurt myself (tiller tine got into my shin almost to the bone) with tiller jump in those situations. A power harrow shakes and rattles, but will not become a evil killing beast like a 13hp rototiller on a two wheel tractor. My opinion is a tiller is suited for mixing matter in relatively loosely compacted soil. Period.
3. It is darn heavy. I have a diesel engine on the 853, put 70 pounds of weights on the engine guard and it is still a heavy thing. I've given thought to putting a 12v linear actuator with swiveling dolly wheel (like a boat jack stand) on my R2 to make it easy for an old guy like me to spin the harrow/tractor around at the end of a row. For now, I am doing military presses whenever turning the rig around.