Hi There,
Joel here from Earth Tools...I never have time to check out these forums much, but a friend mentioned to me that I might weigh in on this discussion. So:
We were approached a couple years ago (and I mean physically approached...the Chinese came right to our business here in Kentucky!) by one of these Chinese companies who is producing a knock-off of a BCS. They were all fired up to sign us as importers for them, being that we are the largest retailer of walk-behind tractors in North America...
They were full of claims that their product was "superior" to BCS, and told of how they had purchased 2 BCS machines to start their project...one to test, and one to copy. These guys had even copied BCS's hydro-mechanical "PowerSafe" clutch, which is something BCS had been banking on the Chinese NOT copying, because it was too precise and complex (these Chinese folks even told me that they had purchased some parts for the clutch system from Buick...[which I highly doubt, but I guess they were trying to impress me by throwing an "American" name at me]...but to me, the idea of inserting a GM part into a walking tractor did not really thrill me much anyway!) They also said that their machines were such a close copy of BCS, many parts would interchange. Anyway, they quoted some really excellent prices, and wanted to know if we wanted to start with a 20-foot container or a 40-foot. I said HOLD ON A MINUTE, I need to see AND use your products first-hand, before we make any decision. So we purchased ONE tractor and a variety of implements. They arrived here in early 2015, and we have spent 2 seasons rigorously testing them.
Of course, I expected the quality to be less than what we see from Italy. I was correct. It is quite obviously a 'cheap knock-off' of a BCS. Of course looking at it from 15 feet away, you can't tell much difference other than the color, but up close, the quality differences stand out more: rougher castings, poor welds, flimsier components. The geometries of the control-system cables & levels aren't quite right, either...they may LOOK about the same, but they just didn't copy them quite right, because the controls are much harder to operate than a BCS. The independent steering brakes are a joke...they do NOTHING at all, no matter how hard you squeeze the levers. We took them apart to see if there just wasn't some oil on the brake shoes or something...there was not, but we cleaned them anyway...it boils down to that whatever they used for brake shoe lining material, it has NO "friction" effect against the steel drum, and hence the brakes are worthless. We even tried putting BCS brake pads on the thing, but they did not quite copy the BCS brake system precisely, because we could not get them to fit. (so much for "parts interchangeability" with BCS!) Regarding their copy of the PowerSafe clutch: it works, but they did not get something quite right, because sometimes it almost stalls the engine for no apparent reason when first releasing the clutch (even when an implement is not being operated). The dozer blade we got with it fell apart the first time I used it, due to cheap fasteners. The first time we got a rock stuck in the tiller, the gears in the tiller gearbox failed completely...on an Italian machine, it takes YEARS of getting rocks stuck in tillers to finally damage the gears, IF you can damage them at all. The Chinese can make a gear that LOOKS like the gear in a BCS, but in terms of properly tempering/hardening the steel, they have no clue.
Not surprisingly, we decided against importing any more of this equipment. First, I do not believe in providing our customers with sub-standard equipment, no matter how "cheap" the price is. If you invest half the cost in a machine that lasts a quarter as long and is harder to use, how is that "better"? Second, I know that many of these Chinese manufacturers are "here today, gone tomorrow", and I would never want to sell equipment to our customers that we could not get parts for in 5 or 10 years. Third, I have no faith in consistency of quality when it comes to Chinese equipment...even if a first batch of the equipment is "acceptable" quality, there is NO guarantee that the next batch you get will be the same. I have heard too many "horror stories" from other importers regarding Chinese companies who would cut corners on quality any time you let your guard down...
So, that is our experience so far with the Chinese BCS "copycat" machines. I definitely agree with the fellow earlier in the thread who said something to the effect of "save up your money and look harder for a BCS"...only, I would modify this to say "save up your money and get an Italian machine", since both BCS and Grillo represent top-quality machines from Italy, from companies who have been in business over 60 years, and from whom you can still get parts for machines 30+ years old. And if someone reads this and decides they still want to "take a chance" on a Chinese unit, then we'll be here to provide top-quality equipment and top-quality service after they're frustrated with the "Chinese imitation" in a few years and want something better.
To anyone in North America who buys one of these Chinese units, I'll say this: #1: Please DON'T come to us looking for parts and/or service for it, and #2: DON'T let a poor experience with a Chinese machine give you a bad opinion about walk-behind tractors in general! A well-designed, high-quality walk-behind tractor will do a tremendous amount of work over many years with minimal parts expense, and will not wear YOU out in the process.
Happy gardens,
--Joel from Earth Tools