G U A R A N T E E

Items listed in a black box like this one are EARTH TOOLS Exclusives!

YOUR SOURCE FOR
bcs tillers, bcs sickle bars, bcs lawn mowers, bcs snowblowers, bcs brush mowers, bcs sweepers, bcs chipper / shredder
bcs attachments & bcs accessories
AND
 rotary plows, mini hay balers, hay rakes, spaders, cultivators, flail mowers, seeder, potato digger plow, utility trailers & more!

For a Full List of Tractor & Implement Accessories -
See the Accessories Prices.

"Gas vs. Diesel"
One of the questions we get asked all the time is: "why would I choose a Diesel Engine?" Well, here are some reasons:

BCS 853 with Kohler diesel & 5x12x22” wheels

1. Properly maintained, a diesel engine will easily last 3 times as long as a  gasoline engine.
2. In these small air-cooled engines, diesels use 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of fuel a gas engine consumes doing the same work.
3. Diesel  engines give the option of running lower-cost and/or environmentally friendlier  BioDiesel fuel.
4. Better low-speed torque on a diesel engine (Note that the Diesel engine options on most of the tractors have a lower horsepower rating  than the gas option...but from a working standpoint, they have as much or  more torque than the "larger" gas engine. For example, the  11hp diesel has  virtually the same working torque as the 13hp gas, actually more at low  engine speeds).

And, to be fair, here are some 'cons' to the diesel engines:

1. More noise than a gas engine
2. More vibration than a gas engine
3. More initial cost than a gas engine
4. Harder starting in cold weather
5. Virtually requires the electric start option, while the gas engines start easily with manual start

Most of the time, the choice comes down to economics: how long will it take for the cost savings of running a diesel pay for the higher initial investment?  Typically, folks who are putting a lot of hours on the tractor  (200--250+ hours per year) would be well advised to consider the diesel, because  the extra investment will pay off in a reasonable amount of time.  Of course, the higher the price of fuel is, the quicker it pays off! (even if diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline, the fuel cost savings still add up--more slowly, of course--but keep in mind that the diesel uses 1/2 to 1/3 the fuel of the gas engines.)
 
If the tractor is only used 50 - 100 hours or so per year, diesel is really not an economically desirable option...it would take a lifetime to pay for itself.  (Unless, of course, you would choose the diesel solely based on other reasons like being able to use a biofuel, etc.)

We have the most experience with the Italian made Lombardini (now owned by the American company Kohler) diesel engines which have been standard equipment in Europe on BCS and Grillo machines for over 25 years.
 
Starting in May 2007, BCS started offering a Yanmar diesel (Japanese) on their model 853 tractor for the North American market, in response to the growing diesel market in North America (which we had essentially jump-started by custom-installing Lombardini diesels for our customers for years).  The Yanmar, however, has not proved to be a good engine for the walk-behind tractor application.  While it might be a perfectly good engine for a water pump, generator, etc., we find it to be disagreeably heavy for the walking tractor (10hp Yanmar is 20 pounds heavier than the Lombardini 11hp), which affects tractor balance negatively.  But the biggest problem we have encountered with the Yanmar is that the control system (engine throttle and safety shutdown/stop controls) were obviously designed for stationary applications (such as the above-mentioned generator, etc.) and the adaptions installed to make the engine compatible with a remote control application such as the walk-behind tractor, especially one with a Operator Presence Control (the little safety thingy you have to hold down on the handles to keep the engine running) leave MUCH to be desired.  As it is, holding the safety lever on the handles down with the Yanmar engine requires at least TWICE the strength/effort than on the gas or Lombardini diesels, so much so that this plastic lever fails prematurely in many cases.   BCS claims they made their decision based on the availability/number of service centers in North America, which was a valid reason at the time of their choice; unfortunately for them, SINCE then, the Lombardini diesel engine company of Italy has been purchased by the American company Kohler, effectively making service outlets for Lombardini diesels 3 to 5 times more plentiful in North America than for Yanmar, since now all Kohler engine dealers can provide Lombardini diesel parts and service. Based on the above, we no longer stock the Yanmar-powered BCS 853, but if someone is a real "Yanmar fan" and is willing to deal with the down-sides of this engine, we will gladly order it in for them; hence the "special order only" status of this unit in our price list.

We do stock parts for and provide authorized warranty service for the Lombardini/Kohler diesels.   We keep filters and a few other parts in stock for the Yanmar diesel engines, but we are NOT an authorized warranty or repair center for them.

EARTH TOOLS, Inc.
1525 Kays Branch Road
Owenton, KY  40359

(502) 484-3988 tel.
(502) 484-3357 fax.
 

NOTE REGARDING HOLIDAY CLOSINGS:

  Earth Tools will close in 2010 for its Annual Summer vacation Aug. 14th, reopen Aug. 23rd.   
Annual Winter vacation close Dec. 24th,  re-open Jan. 3rd, 2011.
Also closed Memorial Day, July 5th, Labor Day and Nov. 25th & 26th for Thanksgiving.

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