Tag Archive for: Is

A Cordless Hover that is less bother

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A Cordless Hover that is less bother: New to Mountfield for 2022, we introduce the Typhoon – a cordless hover mower which will allow you to mow with the flow!

The Typhoon is powered by 2 x 4Ah (20V) smart Stiga e-power batteries that provide ample power to cut lawns up to 100sqm from one charge.

A Cordless Hover that is less bother

A Cordless Hover that is less bother

Easy to use and Easy to manoeuvre the Typhoon will glide across the grass with ease, forwards, backwards and side to side…. And with no cord to get tangled in bushes, hedges, or garden furniture!

The unique patented cutting deck traps the air creating the right amount of energy to produce the cushioning effect that lifts the mower from the ground similar to a hovercraft.  The blade has been specially designed for maximum cutting efficiency without disturbing air flow.

This mower is extremely lightweight, just 7kg so very easy to transport to areas around the garden that require cutting.  It is also easy to store in any garden shed or garage, flat against the wall from a single hook.

The mower comes with 2 x 20V 4Ah batteries and a dual charger, the batteries are interchangeable within other products in the Freedom100 cordless range such as a grass trimmer, blower, vacuum shredder, hedge trimmer and multi-tool as well as a selection of 3 collecting mowers.

The Typhoon is a must-have for those who have stepped gardens or sloped grassed banks and will be available from Amazon UK, selected B&Q stores and online at B&Q and Screwfix from March 2022.

Easy Mows it!

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Two is company when it comes to ISEKI

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Two is company when it comes to ISEKI: ISEKI UK & Ireland, distributors of ISEKI compact tractors and mowers alongside their local dealer Rickerby based in Carlisle, recently sold a TLE3410 following an initial TG6490 IQ to Richmond (Yorks) Golf Club.

Established in 1892 Richmond Golf Club in North Yorkshire holds a 18 hole golf course, carefully maintained and constantly improved by a team of three greenkeepers headed up by Rob Spaven, Head Greenkeeper, Iain Leversuch and Daniel Dean.  With the course’s long history, the team are passionate about continuing to refine the course bringing it back to its natural habitat. Over-looking a valley it is perfectly positioned for stunning views at every hole no matter what the Yorkshire weather throws at it.

Two is company when it comes to ISEKI

Two is company when it comes to ISEKI

Having purchased its first TG6490 IQ tractor from local dealer Rickerby based in Hexham four years ago the club has since grown in popularity and memberships, which in turn means more pressure on the greenkeeping team to keep developing the course.

Commenting on the initial purchase Rob Spaven explained; “One of the main reasons we purchased the TG6490 IQ was because of the tractors low ground pressure ensuring minimal damage on the greens, we are a wet course thanks to the local Yorkshire weather so this is very important to us.”

“Another invaluable tool of this particular tractor is the Headland management system when verti-draining. Instead of acting like an octopus having to constantly keep lifting and lowering the implement, starting and stopping the PTO whilst turning and realigning, the headland management system cuts out the PTO when lifted and re-engages on return down all with one simple lever making these repetitive tasks so much easier and safer.”

“There is a big selection of 24 gears for the ultimate control, 1,580kg lift capacity perfect for operating implements, moving logs and towing trailers, and most importantly the air con cab is a god send when working in Yorkshire inclement weather!”

With the increased maintenance that was now required due to the club’s success, it was decided another tractor was needed to keep up with the workload.  This is where the new TLE3410 comes in, commenting on the decision Rob Spaven explained; “again with its low ground pressure and minimal damage on the greens the 40hp TLE3410 with 1000kg lift capacity was chosen for spraying and slitting fairways.  A really good, simple tractor that’s bomb proof and perfect for operators to just jump on and use.”

“As greenkeepers we are all worried about taking tractors on the greens, but when you’ve got two tractors that barely leave any marks, what more could you ask for! The TG’s reliability has been faultless, club’s don’t have as much excess money anymore, we can’t afford big repair bills but we have had no problems with this tractor.”

“After the excellent service and back up received from our first ISEKI tractor from local dealer Rickerby, we didn’t hesitate to contact them again for the purchase of our TLE3410.  The staff at ISEKI UK have also been brilliant, they are a friendly bunch to deal with, happy to answer any questions and there is really good communication from them.  I cannot speak highly enough of them to be honest and would highly recommend ISEKI products.”

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Grass is greener at AZ Alkmaar

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Grass is greener at AZ Alkmaar: The AQUA4D® system rented by Lescrauwaet BV has contributed significantly to solving turf issues at the AFAS Training Complex in Wijdewormer, home of AZ Alkmaar football club (Eredivisie). “We now have no more dead grass spots,” says groundsman Wouter Uitentuis. “That’s because the AQUA4D® water system creates smaller water clusters, so they get into the smallest pores.”

“In the first year when the training pitches were delivered, five years ago now, nobody could have foreseen how badly the grass would grow. There were a lot of bare patches of grass, especially near the overlap of the sprinklers,” explains says the groundsman, who manages the training fields. After the first season, 2 cm of the grass layer was milled off with a fieldtop maker, reseeded and fertilised. Due to the hot and dry summer the following year, the emerging grass burned immediately. Uitentuis: “We wondered what was causing this and started looking. We found out that it had to do with the salinity in the irrigation water. With this knowledge, we started spraying the fields much more to push away the salt, sometimes as much as 40 to 50 ml/m2 per night. Normally we give between 10 and 15 ml/m2 depending on the time of year.”

Grass is greener at AZ Alkmaar

Grass is greener at AZ Alkmaar

Getting the ball to roll faster

After a large amount of water, there was no watering for a few days until the turf dried out. That was the moment to start watering again. “As a result, it took longer than desired, also from the club’s point of view, before there was a reasonable grass surface. But at the overlap spots of the sprinklers we saw that the grass didn’t want to grow because of the salinized soil,” explains Uitentuis.

AZ Alkmaar turf, before AQUA4D

There was a second problem: AZ requested that the pitches should also be wet during the day, to help the ball speed. “In order to make the grass wet, we had to spray water in small doses even on a sunny summer day. This keeps the salty water on the blades of grass. The result was that the salt residue in particular burned into the leaves, causing the grass to turn yellow and die.” Later in the season, more rain did turn the grass green again. “As soon as the grass received fresh rainwater, the grass was back to its normal green colour within a week.”

The search for innovative irrigation technology

In order to remove the salt from the irrigation water (with an EC of 7.0), a Reverse Osmosis system was considered. But this system could not handle the amount of water from the pump, which has a capacity of 60 m3/hour. Tap water was not an option either, because there was no adequate connection to be made, and using drinking water would be expensive.

Two years ago, the groundsman called in Westhoven Agro Advies who put him in touch with AQUA4D® BeNeLuxDu importer Lescrauwaet BV in Hilversum for treatment of the surface water. With the AQUA4D® water system, the irrigation water is treated with resonance fields, which improves or refines the structure of water clusters.

The Swiss-based firm have more than 4,200 water systems operational in 40+ countries, in horticulture, sports fields, landscapes, and sustainable buildings.

A test was Conducted by connecting and disconnecting sprinklers to the AQUA4D® water system. “At first we were sceptical, because we thought that no system could do it properly,” explains Uitentuis. But we soon saw a difference with AQUA4D. With the sprinklers whose water had not been treated, the grass quickly burned.”

Smaller droplets roll off leaves

According to the groundsman, this watering system has the required capacity, is affordable, and has a positive effect on bare grass areas. “The water surface tension is lower, so the water droplets are smaller and less spherical. We can also see this in the water that is sprayed more when watering the grass. Due to the change in water clusters, the water droplets no longer remain on the leaf. Because they roll off, we also no longer have any salt residue. As a result, the grass no longer burns.”

A new approach to water management

The AQUA4D® system has made a significant difference to the grass patches that refused to grow. “Every year is different here – it can be warmer or colder, more or less sunlight and drier or wetter. Water is one facet of the whole picture, but the most important one. In summer, we now have a different fertilisation policy with more coated fertilisers, which are released slowly, and we spray urea fertiliser on the leaves,” says Uitentuis.

“We are pleased with the beautiful green turf this summer. It really is a picture,” he concludes.

Find out more about sustainable water management for football: https://www.aqua4d.com/news/sustainable-football-irrigation/

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Prevention is better than cure

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Prevention is better than cure: At a recent meeting of the Amenity Forum, Chris Faulkner of Kersten (UK) Limited spoke about the need for all involved in weed management in the sector to further increase the focus on weed prevention.

He said ‘’A common theme of the conversations we have with customers centre around removing, killing or controlling a weed that already exists. Prevention requires us to think about the causes of weeds on a particular surface and how we can make the environment as inhospitable for weeds as possible’’

Prevention is better than cure

Prevention is better than cure

In a recent presentation at a conference in Wales, the Independent Forum Chairman John Moverley, said ‘’prevention certainly on hard surfaces begins with the design of our environment. For example, designing the corner of a kerb with a nice wide radius, rather than a sharp corner allows a sweeper to easily follow the edge of the kerb and collect any detritus trapped there’’

Also at the conference, a representative from Newport Council commented about their success with improved preventative maintenance work. He said ‘’we have been using mechanical weed removal to minimise the soil build-up over winter and the team has seen a big reduction in the amount of weeds coming up in the spring. This has resulted in the diminished use of plant protection products around Newport’’

The amenity sector has been at the fore front of the development of integrated weed management and produces comprehensive guidance notes for the sector. It is important to recognise that integrated means choosing the right approach and choice of methods for weed management including plant protection products. The increased emphasis on moving to carbon zero also will significant impact on future approaches.

A new guidance note on weed prevention will shortly be available on the Amenity Forum website www.amenityforum.co.uk  and it will be just one of the topics to be addressed in Updating events across the UK organised by the Forum in early 2022. For more information contact admin@amenityforum.net

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Pellenc is ‘superior’ for Hard Graft

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Pellenc is ‘superior’ for Hard Graft: Hard Graft Garden Services, based in East Lothian, Scotland, believes that Pellenc is a ‘superior’ brand of battery-powered technology.

Hard Graft Garden Services is a family-run business based in Longniddry, East Lothian. Founded by father Stuart, the day-to-day running of the business now largely falls his three sons Sam, Fraser and Lewis.

Pellenc is ‘superior’ for Hard Graft

Pellenc is ‘superior’ for Hard Graft

Over the years, the family has built a reputation for supporting the local community and providing an unrivalled customer service. Always looking to the future, Lewis revealed that green technology is integral to the company’s future plans.

“I would say that 90% of our equipment is now battery powered, and now that we have discovered Pellenc, we are planning on investing in a lot more of the products.”

Lewis admits that he only turned to Pellenc after being dissatisfied with a product from another manufacturer. It was at this point that he got in touch with Etesia – exclusive UK distributors of Pellenc products.

“We had an electric brushcutter from another manufacturer, but the battery just wasn’t lasting as long as we needed it to and there were a few other build quality issues,” he said. “I did some research, found Pellenc and watched some YouTube videos of the products in action and read some end-user reviews. I then got in contact with Etesia and a demonstration was quickly arranged with our local dealer Agrovista Amenity. As soon as I saw that brushcutter in action, I knew it was the one for us.”

The brushcutter Lewis saw being demonstrated was the powerful Excelion 2. With a rotational speed of 6,600rpm and a cutting diameter of 420mm, the Excelion 2 battery-powered brushcutter offers superior performance for professional intensive landscaping and forestry work.

Weighing 30% less than petrol-powered brushcutters, it also has a newly designed smart handle that enables agile manoeuvring and displays digital information in real-time including current speed, battery life (as a percentage and in minutes) and power indication.

“We are using the Excelion 2 every day,” said Lewis. “Sometimes there will be days when we are using it from morning till night. The battery life on it is fantastic and the run time is something that we just don’t have to worry about anymore. I also like the way the digital screen monitors the way you are working, and it provides you with information on your current speed and your battery life.

“To be honest, the Excelion can probably go longer than I can,” he continued. “The other day I was on 89% battery, and I still had seven hours of run time left and that is way beyond how long I would want to strim for!

“I also like the way there are four speed settings. Level one manages the small gardens perfectly, and if you come across a bigger section with larger grass, then a quick tap of the button and you are up to level 3 or 4 and away you go. You can use it no matter what the size of the garden.”

Lewis and the Hard Graft team power the Excellion 2 with the Pellenc ULiB 1500 backpack battery, which gives the user freedom of movement and optimal work quality.

“We thought we would go for the ULiB1500 battery because it is the biggest battery in the range and we plan to invest in more Pellenc equipment, which can all be used with this battery.

Pellenc is ‘superior’ for Hard Graft

Pellenc is ‘superior’ for Hard Graft

Everything feels great, it is very comfortable, and you have no issues with your back – because of the harness.

“It is a great design and very compact for something so powerful – it is not as big as some of its competitors, and it fits nicely in the van when you are storing it.”

Lewis is being looked after by Pellenc dealer Agrovista UK, and Allan Wright has been on hand to ensure Hard Graft are happy with their Pellenc purchase. From the product to support – it is safe to say that Lewis is a happy customer.

“Both Allan and Stephen Muir from Eteisa UK have been very helpful – both of their knowledge is fantastic – I simply cannot fault the service. They walked us through everything, explained everything thoroughly, and that is what you want because you are investing in premium products.

“For the more money you spend, you are getting battery powered technology which is far superior and a first-class service. The products are built to last, and this is backed by the four-year battery warranty.

“As I say, I did a lot of research and I looked at what other manufacturers had to offer. It was clear that Pellenc is a cut above the rest.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.pellencuk.com

You can also follow Pellenc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @PellencUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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