Just as we were thinking yippee, if this is as bad as winter is going to get, along comes gales of wind to demolish fence panels and bring down power cables, gallons of rain to fill the rivers and flood roads and fields; and now snow is promised.
Any leaves left on trees are now scurrying across lawns and shrubberies and the autumn clear-up has been put on hold at least until the wind abates. The cold we can work through, snow and ice are another matter.
So this week’s top ten is focussed on machinery to help you through this difficult period and tackle the snow and ice if we get any.
It’s all very well having a few blown down trees and branches but they will need splitting if they are to be of any use for the fire.
The MD 4-Ton Electric Horizontal Log-Splitter is a great little machine, easy and safe to use an with enough splitting force for most households.
The four tons of hydraulic splitting pressure are generated with the 1500W electric motor and it can deal with logs 25cm in diameter and 37cm long.
As both hands are needed to operate it the splitter is quite safe and it also has wheels on the base to make it easy to move around. There is also a comfortable rubber hand grip.
It is amazing value at £159.95, £90 off the recommended price, has free next working day delivery and a two year warranty.
You can also buy a 4-way splitting wedge if you want your firewood a little smaller. This costs £20.
When it comes to sawing up those branches blow time by the gales this little piece of kit is a great help.
The MD Saw Horse with Chainsaw Attachment has an attachment into which you can fit a chainsaw so that it simply pivots to cut the wood.
A cradle holds the branch which then simply slides along up to the saw.
The whole process is safe and fast and an idea solution for people nervous about using a chainsaw.
The sawhorse is adjustable and made from steel to make it rigid and safe and yet it weighs only 7kg.
The cost is just £54.95 and it is delivered free the next working day. There is a two year warranty.
Talking of chainsaws, here’s one exclusive to us and from one of Europe’s leading garden machinery manufacturers.
The Oleo-Mac GS-370 Pro Petrol Chainsaw has a Free Starter-Pack including useful safety equipment and is ideal for small-scale tree felling and cutting and pruning branches.
The 35.2cc engine uses much less fuel than similar machines and starts easily and has a 35cm chain bar.
It has been designed with a chai-brake which cuts in if there is a kick back and weighs 4.2kg.
It comes with safety gloves, helmet with ear muffs and visor, wto stroke and chain oil and a fuel mixing bottle.
It costs £219.95, £100 off the recommended price, has a three year warranty and is delivered free the next working day.
Right, so that’s the wood sorted, here’s a machine to deal with the leaves blowing all over the place.
Clean and tidy: Echo ES-2510ES shred ‘n’ vac
The Echo ES-250ES ‘Shred N’ Vac’ Petrol Blower-Vacuum is a fitted with a 25.4cc engine producing a 243km/h blast of air.
The handle has three positions to make it comfortable to use.
When in suction mode it will collect the debris and with a metal fan deposit it into the collector blade having shredded it to a twelfth its original volume.
It costs £209, £60 off the price recommended and has a five year warranty and free next working day delivery.
Large lawns and drives can take ages to clear but with a lawn tractor and this machine the process is a piece of cake.
The Agri-Fab 42″ Heavy-duty Leaf-Sweeper with High-Speed Brushes (45-0261) attaches with a pin hitch to any ride-on or lawn tractor and with its wide clearing width can get the autumn clean-up done far quicker.
It also very efficient so you should not have to return and giver the area cleaned a second pass.
Once full the collector can be emptied without leaving the driving seat.
It costs £349, £130 off the recommended price and has a five year warranty and free next working day delivery.
Some of you will want to give the lawn an autumn feed and apply materials to clear moss and this machine is a great buy. It can also be used to spread ice and snow melt should the temperatures tumble.
The Agri-Fab Broadcast Spreader – 85LB Push (45-0388) is suitable for areas are 4300m2 and has a spreading width of 3 metres to help you cover large areas quickly.
The poly hopper holds 38.5kg and will resist corrosion and also the odd knock should you hit something solid, like the wing of your car!
It has a steel frame and axle and large tyres make it easy to push.
It is only £95, is delivered free the next working day and has a five year warranty.
S’no good, we have to face the prospect of snow.
The Oleo-Mac Artik 52 Single-Stage Petrol Snow Blower is ideal machine for most homeowners with a 163cc engine designed to cope with cold weather.
The snow and ice are dragged into the hood by revolving augurs and then blow out all in one process – hence single stage.
The discharge chute is adjustable so you can direct the snow (don’t be tempted to blow it over the neighbour’s drive.
And you can set the discharge between two and eight metres away.
It costs just £279, £120 less than the recommended price an brings automated snow clearance within the reach of many household budgets.
It has a three year warranty and free next working day delivery but please order in good time as if there is a bucket full of snow we our lorries wont be able to get to you.
This one from the same stable will clear larger areas.
The Oleo-Mac Artik 56 Dual-Stage Snow Blower (Manual Start) has a wider clearing width and after dragging the snow and ice into the front of the chute then blasts it clear with a powerful impellor – hence the term two stage.
The snow is expelled to a distance of 12 metres.
It has a 182cc Loncin engine and is self-propelled with five forward and two reverse gears. The reverse gears can be really helpful if you get stuck in a snow drift.
Sliders under the front chute let you alter the working height.
It costs £499, £200 off the maker’s recommended price and is delivered free the next working day. There is a three year warranty.
To help you deal with the worst of what’s to come, and we do hope we’re being pessimistic here, we have put together a package to clear the wretched stuff away.
Snow beater: Pro-Winter snow and ice treatment package
The Pro Winter Snow & Ice Treatment Package is ideal for household and small business and contains an Agri-Fab 45-0462 spreader with a hopper which can old 130lb;
20 10kg on LNT Magic Ice Melt, a product used by airports worldwide and is non toxic to plants and concrete and is fully bio-degradable;
and three large large Canadian snow shovel/pusher with a 45cm head and a solid wooden shaft capable of shifting large quantities.
There are also special prices on extra snow melt and more shovels if you order them at the same time.
The package costs £549 and is delivered within two to three working days.
And finally if the worse comes to the worse the Loncin LC8000D-AS Petrol Powered Generator could keep the household going if there is a power ‘outage’ as the professionals life to say.
This will give you 7.5Kw of power and has voltage outputs of 110 and 230V.
It will give you eight hours of power with its 25 litre fuel tank and the engine is an easy starter and has low noise and vibration levels, but please remember they can only be used outside.
It costs £799 compared with the recommended price of £101.99 and has a two year warranty.
We deliver it free within two to three working days.
We do hope we are not being too pessimistic but it pays to be prepared for the winter and we think these machines may make the next few, miserable months a bit more bearable.
If you can’t see what you want or are uncertain, give us a ring on 020 3026 8712.
