At almost half the price of other sellers, this Aldi 'Special Buy' is an incredible deal 'if' you intend to carry out projects where the buy vs hire cost makes sense. Link to Aldi special buy page: www.aldi.co.uk/scheppach-6-5h...
My son has a few neighbours who have got together to form a kind of diy club. They have bought a second hand mixer and whacker plate between them and when they've finished they'll sell them on. Sharing the cost with even just one other person makes the price comparison even more favourable for the "buy" side
I have the same whacker, laid a new patio base this summer and it did an excellent job. Only annoyance was the wheels kept unhooking from the handle while it was in use and falling down, so needed a bungee cord to just strap them out of the way. Very pleased with it.
Well, I watched for the entertainment value as I have no intention of ever buying or indeed hiring one, but still enjoyed it. You tell stories well. Cheers.
Great video again Stuart. I bought a belle petrol concrete mixer with a Honda engine second hand for £70. Engine ran like a treat. Used for mixing driveway haunching and several other jobs plus any others I could make up 😊. Was going to keep it but they take up a lot of room so it went on an auction site. £200 later I was a happy bunny after 2 years of ownership.
Like you I also brought one of these earlier this year, so far very impressed. I will just say check the 2 bolts either side that hold the engine assembly to the base plate, 2 came loose on mine resulting on the engine sitting at a slight angle, easily fixed.
I've bought one of these too, the transport wheels spin when you are usining it but they go in oposite dirrections. I agree with the depth75mm is as much as you want to go. I love mine and it will easily pay for its self. Only coment I would raise is ear protection, these are not quiet machines. Great review on a good bit of kit.
Another excellent video Stuart and liked the buy/hire comparison at the start. Should help a lot of blokes aiming to increase their tool arsenal LOL. Impressed it started first time and good practical advice about compacting in layers. Look forward to seeing you do block paving. Can't go wrong with that price plus a 3 year warranty. Regards Keith
Just bought one, after seeing this review. Have been looking around for ages for a second hand one to complete some "projects". No brainer at this money, and it works a treat.
Done the same and bought same one over a year ago. Worked out cheaper to buy for what I needed it for. Couple little things I dislike on the wacker plate but all in all I happy I bought one
I ended up buying a non-working plate compactor from eBay and all it needed was a carburettor gasket set and a service. Worked out cheaper than hiring especially as my garden project (patio, path, raised block planter and drainage ended up taking six weeks due to bad weather and trying to fit it around a normal day job.
Your justification was spot on. I did exactly the same when I did a 100 SQ M lawn renovation. I bought a heavy duty rotavator to turn over and level the area which, taking into account the time I needed it, and the eventual resale once I was finished with it, worked out cheaper than hiring it. I had to go through the justification with the wife up front though 😂 I sold it within 24HRS of advertising it. 👍
Nice one! It's definitely worth looking at the options. Since I did the video, more potential paving has come up so if I had gone down the hire route I would now be kicking myself.
Scheppach is top end hobbyist IMO, we have a lot of their woodwork tools and they are difficult to calibrate for square, and definitely showing their age.
You've persuaded me...... Love man maths. Get into all kinds of trouble this way!!! PS Nice focus pull from the wacker to the dust extractor.... Very slick!
Nice review. I have a petrol lawnmower at home and I had trouble with it cutting out and eventually not starting. The cause was me using unleaded petrol. Unleaded petrol contains ethanol and this was the problem. In a car it is fine, all of the fuel gets regularly burnt off and fresh fuel is always added. But in things like lawnmowers, fuel is often left in the tank for a long time. Ethanol attracts moisture, which then turns acidic, which then causes oxidation (apparently, I am far from an expert!). That was the problem I was having, me leaving the fuel in the machine. In the end I had to have a costly new carb fitted and give it a good service. I had no idea not to use unleaded in it. I now use a fuel from a company called Aspen (google Aspen fuel, they make a two stroke and a four stroke fuel), which you can leave in the machine forever and it won’t cause a problem, it does not contain any of the nasty additives. Please look after your shiny new metallic baby (I’m very jealous) please drain the fuel when not in use or maybe look in to a fuel like Aspen, I hope this is of some help. I look forward to seeing the upcoming projects 👍
Good point i use Aspen four stroke in my lawnmowers and Stihl 2 stroke Motomix for my chainsaws. Had no problem leaving them fuelled up and starts/run great every time. They seem to run better and no “gumming up” with old fuel.
They were clearing these from their warehouse last year at prices between £250 down to even something about £170. They’re still £300 on eBay, wish I’d bought a couple of them tbh
Great video Stuart. Well worth the money providing you can get a few jobs out of it. Don't sell it, just get a BIGGER workshop. You can never have enough toys, err tools mean, big or small.
Just watched again as have just bought the same machine which second hand was selling at the same or higher than a new one. Nearly missed that loose nut too 😀. Cheers
Well I’ve been eyeing these up for a while with out any real need for owning one, and this video is all the justification I need to recklessly spend money I don’t have. Off the Aldi website I go P.S. the Lidl ad I was served before the video started was advertising algorithm at its best.
video uploaded 2 years ago - now in Essex the hire rate seems to be £30 for first day, and around £10 to £20 for each day after.... Done the same thing today, bough this aldi special at £250 used (bought by owner in july, now december). my hire rate for 1 week came out to £110. now i have it and will be used in the summer for a patio project too. can still see selling it at £200 come 2025
I think your buy/hire decision is very sensible and is generally the way I think about things. Buying 2nd hand is another way to do it and keep costs even lower. A friend bought a 2nd hand cement mixer, used it for a few months to do the job (no need to rush when you aren't hiring), cleaned it up really well and actually sold it for more than he paid for it.
@@ProperDIY Yeah depends on what you are up to. If the project isn't critical and you can afford down time or are able to repair things then 2nd hand will save a lot of money. If you need to get on, it's a paid job or you are making vis for instance then new is probably wise. When I buy "work" tools, I buy new, when I buy DIY/Toys tools then I am happy to buy second hand, some of the fun is fixing or restoring a nice tool you got for a bargain price.
Although I live in the USA South, I love your videos. I guess I have always loved Great Britain ever since I found out when I was a kid, that my family comes from Nottingham originally, Robin of Locksley specifically. But how Fisher comes from him is a mystery to me since I don't know all the family tree. But back to your video, it was great like all that I have seen! 👍👍
I actually have several relatively cheap specialty tools that have brought in several cases of beer after loaning it to a friend or friend of a friend. Don't forget to factor that in, I reckon a compactor might be in quite good demand if people know you own one.
As i fellow diy’r i caught “Walt’s syndrome” several years ago where i cannot resist anything in bright yellow that my battery pack fits on. I don’t bother with the return on investment calculation as apparently from a WS perspective it is classed as common sense. If you want it buy it and if you need it that’s a bonus. Great content as always and great to see all the feedback
Same here in OZ, wife sends you to Aldi for milk and bread and you come home with a lawn mower, chainsaw and a MIG welder. Where the milk? Sorry dear they just look so good and the price was right. Well done on another great video. Look forward to seeing how it goes on the job.
@@ProperDIY money permitting I will! Need to level my whole 65foot garden after I've broken up what was a 150-200 wheel barrow tailings pile 10 years ago, got the weed roots out/rotavator the lot and spread it all over rest of garden (aside from the 5x6m patio I laid! Lol.. Could do with a petrol rotavator that's only problem and out of work, but probably could also do with compacting the Cotswold chippings I laid 3 years ago on front ready to use to park on so that will pay for itself.. decisions decisions!! (And money money!!) 🙄🤦🏻 Think Wacker plate/compactor while its cheap! Then Worry about the rotavator after buy or rent second hand one!? Bad back so can't dig by hand now.. rotavator always handy and two big/long jobs worth it.. plus if I need to save then add to the Cotswold chippings after it's been Wacked I can take my time! Then just sell it on after £150-200 not end of the world..
I'm a bit of tool hoarder myself & I do like to justify buying new tools when needed for jobs, many of which have only been used once! I have managed to assemble a fairly extensive collection of tools over the years to the point where my single 8 x 18ft garage is looking rather full with only a small walk way down the middle. I would love to have workshop the size of yours. Like you I would love a decent table saw but for now I'll have to make do with my very small cheap & cheerful 10" Red Devil. Currently I'm eyeing up 28m reach Gutter Vacuum systems to avoid having to use my two stage 13ft ladders to clean out my house gutters. I was never a fan of working at height & now I'm retired the thought of manhandling my ladders up the side of the house to get to 1st floor gutters does not inspire me one bit. Problem is that new gutter vacuum kits are very pricey starting at a minimum of £700. Add clamped carbon instead of ali poles, extra poles, a wireless camera to see what you are doing from the ground & the price of these kits quickly climb to a minimum of £1,200 or more, & that's for the cheaper models! These costs are easily justifiable for professional cleaning companies but not for the the home DIYer. As a result I might have a go at making my own gutter vac system from a 3,000 watt commercial wet & dry vac, a cyclone inlet modification kit, some 51mm ali flag poles, quick release clamps, flexi hose, some other fittings. With a bit of luck it shouldn't cost much more than £350-£450. Most domestic house gutters need cleaning at least once or twice a year or more if you have any trees nearby. So, compared to hiring a cleaning company at £80-£100 a visit, a homemade gutter vac system should pay for itself in 3-4 years or less. Plus, the vacuum could be used around the house for other jobs or could be loaned out to neighbours for a small liquid fee - you see how I try to sell it to myself (& the wife). Now there's a project idea for you to consider adding to your list as well. Keep the vids coming Stuart, every one so far has been excellent. cleaning
just managed to snag one of these [possibly the last one available] for £200. K'in bargain......... for that price you'd be daft not to buy one. its just been delivered, a week after ordering, and after putting it all together, after putting in oil and petrol, it started on first pull !!!! Outstanding. and i only have one job for it and will hopefully sell it next year at the begginning of the summer. when everyone is thinking of doing summer projects. hopefully make a nice little profit on it :D
Great vid many thanks. Followed everything and made my light of assembly task. The biggest problem was fixing the throttle lever to the handle; I found it impossible to line up the holes so the bolt could enter the keeper straight which made it likely to strip the thread. Any tips on how to do this?
I have to admit that this is the way I think, is it cheaper to hire or buy. I have noticed locally , North West UK, that hire prices have increased substantially. Also the way second hand stuff is selling on the Bay of Fools, Bumtree or Bacefuck Marketplace, I would see that, as you say, it selling in a heartbeat for more than the £150. Excellent vide btw. :-)
I bought one of these in January 2022 for £299 from Aldi. It was for projects for my new house, but it turned out I wasn't going to move in until late 2022 and didn't want the hassle of transporting it when I wouldn't be using it until this year, so I decided to sell it brand new and unopened in July 2022 for £300, which was probably less than I COULD have got for it, but I just wanted to offload asap as I had more important things to deal with. So despite fleabay fees, I essentially got my money back. Then at the end of February this year, 2023, Aldi were selling it again for £249, which was a bargain. So I bought another one and am now looking at this video to see how to get it working. As with many things nowadays, the instructions were pretty poor, but I got there in the end - most of it comes pre-built, but you just have to assemble the wheels and handle. So now just needed to know how to put in the oil, and get it started. From what I have seen, it seems like a very well made piece of kit.
Hi Stuart. Spotted the Qatar plate on the wall. As an engineer I guess you were building roads and bridges in Doha? Spent nine years there myself with RasGas. Don't miss the driving!
Well spotted! I did 2 stints there - 7 years in total, building then extending NDIA/HIA. I don't miss the driving either but sometimes I could do with my Landcruiser back!
You recommended "ITS" in one of your videos! They do an electric by évolution for 180£ did you consider this as an option? Good vid as usual, keep it up, (or flat in this case)!
Ive got the electric evolution one it isnt bad to be fair you do notice it hasnt got as much power but i just put my hardcore down at a lower level used the wacka then did the process again and was fine. It is a lot lighter so can see why not as powerful at compressing
Currently prices range from £350 from OneBuy to £650 from B&Q. Slight variation in model number but almost same spec as far as I can see 1100s (530x350) vs 1300N (540x420). Second hand price £200+. Local rental price £60/wk. I have a 15m x 4m annex oversite to do this month and the entire drive way and back garden to do over the next year. Looks like I'm spending £350 and selling it after.
Yep. Went to aldi today as the Mrs said they had some exterior paint for 5.99. While there i saw some work trousers and shorts. 7.99 for the shorts and 9.99 for trousers. OK for a diy'er like me.. There were 2 pairs of shorts and 1 pair of trousers with unstiched belt loops. I asked the manager if they would reduce them and he said all 3 for a tenner! All 3 went in the basket! Don't ask you don't get. Gotta love the middle aisle!
Love the math justification, (I'm using a similar tactic for an sds drill) but why not buy one that's 2 years old for £150, then you've saved before you started.
Checkout the “Evolution Hulk” too. See my main comment. Pros and cons for each. This unit looks nice. UPDATE: my main comment has been deleted for some reason ? Why is this ?
@@nic.o3632 I’m more worried my main comment where I merely mention this other Evolution as a possible alternative has been DELETED This is not good for this channel. 🤬
Also just bought one today for £199. Had purchased it for £249 reduced from £299 (still a bargain) but being a cheap and cheeky bugger I returned it after almost 60 days and repurchased it for the lower price of £199.
I reckon it's a good idea, when buying any cheap Chinese made tools, is to go over every nut and bolt and check them. They're bound to have little oversights here and there.
Took the yellow version of the same packer apart to replace bearing’s after 5 uses. Replaced bearing’s after 6 uses same problem as original Again dismantled, after close inspection found the machining of the bearing fits were less than professional. Bearing fits were too tight putting too much pressure on the balls in the bearing this I’m sure caused the premature failure of the machine. If you happen to be wondering about, qualifications to dismantle and inspect this machine, I am a retired millwright with35+ years of experience. I sincerely hope the manufacturer of these packers corrected the problem. The are a nice sized machine for home use and for small contractors.
Just been on the Aldi site after watching this and the Wacker Plate is still £300. Saved that info for later when I have a job to do, but still spent £60 on other things. Not got a happy wife!
Interesting you should say that - I've just completed my video on my new Scheppach cement mixer and I mention in it that the instructions are totally different than the plate compactor. Video out next week
@@ProperDIY there is an unboxing/assembly video on YT which I found helpful. I going to keep the motor in the garage and the drum etc is kept outside under a bbq cover. Had to order a replacement ring spring from EBay as original went pinging off into the grass.
These claim to whack down 200mm at a time. Would they be any good to compress 400mm of clay and then type 1 around a house build to bring up the outside ground level if it was done in layers
I don't like to hire I like to buy if I can afford to because with time every thing goes up but I wonder when petrol and diesel is no more in use what is the next technology because batteries is not powerful enough to run some of these tools
