It's costing me a sodding fortune hiring a plate compactor, mainly because I only have time to do the job evenings and weekends. If I hire the thing for a weekend and it rains or I don't get finished, it then means hiring again.
I was wondering if the cheap (£300) compactors for sale on ebay would do the job? As a tradesman I know that cheap tools are generally not up to much but for a one off driveway of about 100 sq mtrs, excavating / hardcore / screeding / block paving - carried out through these summer weeks perhaps it would be ok. To be honest, even if I had to throw it away at the end of the job it would still probably only cost me the same as hiring plus I would have the benefit of it being available as and when needed.
BRAND NEW 5.5 hp COMPACTOR / WACKER PLATE
BRAND NEW WITH MANUALS
FOUR STROKE 5.5HP ENGINE
IDEAL FOR COMPACTING ALL BITUMINOUS MATERIALS , TARMAC , GRAVELS , SANDS , BLOCK - BRICK PAVING , SOIL , SLABS , DRIVEWAYS , LANDSCAPING AND MANY MORE APPLICATIONS .
THE COMPACTOR PLATE HAS AN IMPACT FORCE OF 1030 kg ,
C-60 5.5 HP ENGINE , AND WEIGHS ONLY 60 kg ,
ENGINE MANUAL , USERS MANUAL , PLUS A FULL TOOL KIT WITH EVERY PLATE
BASE PLATE SIZE IS, 16" X 20" , 510CM X 350CM
UNIT IS CRATED FOR DELIVERY AND EASY TO ASSEMBLE
SORRY NO COLLECTIONS POSSIBLE
It's a bit lightweight but should be OK for patio or light-use driveways. However, as new bit of kit, it's reslae value will halve the minute you take it out of the delivery crate.
A better option might be to buy a decent second-hand plate from a plant auction or even from EBay, and then sell it on when you've finished your project. If you buy a plate for, say 250 quid, you can be failrly certain you'll get at least 200 quid for it in 6 months time, whereas your 300 quid newbie plate will be lucky to make 150 quid once it's lost its shiny paint.
