Mornin' all This Thursday Aldi have got an 'industrial hand trolley' for sale at 20 quid:
The B&Q ones seem pretty heavily built, but I wondered if anyone has compared the two either in the sheds or in actual use?
Thanks for any observations.
Cheers J^n
In message , The Night Tripper writes
Big ground contact wheels are useful for heavy loads over soft ground.
Both items look good value to me.
Neither have the angled bars found on *removal* trollies to negotiate steps.
Agree with Tim that both look decent enough value,
I have a sack truck that looks identical to the b&q one. Except it's blue. It's fine, although bear in mind it's also only suitable for around 200kg like the aldi one. The only problem I've had is the rubber handles tend to slip off if you're pulling then hard. So they're now duct taped on. You can get up and down stairs if you're slow and careful, although I've never gone up and down more than 3 steps at a time - have moved washing machines, dishwashers and pinball machines up and down steps with mine.
Given my current one is now getting a bit long in the tooth and I may go for the aldi one as a slightly different design to see what it's like.
From the overall design, from a usability perspective the Aldi looks far superior to me as the handle is in the shape of a continuous loop which can be gripped anywhere. Designed by someone taking actual use into account in other words.
This Aldi design also requires more material and is inherently stronger.
The handles on the B&Q look like they were designed by someone who has never actually used a trolley - quite why you would want plastic loops on trolley handles unless you were intending to swing it over your head is an interesting question - but simply designed as something that would "look nice".
Other than the design, the trolleys would need to be judged on the quality of the material used and the welds, and way the wheels are attached, the quality of the bearings used etc. Which would really require close-up examination
Failing this, as the Aldi looks as though its been designed for actual use by someone with a clue, rather than just skimping on materials, I'd be more confident of its quality in these respects as well.
michael adams
Both look well-priced and useful. Their wheels look good (big, soft tyres) = and the frames look solid.
The difference is the handles. Traditional handles (B&Q) are easier to work= with, as they're wider set and so give you more control the steering. The = P handle (Aldi) is narrower, so less likely to scrape your hands down the w= alls. Are you going to use this on some wide open plain, or between narrow = obstacles?
Put some Copperslip grease on the axles during assembly.
I picked up a second-hand one for £7.50 from the second-hand tool stall in the local market, a couple of weeks ago. So far, used it for moving a washing machine from one house to another, and trollying a tonne of thermal blocks from a van around to back of a house. It's probably not as strong as the ones in the pictures, but it also has another set of wheels which allows you to use it another way around as a flat bed trolly.
The B&Q one looks like the one I bought from Travis Perkins a few years back. O.K. but nothing special. The yellow one looks likes the one my BIL bought, which was far superior but not available when I was looking.
So based on that unscientific approach I would go for the Aldi one :-)
That would certainly apply if you're pushing where the momentum will carry the trolley along. Where the purpose of the handles is primarily for steering.
However when you're pulling a trolley up a flight of steps etc having a cross handle enables you to grip the crossbar in the middle - the steering takes care of itself and concentrate your effort with your hands in a natural grip position. Being forced to grip wide handles sideways doesn't allow for this.
michael adams
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But have a look on Amazon under "trolley". The Aldi one has a narrower toe plate than the average trolley.
rusty
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wheels and tyres on it if they're the usual crappy things. The one I've got is ten years old but nearly identical to that. I've used it to shift full oil barrels occasionally and not bent it yet, much to my surprise. If I do manage to wreck the axle, I'll put a 1" axle and some proper solid wheels/tyres on it.
Addendum: The one I've got is identical to the B&Q jobbie; not the Aldi one, just for clarification. It came from Northern Tool, iirc.
Finger guards for manoeuvring in tight spaces.
Andy
Thanks. Although I can't resist pointing out that this isn't a problem with the Aldi design.
michael adams
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Indeed.
Another thing I've only just noticed is that with a tall object such as an upright freezer you'd normally toe under it and then strap the freezer to the back of the barrow. In theory the Aldi should be a superior design as you could use one hand on the top of the freezer to tip it back while holding onto on the top of the barrow with the other hand to stop it all rolling forward. However I've just noticed that the sides on the Aldi go straight up rather than bending back at the top as with the Powertek. Leaving no room for your hands when moving objects taller than trolley. Or at least so it appears from the illustrations
michael adams
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Picked one up tonight, the quality of the welds is as shonky as you might expect, that said, they hardly look like they're about to fall apart, the whole thing is sturdy enough.
Also noticed that ALDI round here have a new car park policy. You have to enter your reg number into a touchscreen on the way out of the shop, otherwise you'll get a bill for parking, which with the new laws this month I understand is enforceable on the registered keeper in the last resort ...
True but they don't last long and end up broken. Leaving nasty sharp sticky out bits of plastic...
The Aldi one also appears to have tube for the central support rather than a bit strip. This tube is also welded to the top of the frame.
Apart from looking at the wheel bearings (are they real bearings or just a shaft through plastic) I'd also look at how the plate is attached to the frame and any bracing in the bend in the plate. That comes under a lot of strain when tilting back the trolley to the balance point.
snipped-for-privacy@brightview.co.uk...
German engineering :-)
MBQ
I went to Aldi yesterday, and like many others missed out on the multitool spares. The F clamps were a lot longer than I thought they'd be as well, not having properly checked beforehand. They had these trolleys available however.In the non assembled form
First impressions were that this is a big solid bit of kit for the money that certainly merits the industrial tag. Even without the wheels its around 4ft high.
As noted the toe plate would need to be deeper if say needed for carryingh paving slabs on end but in the flesh for most other purposes it looked adequate enough.
The problem with deep toeplates on trolleys which are only used occcasionaly, presumably is storage as if the space above the toeplate isn't to be wasted then this wil require faffing around moving things on and off every time the trolley is used.
If made to a slightly higher price there's no reason why a folding toeplate couldn't be used instead.
Similarly the handle could be bent back at the top leave handspace at the top for tall items.
There are DIY workarounds for both of these things, supplementary bolt on plywood toeplates and battened plywood bolted to the back which falls short of the top.
The consumer reviews for both models are, as is often the case more or less useless.
Whatever the model many are mainly concerned with the advantages of using a trolley/barrow as against not using one. Or using one for just one specific job. Similarly its not uncommon to find damning reviews of consumer electronics based on "faults" which can be adjusted using menus via the remote.
michael adams
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