Kombi - simple to clean and fill
Titan - double mark in one pass
GMX - well put together
Wayne Lumbard, Head Groundsman, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
features and selling points
were all well built with their own unique
There was not much to choose between them, they
built, easy to operate and has the features of a spray jet marker but with no electrics. Pressure is built up off the back wheels for about 20 metres then, as you continue to walk forward to mark out, this keeps and builds the pressure up, simple. It is easy to set up, clean, service and operate. It has a very good bright line, with excellent clarity. It also has a separate wash bottle.
Vitax Topline TXE 252 - total marks 187 - Very easy and simple, but very effective with an excellent end result. The nozzle size and type decides the width of the line with no worry of measuring width of discs or paddles; flick over the knib/nozzle and you have a narrower line for cricket or tennis. It is lightweight and moves well over the pitches, and also has a separate wash tank for ease of cleaning. This is set up to do a couple of pitches with a 25 litre tank and a smaller battery. There is nothing complicated about this machine.
Vitax Topline TXE 505 - total marks 188 - The differences between this model and the 252 is a larger battery and their is no separate wash tank. It has adjustable discs. This machine is designed for multiple pitches and, like the 252, is very simple to operate, set up and use. It is advertised as the lightest marker on the market, and gives you all the features needed.
Vitax Topline XCEL - total marks 185 - This is an engineer’s heaven, with state of the art technology, a marker ahead of its time. No mess, no mixing, no waste. You can leave the paint in the marker for next time without it going off or getting contaminated; it mixes from 1:8 to 1:20, if required, by turning a knob as you walk. Well presented, well thought out, with a fantastic quality line, excellent clarity and sharpness, but felt heavy to manoeuvre. The technology speaks for itself and is very environmentally friendly.
Conclusion
As you can see from the marks awarded, all the markers performed very well and all, in fact, produced a quality, clean crisp line during testing. To be fair there was not much to choose between them. They are all well built with their own unique features and selling points. Each member of the
Wolves’ staff did have their own favourite machine, and each one was different. Some liked the simplicity and lightness of a machine whilst others favoured the technical advancements in the paint mixing and washdown systems. My thanks go to the manufacturers for allowing us to put their machines through their paces and, of course, to Wayne and his team (Terry Carver, Ken Bates and Chris Lane) for undertaking the tests in such a practical and professional way.
The full evaluation can be viewed on the Pitchcare website,
www.pitchcare.com
GM10 - well built, no electrics
TXE 252 - easy and simple
TXE 505 - lightest marker
Topline XCEL - state of the art
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