Harvesting equipment and specifications

Tea harvesters: ride-on tracked machines and hand-held electric cutters

The harvesting machines listed here are all tea-garden machines, and they split by how the operator works. Two are ride-on tracked machines that straddle a row, cut the canopy and blow the leaf into bags. The third is a hand-held electric harvester for one operator walking the row. The choice comes down to garden size, row layout, slope and the routes a machine can use to get in and out.

The Kawasaki KJ4N from Zhejiang Kawasaki is a ride-on harvester and trimmer on iron tracks that can be configured to the garden. It cuts an 1800 mm swath, yet the whole machine is 3200 mm wide, 2970 mm long and 1930 mm high, and weighs 1370 kg without fuel. A Yanmar 3TNV76 three-cylinder diesel of 1.115 L, rated 16.4 kW at 2800 min⁻¹, drives it from a 16 L tank. Kawasaki gives a work rate of 10 a/h that varies with garden conditions. Gates, bridges and headlands have to clear the full 3200 mm width, so measure those before the canopy.

The Jiuqi 4CJC-1800 from Zhejiang Jiuqi Machinery both harvests and prunes on a hydraulic tracked chassis, inside the same 2970 × 3200 × 1930 mm envelope. Its track spacing adjusts from 1600 to 1800 mm and its working height from 560 to 1020 mm, which lets one machine follow canopies of different heights across a plantation. Jiuqi quotes 10 a/h and slopes up to ≤12°. Its output is printed as 28.2/2800 with the unit given as kW/min, so ask Jiuqi for the engine model and nameplate rating with the quote. Jiuqi also builds single-person and two-person hand-carried machines for growers whose rows do not suit the riding format.

For small gardens, steep plots or trial areas, the Meihui MH8866 from Wuyi Meihui Tools is an electric harvester with a 300 mm cutting width and a no-load speed of 2000 r/min, with a collection tray on one side and a cable from the body. Its power figures are printed as 1.5 A/h and 24 V~, so ask Meihui for the nameplate and a corrected electrical sheet before choosing a battery or supply. It ships four to a 62 × 48 × 36 cm carton.

Before asking for prices, survey the garden: canopy width and height, aisle width, row length, headland space, slope and ground surface, plus every entrance the machine must pass. For the riding machines, agree whether pruning is part of the job and how full leaf bags are unloaded and carried off the row. A trial on a section of your own garden is the surest way to see whether a machine suits your rows.

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Compare the right fields

Read competing quotations on the same basis

Compare tea-harvester quotations within one format: riding machines against riding machines, hand units against hand units. For the KJ4N and the 4CJC-1800, set the offers side by side on cutting width, track spacing, working height, engine rating, collection bags and whether pruning blades are included, and ask each maker to state the garden conditions behind its 10 a/h figure. For hand-held units, compare on corrected electrical data, battery or supply package and the number of units per carton, and ask for a demonstration in your own rows before committing to a fleet.

Questions for your supplier

• What engine model and nameplate rating are fitted to the quoted machine?
• What track spacing, working height and slope range does this build cover?
• Are pruning blades, collection bags and spare cutters included in the price?
• What garden conditions sit behind the published work rate?
• Can a trial be arranged on a section of our own garden before ordering?

Send these questions with your enquiry and ask for the model-specific documents in the quotation.