On 24/04/2021 10:01, PeterC wrote:
On Fri, 23 Apr 2021 22:37:57 +0100, newshound wrote:

On 23/04/2021 22:28, PeterC wrote:
'My' (given to next door by a builder, left when nextdoor moved, 'rescued'
before new people arrived) is about shot. The pan is OK but the chassis is
rusted through in critical places and will break soon. I looked at
strengthening the affected bits but I don't have the material or equipment.

It's at least 30 years old and was used on building sites until next door
had it. It's really well made and rather heavy (helped by the layer of
mortar inside it) - I doubt that a new one would be as good.

I need something robust, not the twee domestic sort, but can't find
anything. Ebay, Amazon, nothing good. Builders merchants, same things but
twice the price.
Any pointers please to decent ones or, if none, the least bad of those
available? Need metal pan and prefer solid tyre and quite big. Capable of
carrying 150kg+.

Cheers.

I have a couple of the substantial old-fashioned ones where the pan is
made from folded and spot welded steel sheet, a quick google suggests
that these days they are all made from thinner pressed steel. But this
outfit seems to have some heavy duty ones with solid wheels (at a price).

https://www.wheelbarrows.co.uk/build...elbarrows.html

Some of those look OK but! the prices for pressed steel!
I always look at front, vertical struts, if fitted. Most are steel strip and
too thin. One barrow had thse and they werent even shaped or straight -
load-bearing almost zero. Current barrow has them but they're about 4x the
thickness of modern ones.
Although I can afford anything on that page I do wonder what is 'extra' over
shed etc. ones at up to £100 less.

I don't know the firm at all, but they do seem to talk the right
language about extra struts for stiffness. And they quote capacities in
kilograms as well as litres. I suspect you do actually get what you pay
for, with them. The big two-wheeler looks pretty substantial, and they
have a good choice of wheels.

On strut thickness, steel is expensive in the UK these days, have you
bought any lately? And they are mostly made in Britain.