Sisis Quadraplay Groundsman’s Review in the latest review from our series, we plan to talk you through the good points, the bad (if there are any) and any areas each piece of machinery can be improved. We received some brilliant feedback on this series last time we did it, with Reviews of the Dennis 34R pro and the Kubota L1361, we really helped people make informed machinery purchases, amongst other things.
Our reviews where also received warmly by the suppliers of our demo machines to undertake the reviews and by the manufacturers of the machinery too. So, with that in mind, we’re really keen to give you that offering once more for the year ahead!
Sisis Quadraplay
A maintenance implement that is vastly used throughout the turf care industry, the Sisis Quadraply really is an old friend to groundsmen and women everywhere.
It’s adjustable implements fixed to the frame are often, from closest to the tractor backwards, the Star disk spiker, The Spring tines, The roller and finally, out back to tidy everything up, is the brush. We will go into more detail about the benefits of each of these implements later in this article, but for now, let’s take a look at some key features and extra tools you can add.
Implements
• Spiker Slitter – 1.2m, 1.8m and 2.4m
• Rolaspike – “ “ “
• Straight Brush
• Zig Zag Brush
• Flexicomb
• Intermediate Rake
• Tilth Rake
• Spring tine grooming rake
• Fine Tine grooming rake
• Levelling loot – 1.8m & 2.4m
• Roller
• Grader Plate – 2.0m & 2.4m
The Quadraplay connect to any and all 3 point linkages on a tractor and utility trucks with appropriate kit:
• 183cm – 244cm Working widths available
• Works well across synthetic, turf and any hard porous surface
• Up to 4 operations carried out at any one time
• Agri-Jacks (Adjusting arms) allow implements to be used lightly or vigorously depending on settings.
• Carrying platform to take tools and sundries to working areas
• Robustly built and designed to be low maintenance
All round flexibility
This could genuinely be one of the main reasons why this tool is like a friend to a groundsman. The Quadraplay’s all round ability to be used across different surfaces, in different conditions, throughout 12 months of the year and still provide groundies the opportunity to choose how it’s used really does show off it’s ability to be relied upon.
The Quadraplay’s flexibility allows variations to how invasive your work is to the pitch you’re working on, dependent on how you set the machine up. It offers flexibility with a full range of 12 different implements to choose from, that can be swapped and changed out with not much complication, that’s if you’re lucky enough to own more than the 4 it comes with! It provides physical flexibility to a groundsman with the carry plate, which allows whatever can fit on it to be carried to wherever it is you’re working and the ability to add weight for deeper spiker penetration during work. It offers flexibility to decision making for grounds-people, in that depending on weather, conditions of the pitch or any other outside factor, a grounds person could choose to use only 2 of the implements fitted to the Quadraply that best suit the situation or could use all 4.
A really common theme from a “pet hate” point of view with competitors to the Quadraplay, and to be fair other machinery in general, is that they are clunky and difficult to get onto the 3 point linkage. However, the quadraplay comes into it’s own with this, as by raising the implements that it rests on (often the star spiker and roller) upwards, it brings the linkage pins closer to the tractor arms without any shunting, lifting or that occasional kick we all give machinery! This also goes for detaching the implement after use. To loosen it from the arms and top link, it’s usually a good idea to lower the implements, thus taking tension off the arms and top link pin to remove the securing clips easily.
Occasionally, it may need to move either left or right for alignment with smaller tractors, but this is done with ease due to the fairly low weight of the implement if it’s a 1.8m version.
Brilliant Presentation Results
For any grounds person, our end goal is the best presentation results when it comes to our match days. Due to the versatility of the implements and the range of tasks they cover, the Quadraplay’s contribution in the build up to match day can play an integral part is some superb outcomes.
During the winter months when cutting might not be possible on grass pitches for lower level clubs due to conditions, machinery restraints or a mix of both, The Quadraplay really comes into it’s own. The ability to use the quadraplay in those wetter, colder weeks, up to twice each week, has been witnessed as being the difference to matches being on and off. The timing of operations is key to any good outcome on grass pitches and the same definitely applies here. However, if you get the timings right between weather and conditions under foot the Quadraplay could provide you with an Aerated (Spiker) and level (Roller) pitch with the grass sward standing upright (Brush) in a little over an hours work.
Finally, I’ve personally been really impressed with the Sisis Quadraplay when using it to undertake renovations. It was actually an invaluable piece of kit in the time I volunteered for an amateur football club, using it weekly and then using it in various different aspects of renovations at the end of the season. The Spring tines really rip out all the thatch and moss when set to the appropriate height, the spiker creates an ideal bed for seed and sand to fall into, the roller can be used to “split” the seed and compact material into low areas if needed and the brush levels sand out nicely after it has been spread. It really is the all rounder most clubs, at all levels could do with.
Brushes
The brush attachment on the Sisis Quadraply also comes with the opportunity to swap out the brushes to install something more suitable to your conditions. The thin bristled Black brushes that come as standard with the Quadraplay work well for standing the grass leaf back up pre-cutting and useful for surface dew removal and for light presentation results.
I have also personally swapped out the standard brushes for a set from Brushes North West Ltd. The set I have used and have swapped to on 3 different Quadraplays now, is technically designed for synthetic turf. However, with the bristles being made thicker than the standard, it offers more resistance, which in turn lends the Quadraplay to more vigorous brushing practices. With the Yellow thicker bristled brushes (below image), I have used the Quadraplay for a range of jobs and depending on the height I set the brush to, it opens its self-up to being even more adaptable.
Renovations and Worm Caste Dispersal
I have used the alternative brushes for light thatch and moss removal with great success, I have used them to brush the sand into the pitch after renovation with near perfection and perhaps the main reason I switched brushes in the first place and the job I’m most impressed with is over worm casts in the winter. Worm casts became a huge bug bare for me when volunteering for an amateur football club as their groundsman.
The pitch was impressive for the standard with thanks to the great financial contribute the club made to the upkeep of it each year. However, when winter would roll around or even sometimes autumn, the pitch would be smothered with worm castings. Applications and treatments are often expensive for worm casts over a football pitch area and often require too frequent of a dosage if their unit price is slightly cheaper than the one hit wonders. So, it led me to finding a solution.
The standard brushes didn’t touch the castings at all, and a friend had recently swap his brushes to keep upkeep of their new elite hockey astroturf in high order. He opted for the synthetic brush set and trialled it on his worm cast ridden pitches and reported tremendous results. I followed suit as I say, and the result showed the casting to not only break up but quite a high percentage was trapped within the brush when and could be taken off the pitch. What was left behind was a very thin layer of soil, spread out to an unnoticeable level. I would highly recommend giving the chaps at Brushes North West a call to access your own options.
Cons
There isn’t a great list of things to see here, mainly some minor tweaking that could be considered for machinery manufacturers going forward, but on the whole this section is a hard sell here.
Finally and eventually, getting onto the cons of the Quadraplay. One thing I’d like to point out here, is that, until now, I had no idea it had up to 12 implements that are compatible with it. I’ve never seen anyone else with the variations fitted from the standard Spiker, spring tines, roller and brush. So, to see The Flexicomb and Zigzag brushes are compatible, along with the 3 different variations of rakes from standard and the Grader plate, really opened this piece of machinery up to even more than it was already capable of. However, there is a but.
I feel as though the reason those attachments I just mentioned are seen infrequently is down to their difference in cost to the standard options. Having researched it online, I found limited price information available for the purchase of a single implement like the Grader plate, so that leads me to feel as though this is why they aren’t commonly seen. I did find a price for a second hand Flexicomb, which can’t have been far off it’s price new!. So, maybe this is something Dennis/Sisis could look into, in order to make those brilliant other implements more widely available and used.
Additionally, could even more implements be developed? A deeper spiking disk perhaps? Variations to the brush? Or even some form of movement-powered verticutter attachment? All just potential additions that could be add to the range in future, the point is the possibilities could be endless.
Price
You can’t really complain at the price point either of this piece of machinery as the 1.8m standard version comes in at prices around £7,000-£7,500, which when you consider it does all the above and requires little maintenance, makes it almost a “no brainer”. Most amateur football clubs that own a Sisis Quadraplay gained theirs via the Football Foundation Grass Pitch Machinery Fund or PIP, with many of those clubs advised to purchase one as part of their FA Pitch advisor reports. A lot of similar initiatives, across all sports are always becoming available. So, if a Quadraplay is out of your price range now, it may not be for long.
1.8m – £7,000 -£7,500
2.2m – £8,000 – £8,500
2.4m- £8,500 – £9,000
The above prices are all basic costings (Jan 2024) with standard implements fitted. The prices where gauged across 3 different machinery providers, who quoted a retail price on their websites. These prices are just to give a gauge of cost, and can, and often do go down or up in price dependant on a range of factors, please speak to your local Sisis stockist for more info.
Ratings
Results/Presentation Quality: 9/10 – This is user dependent as to whether the right results are achieved, based on settings chosen. But, if setup correctly, its leading the pack in machinery of its kind.
Practicality – 10/10 – Its all round practicality is what make this piece of machinery so important to grounds people.
Size – 9/10 – This subject is difficult to score owing to the fact there is three sizes available. Depending on who you are and what you use the Quadraplay for will determine which size is right for you. A 2.4m would, in my opinion, be overkill for an small amateur sports club for example.
Mobility- 10/10 – When it comes to the the lifting capabilities of tractors of any size, the Quadraplay doesn’t weigh much, thus making its mobility a key feature.
Reliability- 10/10 – If you could score it more, you would! The lack of any need to maintain it other than the occasional lubrication and keeping it clean, mean The Quadraplay is always ready to work.
Functionality – 10/10 – It serves its purpose in every way and probably more.
Price – 8/10 – Scored down here due to the unknown definitive cost of the extra implements you can purchase. But, some evidence showed a high price for even second hand versions of the other add-on options.
However, the cost of the Quadraplay with the standard implements fitted is very competitive.
Overall rating: 9.4/10
Final summary
If you can afford it, I’d more than recommend you purchase a Sisis Quadraplay, if you haven’t already. From flexibility to practicality it offers you options in many conditions, across many surfaces to complete many jobs at one time. Tell me, what other machinery in our industry offers all that at once?
It’s competitors, from my own experience, their machines are either far too big and heavy in one case or are very cheaply built in another. So, even in this department, Sisis get it spot on in leading the way.
You can really see here, just why pitch advisors have recommended these machines, up and down the country, to thousands and thousands of sports clubs. You just can’t go wrong.
Alex on behalf of the TurfCareBlog Community
