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156 
SERVICE BACKUP
Page 24
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Waters has a service contract with M&M Commercials of Milton Park, Abingdon. The Daf gets a safety inspection every four weeks and a full service twice a year, but as Waters points out: "It never gets anywhere near the service interval,"
West is responsible for its maintenance: it has an annual service, and the worn blade caps have had to be replaced—a /zoo job as long as you know a good welder.
West reckons that the Hymix rapiddischarge drum is a better design than his L&T, but there isn't much difference otherwise, and he particularly likes one feature of the L&T: "I'd recommend the hydraulic chute lift to anyone." This uses a small hydraulic ram, operated by a lever, to position the discharge chute; it's much more convenient than the screw-and-handle arrangement used on some other bodies.
The only problem Waters has had with it was a slight oil leak from the crankshaft seal; this was covered under warranty by main dealer Barnes Daf. The body has operated without fault and spares availability has never been an issue, but "it's coming up to the time when the brakes will need relining, in about six months or so".
Waters finds that rear tyres last about 18 months, while fronts last a couple of years: "I've always had Michelins, but I'm beginning to think that they are too good for a mixer.
-There is one thing we don't like about these, and that's the plastic the front mudguards are made of," he adds.
This may sound like a trivial matter, but when one of Waters' colleagues caught a post the moulding shattered, costing him £90 for a replacement.
The tougher mudguards on the Fodens look like a better bet to Waters. He says: "Sometimes I think they've taken the technology a bit far. All you want is something that starts, goes and stops."