Lawn Sweepers
 

Does anyone have any experience with using lawn sweepers to pick up
leaves? Any suggestions on using them? Do they work when the leaves
are wet? Do the 14 cubic feet bins get filled to fast?

Thanks in advance?

Gene C wrote:
Does anyone have any experience with using lawn sweepers to pick up
leaves? Any suggestions on using them? Do they work when the leaves
are wet? Do the 14 cubic feet bins get filled to fast?

I don't have a sweeper, but I use a leaf vac that looks like a lawn
mower from a distance. It only sucks-up the leaves. It does no sweeping.
A sweeper probably would not be very good for a lawn, but might work
better on a smooth surface like a sidewalk, making it more limited in
it's uses than a vac. By lowering the nozzle, I can move my vac from the
lawn to a sidewalk, and get better results. (Actually, I don't even
bother to lower the nozzle. It does a pretty good job on a solid surface
already.)

Before getting the vac, I tried two different methods. One was using a
mulching mower with a bag. However I found that unless I wanted to mow
my lawn lower than normal, the mower didn't suck-up enough of the
leaves. Also, as the bag filled, the mower's ability to continue to fill
the bag decreased. With my leaf vac, the leaves continue to get shoved
into the bag up to (and to some extent beyond) the point that the bag
gets so heavy that it becomes difficult to keep the weight from causing
the front end to lift off the ground.

Does it work when they're wet? Actually, I think it works better when
they're at least a little wet. When they're dry, the bag fills faster,
and sometimes isn't heavy enough to let you know it full. On the other
hand, I wouldn't go out in a downpour, and suck-up wet leaves, and the
puddles around them, either. (We don't usually get freezes or snow here
during leave season, so I can't really offer a judgment on how well it
would work with frozen or snow covered leaves.)

The other method I used was to lay down a big tarp, and use a wide leaf
rake to toss the leaves onto the tarp. The time it took me to do it that
way was similar to using the leaf vac, including time to empty the bag
on the vac each time it filled. However, the result was unshredded
leaves. And while the aerobic workout did me good, it may not be advised
for some folks.

The vac has two other features. One is a big tube that can be used to
get into corners, and other clean-up. The other is a direct feed tube
that can be used to shred twigs, or other garden waste. Preparing the
waste into pieces that'll fit in the tube is a lot of work, but I've
built-up some pretty hot compost piles by shredding first.

So the vac works best of the three methods I've used, but it's
expensive. In the end I'd recommend it to someone who can afford it, or
to someone who can get a bunch of neighbors to co-op in it's purchase.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Blatant Plug: Black & Decker Landscaping Tools & Parts:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker

"Gene C" wrote in message
m...
Does anyone have any experience with using lawn sweepers to pick up
leaves? Any suggestions on using them? Do they work when the leaves
are wet? Do the 14 cubic feet bins get filled to fast?

Thanks in advance?

We bought a lawn sweeper two years ago. I don't like it at all.

For it to work the yard needs to be very flat and level.
There can not be very much debris to be picked up.
Takes a great deal of strength to push across the yard.

A large leaf rake seems like a better choice.
Or, if you don't mind the noise and smell, a leaf blower-vac might be a
better choice than a lawn sweeper.

On Mon, 1 Nov 2004 22:16:38 -0800, "Hound Dog" in
rec.gardens wrote:

A large leaf rake seems like a better choice.
Or, if you don't mind the noise and smell, a leaf blower-vac might be a
better choice than a lawn sweeper.

I have rakes and blowers. The strange thing is, the tried and true rake is
sometimes better for a job. I really feel this is one of those things missed
by many who I see doggedly continuing to use a blower against a pile when a
largish rake would move that pile much quicker -- and no, you do not plug a
rake in or fill up a gas tank. :-)

My favorite rake is hard plastic (as in Rubbermaid) and has a 30" sweep, but
there are times and places where a smaller sweep with flexible metal tines
is actually better -- like between close plantings.

OF COURSE many factors affect what to use.


FACE

Stephen M. Henning wrote:

(Gene C) wrote:

Does anyone have any experience with using lawn sweepers to pick up
leaves? Any suggestions on using them? Do they work when the leaves
are wet? Do the 14 cubic feet bins get filled to fast?

I have a garden tractor with a lawn sweeper. It works with leaves but
fills up very quickly. If you go too fast the leaves fly out. The
dampness of the leaves doesn't seem to be a factor unless you have small
flat leaves. My lawn is not the least bit flat and I can sweep the
leaves with no problem. The trick is to go across the curve, not with
it. At any one point a lawn only curves in one direction and is flat 90
degrees to that (unless you have mounds or pits).

Our equipment and experience are like Stephen's. We are in
Zone 8, with centipede grass and tall loblolly pines as well
as some oaks. The sweeper does a fine (though not perfect)
job. We use it mainly in the fall for leaves and after
hurricanes for pinecones, needles, and twigs. It's a pleasure
not to have to pick up the pinecones by hand after a
hurricane. Loblolly cones are plentiful (!) and have sharp
spines.

http://home.ec.rr.com/mpjr/garden/

If the weather and conditions are right we can sweep the
leaves in the part of the yard with oaks (for disposal) and
then use the sweeper to gather pine needles (for mulch) from
the area with pines. We would not be able to maintain our acre
lot without it.


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
(Remove spam traps from email address to reply.)

"Hound Dog" wrote in message ...
"Gene C" wrote in message
m...
Does anyone have any experience with using lawn sweepers to pick up
leaves? Any suggestions on using them? Do they work when the leaves
are wet? Do the 14 cubic feet bins get filled to fast?

Thanks in advance?

We bought a lawn sweeper two years ago. I don't like it at all.

For it to work the yard needs to be very flat and level.
There can not be very much debris to be picked up.
Takes a great deal of strength to push across the yard.

A large leaf rake seems like a better choice.
Or, if you don't mind the noise and smell, a leaf blower-vac might be a
better choice than a lawn sweeper.



How about this? I assume that the lawn sweepers have a "trap-door" in
the back? I attach a large tarp to drag directly behind the lawn
sweeper. Then as I drive the lawn tractor, pulling the lawn sweeper
and the tarp. The lawn sweeper picks up the leaves, puts them into
the bag but then as they get pushed, they get pushed out onto the
tarp.

Does anyone see why that would not work?

"Stephen M. Henning" wrote in message ...
(Gene C) wrote:

How about this? I assume that the lawn sweepers have a "trap-door" in
the back? I attach a large tarp to drag directly behind the lawn
sweeper. Then as I drive the lawn tractor, pulling the lawn sweeper
and the tarp. The lawn sweeper picks up the leaves, puts them into
the bag but then as they get pushed, they get pushed out onto the
tarp.

Does anyone see why that would not work?

Yes, no trap door. Wrong assumption.

I have two lawn sweepers and they both work the same way. You pull a
rope and the back of the sweeper raises up in the air like a giant clam
shell, dumping the contents under the sweeper. However, what you could
do is remove the back and have the sweeper just toss the leaves on your
tarp. Every time a gust of wind came along or when you turned a corner
the leaves would all leave.

So, do you feel that the sweepers work well or do they "raise up" and
dump the leaves where you DON'T want them?

I will most likely have to use my lawn tractor to cut and blow them
into lines then drag a tarp and sweep them onto it as was described by
an earlier poster. That's what I did in the past. I was posting this
inquiry to see if a lawn sweeper could help me avoid the step of
sweeping the leaves from lines onto a tarp. With or without the lawn
sweeper I have do deal with wind. I also believe I can take long
enough turns to avoid dumping the leaves from the tarp.

So it sounds like everyone successfully uses lawn sweepers to pick up
leave?

Gene Cyprych wrote:


So it sounds like everyone successfully uses lawn sweepers to pick up
leave?

YES. I find that if I wear gloves while riding the mower, I
can pull the dump rope while the tractor is moving (very
slowly) and pile the leaves near where I will burn them. The
sweeper was well worth the dough.


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
(Remove spam traps from email address to reply.)

In article ,
(Gene Cyprych) wrote:

I have two lawn sweepers and they both work the same way. You pull a
rope and the back of the sweeper raises up in the air like a giant clam
shell, dumping the contents under the sweeper. However, what you could
do is remove the back and have the sweeper just toss the leaves on your
tarp. Every time a gust of wind came along or when you turned a corner
the leaves would all leave.

So, do you feel that the sweepers work well or do they "raise up" and
dump the leaves where you DON'T want them?

No problem with them raising up. If there are too many leaves, they
just push the extra leaves in front and if way too many, the pile being
pushed in front will spill off to the sides.

I will most likely have to use my lawn tractor to cut and blow them
into lines then drag a tarp and sweep them onto it as was described by
an earlier poster.

I have a rear discharge mower so a lawn sweeper is a natural and I can
sweep the leaves as a mow. However when there are no leaves and the
grass is very tall, I always let the clippings dry out before sweeping
them. Normally I just let the clipping and mulched leaves go pack into
the soil.