Leaf Vac

[Chaz]

Anybody own a good ride-on leaf vac? Or have an attachment that fits on your riding mower that's worth a damn? Post a link if you would, Thanks

 

[Shadowdog500]

I ride my John Deer Lawn tractor with the bagger attachment. I put the blade all the way up for a 4" cut and it works great. I do have to stop every five minutes or so to dump the bags.

Chris

They also make a cart to hook up instead of bags.

 

[Vettman]

I've been using a Craftsman 48" rider with 3 bins in the rear (similar to previous post) It works pretty well as long as the mower deck is raised enough to create a vacuum under it. I usually cut it lower, raise the deck and go over the lawn again. They fill up quickly!

 

[rburke65]

I have a J Deere, 2 bags, an L155 or an LT155....I forget, but it works well for me for picking up leaves and grass.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Anybody own a good ride-on leaf vac? Or have an attachment that fits on your riding mower that's worth a damn? Post a link if you would, Thanks

I have one of these! Its fantastic! Cleans up all the leaves and grass in 1 clean sweep. I have 6 acres which about 1.5 acres is cleared the rest are HUGE trees so I get a hell of a lot of leaves and the Cyclone make removing them a breeze! Their not cheap but worth every penny and made in America with Great customer service! I pull mine behind a Sears Craftsman GT5000 with no problems.

www.cyclonerake.com

 

[scott37300]

I bought a sweeper this year to do my grandmas yard and it has worked great. I got it from tractor supply for 250 bucks, http://www.tractorsupply.com/ohio-steel-22-cu-ft-professional-grade-lawn-sweeper-4431774. I bought it over the agrifab because it has a full length spiral brush. I was a little skeptical but it works amazing. It used to take me hours to blow her 12,000 sq ft yard, and if it was windy then forget about it. Now it takes me 25 minutes and I'm done. She just has a small older craftsman rider but it pulls this thing fine.

When I first got it put together and hooked it up the yard was a little wet from rain the night before. Tried it out in 2nd gear and it wasn't picking anything up. Was pretty disappointed and decided to put it away and try again when the yard dried up. Put it in 5th gear and took off back to the garage and it was picking everything up! Speed is key, I go in 4th gear now and keep the brushes pretty low. Well worth every penny.

 

[metal1313]

the cyclone rake is the same thing as a truck leaf loader on a smaller scale. they work well, i have considered making one out of an older walk behind blower to load my trailer. works well as long as its an older blower with metal fans, most newer ones have gone plastic

 

[netbrad]

I have a 10 year old Snapper Hi-Vac riding mower with the bagger attachment that works great on my small yard.

 

[VHF]

I am very happy with my tow-behind DR Power 8.00 Premier Lawn & Leaf vac. I chose the DR because they have a reputation for high quality and the centrifical separator cuts down on the amount of dust expelled. Because the leaves get chopped twice, they don't take as much room and they compost down to black rich dirt a lot faster.

Using it for the second fall right now. With over an acre of wooded lawn--mostly oak and maple--we have a *lot* of leaves! We used to spend at least 6 weekends every fall raking leaves--the whole familly--and still didn't get them all done before winter! Now it's all done in a couple of Saturday mornings of riding around on the mower. My wife agrees it was well worth the $1,500!

http://www.drpower.com/leaf-lawn-vacuum_tow-behind.aspx

Note that the DR doesn't fold up for storage like the Cyclone Rake, but the hard-sided bin makes it easy to dump. Either one should give you a nice leaf-free lawn!

 

[Hobbit]

I use a 46" Huskey/Craftsman 2 bag rider which works great. One 39 gal leaf bag equals the two bags on the mower. I have a private waste company that will only pick up what I put in a trash bag. I have no curbside loose leaf pickup. I would love to invest in a large tow behind Vac system but its too much trouble bagging the bulk haul of leaves from one of these systems.

 

[Jcslocum]

Cyclone Rake is just awsome. ***** up everything and is rigidly connected to the tractor. Easy to back up and swing tight turns.

The bag on is tapered so that it unloads very easy. Can be heavy if you fill it all the way up.

 

[Rickenbackerman]

Check out Trac-Vac, they've been around for years and years. I've got a clone of one that I built using a craftsman yard cart since I already had the impeller assembly and 5hp briggs. My neighbor has a cyclone rake and while it's cool, it doesn't have the capacity that mine does and I wouldn't trust the canvas bag to last for 20 years. Mine is all steel.

 

[Ron Heberle]

I have a pull behind Trac-Vac, been using it for 20 years or more now. I like it, www.trac-vac.com.

 

[Displaced Hokie]

I used to sell the Trac Vac units and they hold up really well.

I'm using a sweeper this year like the other poster and I'm pleased so far. What I don't get with that I'll mulch up with my JD w/ mulch kit.

 

[buddyboy]

my vote is for trac vac

been using it 15+ years

only have had to replace one hose

it holds a ton of leaves

all steel it will last FOREVER

I noticed a small crack on the flange that connects the hose to my mower deck, so I'll prob weld that up in the spring and hope to get another 15 or so years out of it.

only downfall is that you can't make tight turns, and it takes up a lot of room when storing it... but it only takes me 2 hours to clean up 3+ acres of heavy leaves.

oh i also noticed a few years ago a small 1 inch rip in the canvas that connects the discharge from the impeller to the wagon... every year I tell myself I need to fix that before it rips more... but it never does

 

[mooman]

Cyclone Rake is just awsome. ***** up everything and is rigidly connected to the tractor. Easy to back up and swing tight turns.

The bag on is tapered so that it unloads very easy. Can be heavy if you fill it all the way up.

X3 on the Cyclone Rake!:thumbup: I can't believe how much time I wasted using other methods including the John Deere factory bagging kit for the tractor.

 

[Graham08]

Another satisfied Cyclone Rake owner here. I picked mine up used, and it actually does a better job than I expected. I was afraid of constantly having to empty it, but it does a really good job of shredding and compacting leaves, twigs, etc. And it folds flat for storage.

Gotta love any process that involves TWO internal combustion engines!

 

[drb007]

I have the DR version. I found that it is cleaner than the Cyclone as less dust comes out when using it. Comes apart for easy storage and has a built in chipper!
Used to be DAYS of work, now we get it done in one short day!
I also like the 20 foot hose with a nice handle to clean up my landscaping...that REALLY saves time. It also unloads with that hose so it's easy o load a trailer or disperse the compost under trees as mulch.
Never rake again!
Check out the DR site.