Leaf Vac??

[vette-kid]

First, sorry...I know they have been discussed a few times. But Im still not finding what I need (or at least not finding an answer i like )

We have a small lawn, 1/3acre, but have LOTS of mature trees around and a few live oaks. Those suckers drop leaves faster than rain! Two weeks ago we raked up 30+ bags. We just moved in a this winter, so we thought maybe the previous owner just didnt keep up with the leaves, surely it wouldnt be this bad. Well...I certain I could fill a good 15-20 right now. I am NOT going to go out and do that much raking every 2 weeks! No time for that mess! My blower works great for clearing the walk, but nothing to the leaves in the lawn.

Is there any decent hand held vacs, elec or preferably cordless, that are worth buying. Does not need to be pro quality, but it does need to actually pick up leaves from the lawn. Any suggestions? Dont want to spend $500 either!

 

[txvwnut]

Honestly a mower with a bag is probably your best bet or a billy goat type of lawn vac. I've got a blower that can be setup as vac but you end up breathing leaf dust while it vacs.

 

[pop pop]

Anything that will pick up those leaves will pick up the sand too!

 

[vette-kid]

Honestly a mower with a bag is probably your best bet or a billy goat type of lawn vac. I've got a blower that can be setup as vac but you end up breathing leaf dust while it vacs.

Forgot to mention, the mower does not do a great job of it. Perhaps a new mower is a better answer?

 

[vette-kid]

Anything that will pick up those leaves will pick up the sand too!

True, our lawns here arent too sandy though. Not too worried about that.

 

[fivespdcat]

I've got the husqvarna 125 blower and vacuum kit, worked like a charm last fall. My only gripe it's sort of a pain to switch back and forth between the blower and vacuum.

 

[Skin]

If its really as bad as you say I think you'd be better off with a used commercial grade push blower and just relegating an area for compost. A little wonder 7-8HP model is fantastic at cleaning up a relatively open lawn. The problem with lawn vacs is how fast they fill. A mower or one of those mower sized vac/chipper/shredders are actually a hindrance to use since you have to stop so often. A billy goat vac is better but I still prefer to use a blower if its an option personally.

Don't bother looking at cordless, nothing comes remotely close to walk behind blower power until you start looking at commercial backpack blowers in the $500+ range.

 

[ddawg16]

Best leaf vac? 2 Boys with rakes......and they get to play in the pile before they bag it.

 

[ironmutt]

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...AS-iXNo-m_lgn3xGIq49u9XkgHDTH4hivUaAvAd8P8HAQ this what i would do then dump it thru a shredder in to com post pile or you can just runn them over with the mower on mulch set to mid hieght

 

[PBCampbell]

What exactly is the point of removing the leaves? Mow them up, they 're good for the soil.

 

[yhprum]

google diy leaf vacuum images for some ideas

 

[kctyphoon]

I use my craftsman lawn mower with a 3in1 mulching blade. You can try a high lift blade too. I use gator blades now that I buy from Amazon. They work good for me. I have the Troy bilt push leaf vac, (looks like a mower). It has a vacuum style pick up in the front like a regular vacuum, has a 6 " (?) tube to get into flower beds, and a small chipping chute for small branches. It's pretty useless unless you take it out as soon as the leaves fall off the tree. I used it for a while just to clean the sidewalk and Street in front of my house, and stopped cause it blows SOOO much dust from the bag I just get covered in it. The mower has become my best option.. I also bought an electric power rake/ dethatcher. It's works great for all the leaves that get stuck in the lawn.. I run over the grass quick with that and it'll bring all the debris to the surface, and then use the bagging mower to vacuum it all up..

If you have alot to do, you might consider Craigslist to pick up one of those small snapper style lawn tractors with a leaf vac/ bagging attachments

 

[kctyphoon]

What exactly is the point of removing the leaves? Mow them up, they 're good for the soil.

The point is too many will just cover and kill the grass. Im sure I'm not alone saying my lawn costs a few hundred a season to keep it looking decent..

 

[Todd.Brock]

We went through this back in the fall. We have probably 10 or 15 mature trees in our backyard. We have .40 ac. - so similar sized yard. I wanted the leaves out of the yard b/c I had cleared brush and planted grass. Don't get me started on the walnuts.
I looked at all types of Billy goats, and they are very expensive. You will spend 350 or 400 bucks on aused one. Dry leaves are fine, wet leaves- not so much.
I was using my Stihl BG 86 , which is still largest handheld blower and vacuum. I filled iabout 20 recycling bags before I gave in. The answer, for me, was a big tarp, and a commercial backpack blower.
Do yourself a favor and rent a backpack blower for just a couple hours, and you will see the difference between a handheld and a back pack blower. I loaded them onto a cheap tarp from Harbor freight with the blower, hauled it to the truck, dragged it ro the back of the truck, and then took it off to the yard waste recycling center. Fortunately my brother has a BR 600, so I was able to use his at the end of the seasonal I was trying gator blades, my blower vac, etc. I will purchase my own BR600 this fall.

If you don't have a truck or access to a truck this becomes more difficult. I tried mowing every couple days to get them up but ran out of time and leaves were falling faster than I could get them up

 

[gahrajmahal]

Our lawn purposely has lots of planting beds, so the blower and lawn mower suggestions just don't cut it. (don't cut it ha ha) we also have almost 50 trees on our little .5 acre, so loads of leaves in the flower beds.

One of the first blower vacs was Black and Decker. It had a nylon shredder wheel and lasted for 10 years. But sucking up twigs, acorns and pebbles rounded off the sharp shredding corners. Three years ago I also was looking to replace the trusty B&D and found that they had upgraded all the weak points (except the discharge chute) it now comes with a metal shredder wheel. The plastic suction tube is reinforced where it attaches to the motor and down at the ground. The upgrade I like most is the garbage can attachment. It allows much more time before needing to empty the bag. It is a great tool, inexpensive, and allows you to get all around the flowers/bushes and vacuum up the leaves.

I also use a backpack blower and have a 5 hp chipper shredder that can handle wet leaves better than the B&D blower vac.

Oh yea, the B&D uses a cord, so get 100 footer.

 

[WhiskeyRanger]

The point is too many will just cover and kill the grass. Im sure I'm not alone saying my lawn costs a few hundred a season to keep it looking decent..

I spend $20 a week for a lawn service to cut and weed whip, and I spreay for dandelions in the spring so they don't spread to my neighbors yards. Lawn care is about the bottom of my list of priorities, but even I won't leave my leaves where they fall!

 

[jimindm]

When I first read this I wondered where you were located that you had leaves falling in the spring. At first I was going to mention you should have some one look at the trees, to see if they had a problem.

I see you are in Florida, so maybe it is different there, but us in the northern states only worry about leaves in the fall. I f I had a tree shedding leaves now, I would worry it was distressed some how.

I have a stihl blower-vac. I have had many other in the past, but this works great. If you are going to deal with leaves that often, you will need some kind of commercial unit. They most likely will not be cheap, and not be electric.

Commercial units many times have comforts built in that home owner models do not. Weight, and vibration and sound are the biggest. If you are going to run one very long and very often, you will soon see what commercial users need and want in tools they use non stop, day in and day out.

You will want something that shreds if you have no where to dump them. Mowers and lawn vacs do a good job of picking up, but not mulching into fine bits. This is where a shredder is needed.

My stihl unit has replacement cutters for mulching. They last a very long time. I can second that it is a little awkward switching from blower to vac, but once you do it a few times, it gets better.

We have several trees on our property, and many others on the street, that the leaves end up next to our fences and on our property. We have tried different methods of staying on top of them, but the shredding of them is the most important. It will cut the debris pile by half or more. It will be more condense and heavier.

I guess it just depends on what you are doing with the leaves. Do you have a place that you take them to? Does you city pick them up in compost program? Are you paying to get rid of them?

 

[rlitman]

...Is there any decent hand held vacs, elec or preferably cordless, that are worth buying...

Hand held cordless BLOWERS, yeah, there are some ok ones out there for LIGHT use.
Hand held cordless leaf VACUUMS, nope, no way. The power just isn't there. Electric is even worse than cordless nowadays. It's a waste of time going down this path.

In a hand held vacuum, your only option is gasoline driven. I'd suggest the Stihl SH-86. It's as good as you're going to get in a hand held setup. Just beware that you're going to find leaf dust packed into every orifice of yours after you're done using it (i.e. don't wear good clothing, and make sure you've got a waterproof cell phone case, if you're going to have your phone on you). And don't **** up plastic bags, or vines, or anything like that, or you'll be taking it apart to remove things stuck in the impeller.

My first autumn in my house we filled 76 leaf bags one Sunday. I was able to keep up for a few years, before a rough fall left me behind. That year I picked up the Stihl SH-85, and it helped a lot (though the 85 vibrated the **** out of your hands; something fixed in the 86). The next year, I found a great deal on a 4.5HP push vacuum and upgraded. The next year I found a great deal on a 6 speed self propelled 9HP vacuum with a 2 bushel bag, and upgraded again. THAT was the best, but it took up a lot of garage space.
After that, following two years with hurricanes and some other big storms, so many trees were lost that I sold the monster. Eventually I found a deal on the SH-86 at a pawn shop, and that's what I've gone full circle to.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Is there any decent hand held vacs, elec or preferably cordless, that are worth buying. ... Any suggestions? Dont want to spend $500 either!

Nothing hand held will handle the volume you are talking about.

Better triple of quadruple your budget !

 

[theoldwizard1]

I see you are in Florida, so maybe it is different there, but us in the northern states only worry about leaves in the fall. I f I had a tree shedding leaves now, I would worry it was distressed some how.

Many types of oaks do not drop their leaves until spring. If you walk through a forest of mixed hardwoods in the middle of winter, it looks a bit odd to see the oaks holding their leaves.

 

[theoldwizard1]

A self bagging ridding lawn mower is a good idea, but you will be unloading it every couple of minutes !

The simplest solution is a good mulching lawn mower, preferably a rider, and make MULTIPLE criss-cross passes. It might take 3 or 4 passes to get the leaf mulch fine enough to not block the sunlight from the grass.

Once the weather warms up (continuously above 50F), use a hand held hose end spray and apply a heavy application of the cheapest beer you can find or a solution of warm water and yeast. You need to speed up the break down of the brown leaf mulch into a "fertilizer".

 

[rlitman]

Nothing hand held will handle the volume you are talking about.

Better triple of quadruple your budget !

I wouldn't say that at all.
30 bags? Are we talking 33 gallon trash bags hardly compacted (that's almost nothing), or 55 gallon drum liners packed with 30+ lbs of leaves in each?

ANY decent machine will handle the volume you're talking about. The question is, "how much time do you have to dedicate to the task, or want to save?"

Back to the Stihl SH-86. I find I can empty a full collection bag into a lawn/leaf bag around 4 times before the trash bag is full. BUT, the leaves are shredded quite a bit during the process. What I've seen, is that 30 well compacted trash bags of whole leaves, may translate to only a dozen bags of shredded leaves.

The push leaf vac that I had (looked like a mower) cost me under $200 used. New ones are as much as $650 (if you get the more powerful version with a suction hose, etc).
When the collection bag was full, it would weigh so much that the front wheels of the machine would start to lift off the ground. Emptying the bag was the hardest part, and I'd have to empty it twice to fill one trash bag. The compaction ratio was no better than I had on the handheld.

Pros of a push vs handheld:
half the bag emptying
you're less dusty at the end of the day
collects leaves in around half the time, because the motor has more power
less likely to clog

Cons of a push vs handheld:
still constantly emptying bags (and now, sometimes reaching into them to get clogs out)
emptying bags is now quite difficult without a helper (the handheld was easy to empty with one person)
emptying the handheld was actually easier overall

Then I had the machine which drove like a 2-stage snowblower. That collection bag was so big that one full bag would fill one lawn/leaf bag. The impeller also had flails on it that passed through a screen. The result was better compaction than the above machines, and filled trash bags that were almost impossible to lift without tearing from the weight.
I was never really able to empty a bag by myself either. It's just too much to handle.
Lastly, pull starting that 9HP monster was awful. Half the time, I'd find myself reaching for the ether spray when starting it cold.
BUT the vacuuming half of the process was FAST. I couldn't complain about that.

 

[rlitman]

The simplest solution is a good mulching lawn mower, preferably a rider, and make MULTIPLE criss-cross passes. It might take 3 or 4 passes to get the leaf mulch fine enough to not block the sunlight from the grass.

That's fine in the middle of a lawn. It doesn't work when I've got a couple of hundred feet of retaining wall and then fence that collect leaves knee deep.

 

[vette-kid]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions. To answer a few questions...live oaks go pretty much year round. These are not you're typical northern oak tree. They drop tiny leaves all year. There are other trees too, but the oaks are the ones that create 75% of the mess.

City will pick up yard waste once a week, so bagging is not a concern. I could mulch the lawn if i can get most of the leaves up from the concrete and flower beds if i had a mower that did it better. Leaves tend to bunch up around trees, flower beds and fence lines.

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[vette-kid]

Our lawn purposely has lots of planting beds, so the blower and lawn mower suggestions just don't cut it. (don't cut it ha ha) we also have almost 50 trees on our little .5 acre, so loads of leaves in the flower beds.

One of the first blower vacs was Black and Decker. It had a nylon shredder wheel and lasted for 10 years. But sucking up twigs, acorns and pebbles rounded off the sharp shredding corners. Three years ago I also was looking to replace the trusty B&D and found that they had upgraded all the weak points (except the discharge chute) it now comes with a metal shredder wheel. The plastic suction tube is reinforced where it attaches to the motor and down at the ground. The upgrade I like most is the garbage can attachment. It allows much more time before needing to empty the bag. It is a great tool, inexpensive, and allows you to get all around the flowers/bushes and vacuum up the leaves.

I also use a backpack blower and have a 5 hp chipper shredder that can handle wet leaves better than the B&D blower vac.

Oh yea, the B&D uses a cord, so get 100 footer.

What model it's the black and Decker you use? Sounds like my situation is similar. Lots of trees and flower beds.

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[vette-kid]

A self bagging ridding lawn mower is a good idea, but you will be unloading it every couple of minutes !

The simplest solution is a good mulching lawn mower, preferably a rider, and make MULTIPLE criss-cross passes. It might take 3 or 4 passes to get the leaf mulch fine enough to not block the sunlight from the grass.

Once the weather warms up (continuously above 50F), use a hand held hose end spray and apply a heavy application of the cheapest beer you can find or a solution of warm water and yeast. You need to speed up the break down of the brown leaf mulch into a "fertilizer".

Riding mower is not a possibility. The yard is just too small for a rider. 1/3 ish (a little over) with plenty of flower beds barely leaves room to turn one around. The beerou idea is Interesting. Tell me more. It's pretty much 50 or above year round.

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[1991Syclone]

I feel your pain. Having recently moved into a new house I'll be watching this thread as I'm in the same boat:

https://scontent-atl3-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12715349_10154583342124676_1010984107441686061_n.jpg?oh=006389d5275ce83efaf08c73e1e27d88&oe=5752DF94

 

[theoldwizard1]

Brown leaves are great compost ! Dumping them ointo a compost pile is much easier and faster than bagging.

Set up a area about 4'x4' (or maybe 8'x8'). 4 steel T fence post pounded in the ground. Use snow fencing or some kind of galvanized steel mesh fencing, about 4' high. If you have a rider and catching system, leave one side so that it can easily be opened. Back in and unload.

Even if you pile gets high, natural decomposition over a week or two will keep it low. You might need to "add" something to it to get it going/keep it going during cool weather. (Never add meat scraps !)

Turning it (with an old fashioned pitch fork) about every 3 to 4 weeks helps.

 

[notlob]

Stihl blower vac. not electric, but certainly the easiest to start of any of my small engine tools.

http://www.stihlusa.com/products/blowers-and-shredder-vacs/shredder-vacs/sh86ce/

 

[Todd.Brock]

That is the blower/vac I use. I ran mine for 3 hours straight stopping only for gas. Maybe it was the acorns and long needle things from the walnut trees. It's good for 10-15 recycled bags but it was just to small for what I needed. It worked great for snow blowing though!

 

[FMC1959]

I have tried many ways and the best solution for me is my riding mower. In the fall when the leaves are really falling, 2-3 times a week for about 2-3 weeks and I am done. My property is about 1/2 acre (less actually that has grass) and it takes me about 10 minutes when I do it.

When I used to rake it was about 20-25 bags, now it is 7-8 bags; I compress the leaves a few times before actually changing bags.

I also tried with my gas engine handheld vac, it works fine for spot vacuuming and mulches the leaves really well (about 10 to 1). But I would need to blow all the leaves into a pile and then vacuum, which would take forever to do the whole yard.

I haven't tried a regular lawnmower. Some lawnmowers ****/vacuum much better than others when setup for bagging; if you have a good bagger/mower, that should work pretty good.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Here is what I bought

http://www.blackanddecker.com/produ...p-high-performance-blowervacuummulcher/bv5600

 

[vette-kid]

Here is what I bought

http://www.blackanddecker.com/produ...p-high-performance-blowervacuummulcher/bv5600

Ordered...if nothing else out should make quick work of this


It has only been a week since i cleaned the drive. They get into the garage as well...grrr!

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[larry_g]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GNOORCY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I use on like the above for leaves on hard surfaces and in the flower beds. Mine is the push style and to hard to push across the lawn, where I use the mower.

The leaf vacuum also works in the shop and makes quick work of the large floor.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[cheechi]

I use the following tools

Husqvarna 150BT
Husqvarna 125BVx
Worx universal bagging/hose kit
Brute 50 gal bin
55 gal drum liners

Use the backpack to blow all the leaves to a pile near a concrete patio. Has a brick 'knee' wall that the handheld blower gets set on, running full throttle, then I rake leaves into its suction and I can do this for about 10 mins continuously until the bag is full. Two falls ago it was 20 bags easily 30lb each.

Last fall it was just blown into a pile and I drove through it with the mower and its bagger. There were just too many small/med size sticks to rely on the vac/bagger last year. This year we'll see.

 

[vette-kid]

I'm going to start with a combination of the black and Decker bv5600 and a high lift blade ( never knew such a thing existed til now).

Got the bv5600 today. It works pretty well for the drive and flower beds. I think it will work fine for areas that pile up around the yard too. Not a100% solution...but for $70 its hard to beat.

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[drink]

First, sorry...I know they have been discussed a few times. But Im still not finding what I need (or at least not finding an answer i like )

We have a small lawn, 1/3acre, but have LOTS of mature trees around and a few live oaks. Those suckers drop leaves faster than rain! Two weeks ago we raked up 30+ bags. We just moved in a this winter, so we thought maybe the previous owner just didnt keep up with the leaves, surely it wouldnt be this bad. Well...I certain I could fill a good 15-20 right now. I am NOT going to go out and do that much raking every 2 weeks! No time for that mess! My blower works great for clearing the walk, but nothing to the leaves in the lawn.

Is there any decent hand held vacs, elec or preferably cordless, that are worth buying. Does not need to be pro quality, but it does need to actually pick up leaves from the lawn. Any suggestions? Dont want to spend $500 either!

I have had to handle a lot of leaves over the years and many different techniques have been used to handle them. Do you have a riding mower, a push mower, or both? Currently I own both push mowers and riding mowers. Here are a few ways I have handled leaves.

1. Raking - total PITA, slow, and bagging them can get way too expensive.

2. Using a riding mower to blow the leaves into rows. Then rake the leaves into piles. Either burn them, bag them, or compost them.

3. Installing a mulch kit on a riding mower with mulching blades. Extremely dusty but kind of quick. You have to service the air filter more often not to mention paying for N95 dust masks.

4. Blowing them in rows with a riding mower, raking them in piles, and using a chipper shredder to mulch them. This technique was nice but the chipper shredder cost too much and had to be maintained. The leaves were mulched really good and I used it for compost in the garden.

5. I created several landscaping beds around the yard, rounded up the leaves with the riding mower (blowing the leaves towards the beds) and raked them in the beds. Works good but they can be blown all over the place during a wind storm.

6. I tried a gas blower with a Leaf Pro kit. It didn't work so good. You might get better results but my Leaf Pro fell apart during the first 15 or 20 minutes of use.

7. The last time I rounded up leaves with my riding mower. The riding mower blew the leaves into rows. Then I used a mulching push mower with a bagger to mulch them. When the bagger was full I would empty the bagger on a nearby landscaping bed (around trees and shrubs). You might think twice about adding compost around shrubs in Florida because snakes get into shrubs there. Simply use the bagger and empty it into a yard trash bag. The mulched leaves will take up fewer bags than full sized leaves. Currently I have found this method to work really good but I do have a mulch kit for my riding mower.

 

[drink]

I had a chipper but it didn't work as well as I had hoped. The blades were expensive and it was a little difficult to replace them. Different kinds of rakes can be helpful. I would tow the chipper with a garden tractor to each pile of leaves and shred them. Then I would pull a trailer to each pile and haul the compost to the landscaping beds. The cost kept getting higher and higher with all the equipment.

You might simply try a riding mower with a large bagger with mulching blades.

 

[drink]

Just so you will know the leaf blowers can shred leaves but they are very slow at it. I made much better time with a mulching push mower with a bagger on it. Plus you can use the push mower to mow with during the mowing season. You can do it with a single piece of equipment.

 

[Soslow]

I have a still handheld blower/vac and while it has its place, it's is still a ton of work and you still need to rake to make the process move faster. I'm still satisfied with my purchase and I feel it does a decent job