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Old February 17, 2019   #1
730dcm
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Default lawn sweeper

anyone use one of these lawn sweeper to collect the grass easily for your garden ? price look very steep for what it is. im just curious are these more durable then they look ? i cant image that it would last more then 3-4month of weekly use.


https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...t?cm_vc=-10005
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Old February 18, 2019   #2
JoParrott
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Why not just use the bag on your lawnmower?
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Old February 18, 2019   #3
730dcm
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Well that didnt answer my question not in the least bit.... i can answer to your statement though. probably because we are on acreage and have 60in and 72in finishing mower that do not have a bag on them. i know this little toy would get filled in one or 2 passed but id mainly be using it on about an acre section that is very very thick grass that really need to be mowed 2-3 day in the spring time.
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Old February 18, 2019   #4
brownrexx
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We have about 2 1/2 acres to mow and our big zero turn riding mower baggers are really heavy to empty so we only use them in the early spring when the grass grows really fast and the clippings lay all over the surface and look awful.

After the first few weeks of mowing, we remove the baggers and let the clippings decompose in place and feed the lawn. However sometimes there is an excess of clippings and we do not want to re-install the baggers which is a project.

I found a used lawn sweeper on Craig's list and bought it about 3 years ago. I love it and use it about twice a month. It is an easy way to take the grass clippings to the garden for mulch or the compost pile. It is much easier to empty than my baggers since it just dumps the material in a pile onto the ground.

It works best if you let the clippings dry for a day before picking them up. Picking up wet clippings is heavy and puts more stress onto the lawn sweeper too. I have had to replace a couple of $6 parts which broke over the last 3 years.

My lawn sweeper is a sears brand one.
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Old February 18, 2019   #5
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I have that exact model and it's lasted 3 years so far. I sweep leaves in the fall on 3 acres and I sweep 3-4 times as more leaves drop. I have used it to collect grass clippings from a 2 acre plot that gets bushhogged and it worked great.

The only wear I see on it is some bristles are bent but they are a replacement item.
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Old February 18, 2019   #6
730dcm
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excellent info . brownrexx that exactly what i want it for early spring when i cant keep up with the mowing to beable to get the clipping so next week it easier
to mow just the grass and not last week clipping as well. and to make it look 10000% better then dead grass on top of the green.


how is the canvases dumper body holding up ? i suppose if you let it dry for a day or at least a few hour it shouldnt be to much wear and tear vs picking up while mowing.
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Old February 18, 2019   #7
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I have about 3.5 acres to mow and have tried one of those sweepers. Yes, they seem to do a fair job. But since that time, I have acquired an AgFab unit with a mulcher on it that pulls right behind my mower. It compacts the clippings a little bit and I use a pitchfork to empty the contents. The tilt trailer helps this effort. With the acreage, I prefer the AgFab to the sweeper.
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Old February 18, 2019   #8
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The dumper body on mine is plastic and it is holding up fine but like I said earlier you should let the clippings dry for a few hours or even a whole day and then it will be much lighter in the sweeper and easier to dump also
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Old February 18, 2019   #9
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Ted- do you have the leaf vac style with the enclosed trailer hose and little gas motor? they work good but that hose is a pain in the but cant turn very shape or it pops off. we have a zero turn and a compact tractor with a mid mount mower underneath.. im glad to hear all the positive comment on these sweeper i have to keep an eye out for a used one.
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Old February 18, 2019   #10
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I got mine on Craig's list for about $200 and it was hardly used. The man who owned it bought it for picking up leaves and didn't like it. I don't usually have many leaves but it works great for dry grass clippings.
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Old February 18, 2019   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 730dcm View Post
Ted- do you have the leaf vac style with the enclosed trailer hose and little gas motor? they work good but that hose is a pain in the but cant turn very shape or it pops off. we have a zero turn and a compact tractor with a mid mount mower underneath.. im glad to hear all the positive comment on these sweeper i have to keep an eye out for a used one.
Mostly, I cut the grass and then use the AgFab to pick up the excess grass. When I first moved here, the area of my front yard was a previous pasture that had begun to be used as a hay field.

But you described the AgFab correctly. Sharp turns are not easy to negotiate. So, I mow and then recover the excess. And like some statements here, I usually wait a day or two. I don't mind emptying it frequently. It allows me to keep the size of the job smaller.
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Old March 30, 2019   #12
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I have a craftsman lawnsweeper that we have used for over 10 years. They are durable, but it really only gets used twice a year heavily. Once at planting and about midway will hit again with another round of clippings. Biggest threat to longevity is the material around hopper fraying but if you keep it inside much less of issue.



What I like about them vs. a bagger is that you can dump the bail and keep rolling. I think most baggers someone has to physically get off the mower and dump them.


And something I just found out yesterday because my son borrowed it for this purpose, but they will pick up acorns. So I guess hypothetically, for the right crop they might be used as a harvesting tool.
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Old March 30, 2019   #13
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We have run the sweeper behind a 4 wheeler also but it really got that little bayou hot.
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