Lawn sweepers - How well do they work?

[@sking7565]

I've been doing commercial lawn care for 11 yrs and I've found it's best to just have a good clean deck for optimal vacuum and just use the zero turn with mulcher attachment and bag collection. Saves time, saves the grass from damage of being over multiple times. Only downside it emptying bags every 3mins but it's best to get everything done in one pass if possible. Otherwise if it's extremely thick leaves I will blow into piles and use a vacuum mulcher into a trailer.

[@bb1040]

I use one just like yours, got tired of raking leaves and after my neighbors saw me using it, 4 of them went out and bought one also. Here where I live we rake the leaves out to the curb and the city comes around with a big vacume truck and sucks them all up and put them in a big compost pile in the city yard, and anybody can then go down and get some free compost anytime the want . With this sweeper I can collect the leave then back up to the curb and just dump them.

[@scottstewart6260]

i’ve had one for a long time, they work well. right now we’re under severe drought so i’ve put mine back in use, since mowing/mulching is not recommended due to fire hazard. but can cart them off for piling up to make compost

[@kafil407]

Why is it a fire hazard?

[@hogscattle7877]

Lawn sweeper is the way to go when you have plenty of trees and acres to clean. I have a bagger and sweeper. By the time I'm getting off my tractor to dump the bags I'll be half way through the second sweeping.

[@ohyeah3750]

These are way better then the kind that sucks up the leaves and or grass through a tube and blows it into a bagger or a tow behind cart. Tubes always plug up. I've had both and got rid of them and went to one of these.

[@petebusch9069]

Considering the price of modern leaf collection systems these sweepers are looking more and more attractive.

[@ksundar6594]

Great video. I know what I'm getting for this Fall!

[@TurboVonCrim]

Great vid, nice place. Good tips. I am shopping for one right now.

[@Mrs.Sloan7]

Does it get twigs and branches ?

[@mrBDeye]

I have a bagger kit on my mower. The mower sucks up all the leaves and chops them up so not to take up much space.

[@cody481]

Excellent stuff in the garden.

[@prestonweitersjr.9460]

@Adam Janssen, 6/6/21, Recently got a new Gravely xtx42; thinking about getting one of those, either Agri=Fab or Ohio Steel. I tend to favor the O/S spiral brushes. Just my observation: it seems they could have used better quality wheels, they look awfully cheap. Watched a vid on somebody repairing the gear drive on one of those, plastic gears/replace pinion.

[@adamj8293]

I don’t have experience with either but I think you’re right some are pretty cheaply made. Honestly I’m surprised I’ve only broken mine once because it takes a lot of abuse, and it was used when I got it. Congrats on the new Gravely!

[@DoctorRickSanchez]

I just picked up a sweeper off one of my customers that didn't have use for it. I cut his backyard for the sweeper I think I got a steal as it barely looks used.

[@josephcason5844]

It is z lawn sweeper. You can pick-up grass aand leaves. Possibly some future thatch.

[@Bean-cs6vm]

Does it pick up long tufts of grass clippings?

[@adamj8293]

Yep. It’s picks up pretty much everything including small twigs.

[@jacobgrogan1006]

How often do you have to dump? How quickly does it fill up?

[@charlesthomas4032]

Fills up fast. I dump mine every couple minutes when there’s lots of pine straw. Makes big piles and sure is better than raking.

[@shadwell749]

nice video,I am thinking of getting one.

[@rickarmstrong4704]

Yes usefull Thank You!

[@hayden8528]

U need JRCO attachment for a Little Wonder blower to hook on the the zero turn. 3x faster

[@dh4094]

In windy Michigan, blowing leaves takes forever

[@RGDavis396NC]

How well does it handle things like small twigs and nuts?

[@adamj8293]

Excellent. Everything that’s too small to rake by hand yet you want it picked up, the cart catches almost all of it.

[@Shokadezz]

Is there an alternative to sweeping the leaves and just dumping them somewhere in the yard? I have one of these and cant figure out a good way to actually dispose of the leaves besides dumping it all in the corner of my property and bagging them

[@adamj8293]

I just burn the piles when I’m done. Even if you have to bag them that’s still a lot easier than raking by hand.

[@cody481]

Gardeners want them to blend into the soil because they make excellent humas and mulching.

[@charlesthomas4032]

I run my piles through my wood chipper shredder. It compacts it nicely. I then take that and spread it on my wood trails to keep the weeds down. It’s soft to walk on as well.

[@dyingaintalivin8494]

How well does this work with gum balls?

[@Ajn1382]

How do you think this would go picking up stickers off of dirt?

[@stephenpowell5773]

Not so good on dirt and pavement...the brushes wont drop low enough to contact bare ground in my experience

[@sn0wchyld]

what type of trees are they on your land?

[@adamj8293]

Mostly oak and hickory. Big leaves and small leaves.

[@HieuNguyen-sh6ur]

Have you had any experience picking up dog poop with it? Do you think it'll be able to handle picking up dog poop?

[@adamj8293]

Unfortunately I don't think it will work for your dog. It DOES work for acorns and hickory nuts, but poop probably not as well.

[@davidcrum779]

It's like trying to pick up a turd with a spinning broom 🧹🧹🤣

[@Drew6709]

One downfall, no way to neutralize the wheels from the broom for travel over gravel, barkdust or other unwanted materials.

[@BHOLT08]

I've got a John Deere sweeper that seems to want to be pulled at a low rate of speed, making sweeping my lawn ridiculously long. The wheels seem to be restricted to running at a low speed. Is this right? I'd think it would run unobstructed at whatever speed you were towing it at.

[@adamj8293]

Is it possible you have the brushes set too low? If there’s too much friction between the brushes and the lawn the wheels may want to drag. I have that trouble sometimes until I get a little weight in the basket.

[@BHOLT08]

I'll have to try raising it up. I thought that the brushes kind of ran freely at the speed the tractor was moving at, but it doesn't seem to be that way the faster I go. I'll try raising it up, see if that helps at all. Thanks

[@Paine137]

@@BHOLT08 Should be set to 1/2” into the grass. Too low and it bogs down. Too high and, pointless.

[@BHOLT08]

@@Paine137 awesome, thanks

[@hankwillingham1785]

How can you Empty it into a Trash bag?

[@jimt4943]

Nice video. For some reason you got one thumbs down. I bet it was a blind dude.

[@programmerm5907]

Any guess if it’d pick up those spiked sweet gum balls?

[@CTB1875]

Did you buy one and does it work to pick up sweet gum balls? I have to imagine it would

[@programmerm5907]

@@CTB1875 yes I ended up getting a cub cadet sweeper (discounted unit at Home Depot). It picks them up pretty well. The trick is to get them early when they’re laying on top of the grass. If they’ve been mashed into the soil for a couple seasons you can’t really drop the sweeper low enough (unless you had something like a 1” Bermuda grass). I use it to collect leaves, sticks, clippings and other lawn debris too.

[@robertclark4929]

Not designed to pull 20mph.

[@stevek3627]

Adam your video is a classic example of how important editing is. Sometimes less is more and watching you drive around for three minutes is NOT good editing. Drive around for 30 seconds and get to the point and you would have had an awesome video. As it was, it was close to a root canal. Informative though.

[@adamj8293]

Root canal? That’s harsh! 😂. No I hear you. That video was from a few years ago. I’ve tried to improve since then! Feedback is always appreciated!

[@screamingeagle7704]

The view isn't the best to see how great the lawn sweeper works. Try filming closer