Does anyone here have a lawn sweeper? I was looking at one on sale at our local Tractor Supply store and they have one on sale. Is it worth the price you give for it?
- Walk-behind or tow-behind?
- How big is your lawn?
- Are you wanting to collect clippings or leaves (or both?)
#3
Stash
I've got a John Deere tow behind sweeper. It's made by Brinly. I've used it for clipping and leaves. It works great. Just have to set the height properly.
Yeah, we've got one I'd sell in a second for the right money. We used it for two seasons and retired it from service. It was just too darned efficient. Not only picked up grass clippings but also twigs (which would invariably plug the discharge hose), small rocks, and a lot of loose soil (sand). Got to be a real hassle.
I have 2 Sears 42" high speed sweepers that I've been very pleased with. I keep one at my in-laws and sometimes my 88 year old mother in law will use it. They pick up leaves, clippings, pine straw, small limbs, and blooms from pecan trees. I like the high speed because I don't have to have much ground speed for them to work.
I used to have a lawn sweeper. It didn't work well in the fall with all the leaves I have here. Sold it last year. I find the bagger on the lawn tractor works so much better.
#7
RockHound
Thanks everyone for the opinions. I DO have a lot of lawn to mow and I have a rider-finally. I also have a compost bin which I would like to use the clippings for. I think I may just have to go and spend money.
Picked up the Sears 42-inch high speed sweeper on clearance at the local Sears Hardware a couple of years ago to pull with JD L130. It has been a lifesaver on my 3 acre mostly Bahia grass yard. One tip - give the clippings 2 days to dry out before sweeping.
Why not just put mulching blades on and leave the clippings in the lawn?
#10
Bruce Mowbray
I purchased a tow behind Lowes Agrifab floor display which was missing a few parts for $30. For another $20 in parts from Agrifab I have a complete sweeper. I use it when the height of the grass is too much for my mulching blades. In the beginning of the season I use the clippings to mulch the vegetable garden to keep weeds away. Towards the middle of the season I rarely need the sweeper and in the end of the mowing season, I use the clippings for "green material" in my compost pile. Most of the time I just let the clippings decay on the lawn. Good free fertilizer.
I have a 10 year old Agri-Fab 30 inch sweeper which has performed nearly flawlessly all these years. I've got a worn plantary gear in one wheel, it makes a little noise, but still works. The grass on my half-acre is thick, and "windrows" when I mow.
I have a pull cord dump set up, and dump on the fly in an area at the edge of a low place, then when I put my blade on for the winter I push the "compost" over the hill. In 10 years I've gained a couple hundred square feet to useable lawn area.
Van
I have a 42 inch tow-behind Sears that I got for free from a friend at the beginning of the season. It's probably about 5 to 10 years old. I took the wheels off and lubricated the sweeper gears. It works fine. I agree that picking up dry grass is easier, but you have to stare at rows of grass clippings for two days and hope it doesn't rain. I pick up right away. It means a heavier load and more dumps, but it also means that you don't have dry grass clippings getting in your eyes and making you sneeze. The only trouble that I have with it is the height adjustment. The little carriage bolt and tightening handle fell off the second time I used it. Now it's just a fly nut but even it works loose each time out.
I have used the lawn sweeper, grass catcher for years. The only issue I have is the plastic grass holder which runs along the ground will eventually wear thin and tear which makes it junk. I took a sheet of 1/8" aluminum formed it to fit up well, and installed small wheel at each end on the rear of catcher.
No more problems.
Sweepers work great with a fairly smmoth lawn. Setting the height and possiably adjusting it as you go is important.
That being said, my yard is very wooded and has some uneven spots. Even so I use a old Sears sweeper in spring for clean up from the "snow pruning" and general winter mess. Again in fall I do the leaves with it. I first mow the leaves and than make a second pass, again mowing but this time I sweep them as well. They get very fine and reduce greatly.
After, I pack the ground leaves around the blueberry patch and other "fill" areas.
Sometimes I do use it during the season if I have let the lawn get too high to compost in place.
Just as a side note I have also swept the hard top driveway on occasion, it actually does a fairly decient job. But my yard is very wooded and country, not at all a maricured lawn. Still it looks great. It may not be for everyone but it does work very well for me. Good luck, you have lots of great advice to make your decision from.
#15
graydog
You might want to read my post here if your lawn sweeper doesn't sweep. I had this darn lawn sweeper for probably 15 years and thought it would clog up and slip the wheels when picking up lots of leaves.
I have a 60" John Deere lawn Sweeper that I bought probably 15 years ago. We lost all of our leaves last night, so even though the sweeper has never done too good at picking up leaves, I decided to give it a try, pulling it with my 60" Great Dane ZTR mower. The wheels driving the brush were not getting enough grip to turn the brush against the large amount of leaves. I was about to give up and put it back in the shed, but decided to add some weight to see if that would make the wheels get better traction. I found a steel piece of scrap weighing about 30 lbs, so I tied it on to the sweeper above the wheels. IT WORKED GREAT. I swept up all my leaves in about 30 minutes. If you have this trouble, you might try this solution.
