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lostinbaja said:

My initial leaf vac was an Agri-Fab Mow N Vac that I purchased new it lasted about 15 years before the cart fell apart and the plastic chute parts needed replacement. I rebuilt the cart and replaced the plastic parts for an added investment of $250.00. The unit works great and I can't complain.
I purchased a Cyclone Rake a couple years after the Agri-Fab for use at my weekend getaway in Michigan. The Cyclone rake started showing wear and tear after 3 seasons and after 5 years the canvas had holes in it. The sixth year the unit inhaled an oak stick and it broke the crankshaft in the engine.
I replaced the Cyclone Rake with a well used/worn Trac-Vac, the Trac-Vac has no plastic parts to crack and no canvas to wear out. This has been the 6th year using the Trac-Vac that was well used when I got it, it still works great with a nice clean path behind it.
My vote is for the Trac-Vac.
I pull the Agri-Fab around a heavily wooded 2 1/2 acres with a John Deere 420. The Trac-Vac is pulled around a heavily wooded 1 1/2 acres by my 1962 Cub Cadet 100.

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lostinbaja said:

The Cyclone Rake just doesn't seem as heavy duty as the other 2 units and the Trac-Vac is absolutely the most HD out of the three that I have owned.

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fastback said:

I also own an Agri-fab Mow N Vac and I also had to rebuild the trailer. I saved the old rotted metal and use it or other projects when I need sheet metal. The rebuilt trailer is made out of 1/2 inch plywood and I expect will outlast the original sheet metal unit.

My vac is around 13 years old now. It still works well. I also replaced some of the pieces like the vinyl type material on the end of the shoot (twice). Once I needed to remove the flywheel on the blower to straighten the fins (rock damage).

I would consider buying another one when this one bit the dust.

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Jhon said:

The thing I like about the Cyclone Rake is the optional leaf bags you can buy that go into the cart. This would make it easy to dump my leaves in my big 4 X 8 trailer to haul off to the dump. Without this option, it would be pretty hard to transfer my leaves to my trailer. Seems like the agri-fab is simply a dumper.
I don't own either, but plan to buy one or the other someday.

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lawn mower fanatic said:

I haven't, but someone said they had in a thread I started. Read posts #22, 24, 27, and 30 in this thread, I think it will be very helpful to you: http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/lawn-care-landscaping/9821-ways-suck-up-leaves-3.html.

Or you can read them here:

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jekjr said:

Thanks for that info. I have been thinking about possibly getting one of those for next fall.

I am looking at a lot of alternatives. :biggrin:

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lawn mower fanatic said:

Yeah. In my opinion you will need something more than mulching blades, but it depends on how many leaves come down where you live. I think it would be a good investment to get something like a tow-behind vac system, but I think it really depends on how many customers you think will want that service. At least get a double/triple bagger or something.
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(picture from http://images.ironsearch.com/dealer...97-634504586819934782.jpg?FULL=T&h=980&w=1590)

Will you be pulling the Agri-Fab system with your Kubota? Because ZTR's are not made for pulling compared to lawn/garden tractors. I'm not saying it will hurt it, but I would look up the specifics for your mower.

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jekjr said:

I don't think I want to try to go there with the zero turn.

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