Pond rake B2920

[KenB2920]

Well the landscape rake worked well for scooping out the cat tails that I cut down from the pond but only was capable of going 2 feet out. With a few hours of browsing the internet and checking out different forums my father in law and I came up with this rake. Lets say is was my idea and he made it better. I love my in-laws.

It extends 8' long and the rake is 5' wide. 2" box steel so it slides nicely into a receiver hitch on the draw bar, and made transport home very easy. Slid in the trailer hitch for my truck.

angle iron for support and 20 bolts roughly 18 inches long (designed for concrete footings) they are threaded on one side and have a nice curve at the base to dig in.

My first post here so lets see if I can manage adding a photo.

 

[Kytim]

I've seen something similar for tractors w/FEL's. this is a more versatile idea as it could potentially used with any tractor. good job!!

 

[Eddie Jr.]

Nice, is it working well for the pond?

M.

 

[KenB2920]

Is it working for the pond? Yes and no.... I had to tweak it a little buy throwing a cable on the top and using a turn buckle to help keep it stable.

I need to make the stablizer bar a tad taller to get more lift.

so that is the no, and now the yes part

I managed to pull a lot of weeds out and do what I wanted with saving my back. The process took longer then expected because I had to adjust the top link so many times (this is because the degree of inline from the pond changes depending on what what side your on. The hill is real steep on one side and more flat on the other.)

The concept itself worked great.

 

[Kytim]

Is it working for the pond? Yes and no.... I had to tweak it a little buy throwing a cable on the top and using a turn buckle to help keep it stable.

I need to make the stablizer bar a tad taller to get more lift.

The concept itself worked great.

I think that is why I have seen them on tractors w/FEL's before. Just by the nature of using the FEL takes care of all the adjustments you had to make repeatedly.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

I'd love to see a You Tube video of your pond rake in action, working and cleaning out you pond. I get the general concept of how it works just not 100% sure how it does its job.

 

[KenB2920]

I am not sure when I will have the opportunity to make a video but when I do, it will be posted. The rake does work but after extensive use I can see where modifications will make it even better. In the mean time I have actually had to use a hand / throw rake to get seaweed in the deep areas.

 

[Kubota Newbie]

Why not replace the top link with a small diameter hyd cyl. Then you can just adjust from the seat via the remotes.

 

[KenB2920]

Why not replace the top link with a small diameter hyd cyl. Then you can just adjust from the seat via the remotes.

Excellent idea, maybe next summer or late winter when time allows.

 

[ipz2222]

Just get a couple of hybrid grass carps. Haven't had any grass/weed problem in 20 years. I put 3 in and 2 are still alive. There'r about 3 and1/2 feet long now.

 

[cmorningstar01]

Just get a couple of hybrid grass carps.Haven't had any grass/weed problem in 20 years.

Do they eat cattails and how cold hardy are they, I live in NJ and I have to remove cattails from my ponds every 2-3 years, Usually involves actually getting down in the ponds and pulling up the runners.

 

[Kubota Newbie]

White Amur, aka "grass carp"?
They will eat cattail sprigs, but not mature cattails. They are cold hardy, no problems here in central Ohio where the ponds regularly freeze over. They are a little like people, voracious eaters when they're young & teenagers, but just fat and lazy when they grow up (about 2.5-3 feet). They prefer leafy pond weeds and will not help with an algae, duck weed or water meal problem. They are like swimming geese, everything that goes in the front end comes out the back as fertilizer, depending on the nutrient balance in your pond this may, or may not, be a good thing. You should only stock "triploid" (sterile) white amur (grass carp) as the fertile variety are an invasive species and will only cause you headaches. they can be a positive influence on pond weed problems but will not work miracles, be careful not to overstock.

Rodeo, is a round-up like product (same active ingredient, different carrier/surfactant package) labeled to control cattails in ponds and other aquatic use environments. Works pretty good, add a little extra approved surfactant or Dawn dish soap to the mix to improve efficiency.