leaf vacuum power rake

[GeoBx2680]

The collar slides BACK towards the center of PTO shaft. To lock and unlock.
Ur so close!

I figured it out about 20 minutes after I posted. Thats why I updated my post : Struggling party of one your seat is ready. Lol

But yes the blower is pretty sweet. Does a nice job. Only problem I had was when I got all the way across the yard it was little tuff to blower because my pile was 2-3 feet high and 100+ ft long But still did a nice job. I won't let it build up that much next year

 

[orange crusher]

This is what I use to keep the drop from 26 mature white pines under control.

 

[Birdadly]

View attachment 45342


This is what I use to keep the drop from 26 mature white pines under control.

Orange crusher, does that thing chew up the leaves pretty well before getting to the bags? There’s not a secondary “chopper” anywhere is there, so all the cutting is still just the 3 blades on the mower?

I have a bagger on my riding mower and it doesn’t so a very good job disintegrating the leaves so the bags fill up quickly. Next fall I’ll be using my 1880 for the job and wonder if I want a bagger or not.

Thx, Brad.

 

[orange crusher]

Orange crusher, does that thing chew up the leaves pretty well before getting to the bags? There’s not a secondary “chopper” anywhere is there, so all the cutting is still just the 3 blades on the mower?

I have a bagger on my riding mower and it doesn’t so a very good job disintegrating the leaves so the bags fill up quickly. Next fall I’ll be using my 1880 for the job and wonder if I want a bagger or not.

Thx, Brad.

Yes Brad, this one pretty well grinds down the leaves as the vac system has it's own blower which is 3ph rear pto driven. Between that and the mower they are pretty well mulched.

 

[B737]

Today was my first day in earnest with the blower. Not just a quick test like before, the video does it no justice. This thing puts down serious work. Typical fall maintenance day, I usually go through 2 tanks of gas on the RedMax EBZ 8500, and am out there pushing back only to the wood line for several hours.

Today I used less than half a tank of gas on the redmax, my time with it is a fraction of before. The blower makes short work of the rest. You can clear a lot more area, in a lot less time. Once you get into a groove it becomes incredibly efficient, and fast. If the pile gets too high, ~4 feet, you just drive over it, splitting it, push the balance to your desired location in segments. You can move along at a good clip and anything not attached to the ground is getting cleared. The entire property looks better, because of how much additional sweeping is getting done. A game changer for sure.

I also love how quiet it is, cant be heard from miles away like the RedMax.
Without the loader it is very easy to maneuver. I put 5x40 pound weights on the front, everything felt very solid, and comfortable.

dense clusters of shrubs, bushes still need to cleared with the backpack blower through, not a big deal. It turns a chore into easy work.




Woods dont get much cleaner than this lol

 

[bird dogger]

I figured it out about 20 minutes after I posted. Thats why I updated my post : Struggling party of one your seat is ready. Lol

But yes the blower is pretty sweet. Does a nice job. Only problem I had was when I got all the way across the yard it was little tuff to blower because my pile was 2-3 feet high and 100+ ft long But still did a nice job. I won't let it build up that much next year

Today was my first day in earnest with the blower. Not just a quick test like before, the video does it no justice. This thing puts down serious work. Typical fall maintenance day, I usually go through 2 tanks of gas on the RedMax EBZ 8500, and am out there pushing back only to the wood line for several hours.

Today I used less than half a tank of gas on the redmax, my time with it is a fraction of before. The blower makes short work of the rest. You can clear a lot more area, in a lot less time. Once you get into a groove it becomes incredibly efficient, and fast. If the pile gets too high, ~4 feet, you just drive over it, splitting it, push the balance to your desired location in segments. You can move along at a good clip and anything not attached to the ground is getting cleared. The entire property looks better, because of how much additional sweeping is getting done. A game changer for sure.

I also love how quiet it is, cant be heard from miles away like the RedMax.
Without the loader it is very easy to maneuver. I put 5x40 pound weights on the front, everything felt very solid, and comfortable.

dense clusters of shrubs, bushes still need to cleared with the backpack blower through, not a big deal. It turns a chore into easy work.

I'm sure resting easier now that you guys are getting used to that blower!
Regarding blowing an increasingly larger windrow of leaves across the area:
Depending on which way the wind is blowing, I have a couple of different ways that I divide up the areas I clean that almost eliminates that situation. If the wind is strong from a certain direction that cancels those options I'll just blow half the area first that's closest to the leaves final destination and then go back to blow the rest in the same direction again and right over the previously cleaned area. It actually does save some time in my situation.
Example: For a football field, start at the 50 yd line and blow to the goal line. Start again at the opposite goal line and blow across the field to the opposite goal.

The more you use the blower the more you'll discover what works best for you. The bad part is that you get done so quick you can't experiment that much per season!

B737, that's a nice property you have and a nice outfit to take care of it!! Thanks for the pics!!

 

[GeoBx2680]

I could use another yard cleaning. most of the rest of my leaves have falling but I been to busy hunting.Now with day light savings I only got saturday Sunday. Guess I just hope it doesn't snow in the 2 weeks ill take care of them then. Unless I done working early one day



b737 --- Where did you get the weights and how do they hang on there. Close up picture if you can. The FEL on with the blower kind sucks

 

[B737]

Thank you Bird, my learning curve will continue, thank you for the tips!

b737 --- Where did you get the weights and how do they hang on there. Close up picture if you can. The FEL on with the blower kind sucks

Geo, they are the regular 40 pound john deere weights (painted kubota gray), i think lowes sells them too. They come with a small nub that protrudes out from the back, cut that off with a cutting wheel and they will fit right on the frame without fuss. You can fit 5 on the front. Without the loader arms I could get into tight areas and the tractor felt like it had nothing on it. Was comfortable and stable driving around with the blower raised up.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Today was my first day in earnest with the blower. Not just a quick test like before, the video does it no justice. This thing puts down serious work. Typical fall maintenance day, I usually go through 2 tanks of gas on the RedMax EBZ 8500, and am out there pushing back only to the wood line for several hours.

Today I used less than half a tank of gas on the redmax, my time with it is a fraction of before. The blower makes short work of the rest. You can clear a lot more area, in a lot less time. Once you get into a groove it becomes incredibly efficient, and fast. If the pile gets too high, ~4 feet, you just drive over it, splitting it, push the balance to your desired location in segments. You can move along at a good clip and anything not attached to the ground is getting cleared. The entire property looks better, because of how much additional sweeping is getting done. A game changer for sure.

I also love how quiet it is, cant be heard from miles away like the RedMax.
Without the loader it is very easy to maneuver. I put 5x40 pound weights on the front, everything felt very solid, and comfortable.]

I just finished doing my lawn and drive, at least until my neighbor's oak leaves blow across the street, and the Cyclone Rake does a terrific job, but the one thing it is NOT is quiet!

 

[B737]

Weather has been nuts, so much rain, and a crazy busy work schedule, I missed township leaf pick up (for the front half of the property). Today I blew the front leaves into two giant piles for haul away by a private company. Then cleared the remaining property around the house and woods. 3 hours with the backpack, and 3 easy hours on the tractor, entire property done, acres of woods + acre of lawn. This thing is a BEAST.

You can lift the blower up pretty high on the 3 point hitch, I'm getting pretty efficient at working with taller piles and windrows by raising it up high, doing a pass, then another pass with it a few inches off the ground. Can work with piles nearly 4 feet high, keeping the winds in mind helps, and really moves things along.

I allowed myself two days since there was so much to do, including all the tight clusters of trees and bushes the tractor doenst fit in, I saved so much time today that I have nothing to do tomorrow LOL

maybe tomorrow i'll grease it, put it on its pallet and store it on the rack till spring clean up.

 

[bird dogger]

I allowed myself two days since there was so much to do, including all the tight clusters of trees and bushes the tractor doenst fit in, I saved so much time today that I have nothing to do tomorrow LOL

OH, Oh, B737! A Saturday with nothing to do??? Better not let your neighbors see your nice setup sitting idle on a Saturday or they'll find a use for it themselves!!

It sounds like you have the system mastered already!! Happy Holidays!!

 

[GeoBx2680]

B737-- I was very pleased with mine. But like you said the pile does get tall !I think I had a 4' pile about 150' long across my yard. Think next year I might try mulching the leaves first and not wait so long to clear them.
And yes you do have to take the wind into account

 

[FairFran]

Today was my first day in earnest with the blower. Not just a quick test like before, the video does it no justice. This thing puts down serious work. Typical fall maintenance day, I usually go through 2 tanks of gas on the RedMax EBZ 8500, and am out there pushing back only to the wood line for several hours.

Today I used less than half a tank of gas on the redmax, my time with it is a fraction of before. The blower makes short work of the rest. You can clear a lot more area, in a lot less time. Once you get into a groove it becomes incredibly efficient, and fast. If the pile gets too high, ~4 feet, you just drive over it, splitting it, push the balance to your desired location in segments. You can move along at a good clip and anything not attached to the ground is getting cleared. The entire property looks better, because of how much additional sweeping is getting done. A game changer for sure.

I also love how quiet it is, cant be heard from miles away like the RedMax.
Without the loader it is very easy to maneuver. I put 5x40 pound weights on the front, everything felt very solid, and comfortable.

dense clusters of shrubs, bushes still need to cleared with the backpack blower through, not a big deal. It turns a chore into easy work.


Untitled by K. L., on Flickr

Woods dont get much cleaner than this lol

Untitled by K. L., on Flickr

OMG! What a monster. Thx for the inspiration, someday somehow I'll purchase the same

 

[comb92]

Hi everyone, could use some help as it relates to this implement and shortening the PTO shaft. I purchased the BW 1600 through Everything Attachments for my BX2380 a few weeks ago. Everything looks great but I'm having trouble with cutting the shaft. Similar to @B737, I measured it up and found I need to take 5.5 to 6" off. Trouble is, the PTO shaft that came with mine has a metal and plastic collar on one side of the shaft that seem immovable. The plastic piece in particular has some grey stuff that seems to be some kind of bonding agent. Pictures below. They're only about 3" from the end so I'd be unable to remove enough material. No video or forum I look at mentions this. The PTO in the video that @B737 linked also doesn't have this feature. Any suggestions? Did I get sent the wrong shaft or am I just missing something? Thanks!

 

[bird dogger]

Hi everyone, could use some help as it relates to this implement and shortening the PTO shaft. I purchased the BW 1600 through Everything Attachments for my BX2380 a few weeks ago. Everything looks great but I'm having trouble with cutting the shaft. Similar to @B737, I measured it up and found I need to take 5.5 to 6" off. Trouble is, the PTO shaft that came with mine has a metal and plastic collar on one side of the shaft that seem immovable. The plastic piece in particular has some grey stuff that seems to be some kind of bonding agent. Pictures below. They're only about 3" from the end so I'd be unable to remove enough material. No video or forum I look at mentions this. The PTO in the video that @B737 linked also doesn't have this feature. Any suggestions? Did I get sent the wrong shaft or am I just missing something? Thanks!

Congrats on your new purchase!! You'll love it once you get it set up and running. Regarding pto shaft: I've never seen those parts on a shaft before. Are they something to keep the plastic shield centered around the telescoping tubes, perhaps? I'd try slipping something over the end of that tube and up against the white "ring" and give it a whack maybe? You'd think both those pieces should be able to slide up the pto shaft to accommodate a change in length. Were there no instructions in the booklet that usually accompanies the pto shaft?
David

 

[comb92]

Congrats on your new purchase!! You'll love it once you get it set up and running. Regarding pto shaft: I've never seen those parts on a shaft before. Are they something to keep the plastic shield centered around the telescoping tubes, perhaps? I'd try slipping something over the end of that tube and up against the white "ring" and give it a whack maybe? You'd think both those pieces should be able to slide up the pto shaft to accommodate a change in length. Were there no instructions in the booklet that usually accompanies the pto shaft?
David

That's what I was starting to think. It fits pretty snug against the inner shaft plastic shield. Weird part is I noticed when I slid the shafts back together there is a window open to the plastic piece on both if the shaft is fully compressed. Pic attached. Not sure why they'd leave a hole open like this for debris to get in but it almost seems like a service position to grease the shaft.

The PTO shaft did come with an instruction booklet; I flipped through the whole thing and didn't find anything talking about those pieces.

I suppose if I cut it off it won't be a huge deal since I've never seen one on another shaft. Besides, if I take off the 5.5 inches there will still be some of the metal collar left. If I de-burr it it should be alright. I'll try what you said first though and give them a whack, see if I can get them to slide up the shaft with something other than my hands.

 

[B737]

Comb, you are going to LOVE that machine!!
My PTO shaft did not come with that bushing, I think bird is correct that it appears to be something to keep the shaft shield centered. I could see that being useful on a long shaft like a brush hog but on your BX the BW1600 shaft will be pretty short and manageable.

please post back after you get to try it out

 

[comb92]

Comb, you are going to LOVE that machine!!
My PTO shaft did not come with that bushing, I think bird is correct that it appears to be something to keep the shaft shield centered. I could see that being useful on a long shaft like a brush hog but on your BX the BW1600 shaft will be pretty short and manageable.

please post back after you get to try it out

Absolutely. Can't wait to try it out. I watched your video/pics and that basically convinced me to buy it. I only have 3 acres but its surrounded by oaks/maples/elms so it'll make short work of the inches of leaves that fall.

 

[B737]

very similar to my situation here, same size. No more walking around with the leaf blower blaring. It's going to cut your clearing time tremendously. Aside from the work it puts out, I love how quiet it is. I use mine without the deflector chute, its a little more nimble.

 

[bird dogger]

Absolutely. Can't wait to try it out. I watched your video/pics and that basically convinced me to buy it. I only have 3 acres but its surrounded by oaks/maples/elms so it'll make short work of the inches of leaves that fall.

You're in for a very wellcome surprise come this fall when the leaves start dropping! Great to have another leaf blowing member in our club. LOL! Mine is at least 25 yrs. old and hasn't given a drop of trouble. They're a simple but rugged machine.

Will be interested to see what you find out about your pto shaft. Strange there was no mention of those pieces in the info pamphlet or owners manual. I agree with B737, that you could just cut that stuff off it can't simply be moved farther up the tube.

David