Rake Cyclone Rake Anyone?

[akadave]

Does anyone have any experience with a Cyclone Rake or another brand of yard cleanup vac? This would be pulled behind my Cub Cadet lawn mower, not my tractor, but after lurking here for a couple of years I do know the posters here are knowledgable about everything so I thought I'd see if anyone has an opinion.

I have lots of oak trees and just can't keep up with them so I need something to take care of the leaves. Do these rakes work as well as advertised? What are the pros and cons (other than price)?

Thanks.

 

[actionaj]

I have had a Cyclone Rake for about 4 years now. It is loud and dusty but I could not do with out it. Very well made machine good company to do business with and pays for itself when leaves fall.

 

[Old Paths]

I bought mine 2 weeks ago, have used it sparingly. Bought a returned unit (their policy is if you buy now, you can return it any time before Dec 31 09 at their expense). It was hard to tell from a new unit. I have a BX1500 w/ 48" mower, I mow about 3 acres. I have about 100+ trees in the front yard only, with 48 acres of woods. I am down in a hollow, so the leaves migrate into the yard. I bought the double wheels as an option, as this will fill up and be very heavy. It works great (Commercial Pro model). 8" hose w/ Kubota MMM deck adaptor from Kubota, which was about 150 dollars, the one from Cyclone Rake is only 79 dollars. I also upgraded the hose material ,and is more durable (I am told). It has the 3ph adaptor, which is included at no extra charge. I will get pics tomorrow, as I plan to do more sucking up of last falls leaves. I bought the 48" deck for the reasons cited above, as I need to mow between trees so much. I had a zero turn which dod terribly on the hills here. I have yet to plug up the unit. It will suck up wet leaves with no problem, it comes out as 1/4" to 1/2" mulch makings. It is expensive, but a real time giver-backer...
I recommend it highly, I have had a JD GT-225 with grass collection bins and that would plug up, a Gravely zero turn with blower powered off the deck, a cub cadet with EZ-vac attachment (they are out of business I think), it was anemic with only a 6" hose. Horsepower and big hose = success. I do not have high lift blades, just stock Kubota blades on the mower deck. Total with shipping and options was $1638, delivered. I cannot get over how fullit will pack. I believe it is a 6.5 hp Briggs, starts on 1 or 2 pulls, not that noisy. Dust, yes, but that is a byproduct of sucking up everything inits path. The plastic impeller is great, it flexes rather than suffers impact damage from stones.

 

[Timberman444]

The cyclone rake is probably one of the best things I have bought, cleaning up in the fall would take me 2 full days(about every other week) since I bought the cyclone rake, I now do the yard once a week and it takes me about 3-4hours depending on how many leaves have fallen. As mentioned the thing is loud as ****, definately get your self the best hearing protection, and plan on being covered in dust and tiny mulched up pieces of leaves. The hoses are not very strong at all, one night i left the small hose, the one that connects from the mower discharge to the rake, inside the cyclone rake curled up in a half circle, and the cold temps causes the hose to split. Also be careful when getting close to small trees, shrubs, basically anything that has branches low to the ground, because they will rip a hole in the rear cover. I tried saving my self some time by not using the hand held blower around the small trees, and blueberry bushes, and the cover got ripped. Ohh well live and learn.

 

[Baby Grand]

My MIL bought one of these about 3 or 4 years ago. I thought it was a toy, but I dutifuly put it together and set it up for her - it's mounted to her 12 HP MTD. The unit really impressed me with how well it works. She has a small lot, maybe 1/2 acre, but it's got 10 or 12 mature oak & tulip trees that dump leaves shin deep twice every Fall. She's 80 now and still does all the lawn work herself and this was entirely her idea - she identified the problem, selected, specified & ordered the product working with their sales people. She wears a dust mask, safety goggles and shooting ear protection when she runs it. I think she scares the neighborhood kids. If you get one you will have the ultimate compost making machine and, as Old Paths noted, you will get a big chunk of you Fall weekend hours back for other things.

-Jim

 

[sandman2234]

I purchased a Giant Vac pull behind, used, but decided to continue my practice of just blowing the leaves over to the side of my property. I traded it to a friend who used it maybe once and then his health went down to a point where I have been doing his yard. So the Giant Vac sits unused under his shed. It is for sale but shipping could be a problem, unless you in the path of one of my planned trips.
David from jax

 

[Squeak n Itch]

My SIL and I split the cost. He used it all last Fall and the weather changed too quickly for me to use here on my 5 acres. This Spring I got my chance an echo his praises of the machine. Well thought out and superbly engineered. A small advantage of having to wait til Spring is that the leaves are already somewhat broken down and mulch to very small pieces in the process. My garden has never received so much organic matter. This machine has given my old riding mower new purpose. The only problem for me is that I waited too long by debating if it would be worth it!

 

[Aquaman]

Does anybody know how good they are at picking up acorns?

 

[Old Paths]

Did not get pics today, my wife asked what time we were leaving for the wedding. I replied that I was already married, and once is enough! Apparently, I should talk more about the plans for the week. A family friend was married today, I forgot about it. I went to the wedding, no CR today. I also forgot my daughter was serving at the reception, so she took the camera. I was also informed that we have another wedding next Sat. So, I looked at the forecast, Rain (over an inch between Mon and Tue). Glad the CR is so fast. I did plug it up once though, my son pulled cattails from the pond, I usually chop with the mower into the woods. They were still wet. Wet cattails chopped into a paste will plaster anything in a hurry. Wet, swampy paste!. By the way, I have no acorns, but lots of the little tiny pine cones. They are a challenge, as they are small enough that the mower misses them, but I would guess that it gets 3/4 of them the first pass. I also have to agree with BabyGrand, gen into a pile or row, pull hose from mower chute, suck up piles. I will be looking at the long hose, it seemed a bit pricey at the time.

 

[Aquaman]

Thanks for the answers. Told me what I needed to know.