Trac Vac 580 modify for 8inch hose?

[keyman1808]

Toolguy, I lik ethe bin. No wheels. Where did you get that? The PTO trac vac I'm looking at uses a cart ?? Yours would be much better suited and could be used as a grass catcher as well. The cart idea just doesn't work well for me

 

[LHoyer]

Toolguy, could you explain the baffles you had mentioned. Also, the strips on the front of your moser, does that help? I was thinking of doing that to my Woods belly mower on my 7100.

 

[Just2quickz28]

I think I may have my answer. Not too far away I may be able to get a 6hp Kohler engine with an 8 inch impeller set up. Engine needs a carb or at least carb work, may be worth while to repower my 580.

 

[Toolguy]

Keyman; I took my Easy Rake pull type vacuum and converted it to 3PTH. It does work a lot better than when it was a pull type. A company called Bluebird now makes something similiar to the Easy Rake.

LHoyer; The baffle narrows down the opening on the deck and lines up with a narrow wooden board that I made fit into the boot. The board is held in place with small screws. It helps keep the debris coming out of the deck moving in the right direction towards the vacuum hose on the boot. It also allows the deck to work together with the vacuum. Before, the deck would blow the debris into the oversized boot where it would lose some momentum before being sucked into the hose. Just a little change like that made a huge difference.

The metal strips on the leading edge of the deck are there to help keep the wind created under the deck from blowing leaves away from the deck before they get a chance to be picked up by the blades and blown out the chute. I just cut and drilled some 2" X 1/8" metal and bolted it to the bottom of the deck. The holes in the deck were already there. I think the deck is setup for these as a factory option. They help a great deal even for just mowing grass.

 

[Raw Dodge]

My trac vac on my dixie chopper has an 8" hose from the deck to the impeller and a 6" from the impeller to the can.That is the way it should be...you always need a larger hose on the suction side,the presurre side will move faster as its being pushed,under pressure,so a smaller hose will get the same CFM ,as one step larger will on the suction side.Mine never clogs on me unless i get a small thick stick caught in the hose,then the leaves will hang onto it,and create a clog.I have the Honda 5.5hp,and mine runs perfect,I hardly use it,was thinking about getting rid of it,

 

[Just2quickz28]

My trac vac on my dixie chopper has an 8" hose from the deck to the impeller and a 6" from the impeller to the can.That is the way it should be...you always need a larger hose on the suction side,the presurre side will move faster as its being pushed,under pressure,so a smaller hose will get the same CFM ,as one step larger will on the suction side.Mine never clogs on me unless i get a small thick stick caught in the hose,then the leaves will hang onto it,and create a clog.I have the Honda 5.5hp,and mine runs perfect,I hardly use it,was thinking about getting rid of it,

Thanks for the info. I may still grab the other engine and impeller set up. Cheap enough it may be worth it.

 

[Carl_NH]

Just2quickz28,

Tollguy has the right track - I have the 580 with 6 HP B&S engine installed on 44" Cub deck with no issues mostly due to the smaller deck, and as Toolguy indicated you need to either run the deck close to the ground or put some baffles on the deck and in the pickup chute of the vac. This will help "direct" the material into the hose and get as much suction and debris flow.

Whether its 6" or 8" I think it will work but I would probably go 8" and leave the 6" output as is then put some baffles on the deck to minimize the vacuum loss.

I my 580 chute clogs only when there are sticks or when i windrow leaves to reduce the vac time.

One other point - the top screens -they are very weak and "blow out" so I went to HD and got expanded steel mesh sheet stock 24 x36 with 1/2" openings and this works great - no clogging and does not break out like the screening from the factory.

Carl

 

[Just2quickz28]

I picked up the other engine and impeller set up last night. It is a 6hp Kohler Command with a 8in intake and 6in exhaust ports. The impeller and housing has very little wear. The previous owner says that his shop says it needs a carburetor. they dismantled the carb looks like it may be saved with a good cleaning. It also came with a 2in reviewer mount.

Ill post pictures when I start working on it.

 

[milkman]

I picked up the other engine and impeller set up last night. It is a 6hp Kohler Command with a 8in intake and 6in exhaust ports. The impeller and housing has very little wear. The previous owner says that his shop says it needs a carburetor. they dismantled the carb looks like it may be saved with a good cleaning. It also came with a 2in reviewer mount.

Ill post pictures when I start working on it.

I think picking up the 8" impeller is a good idea, I don't know if the 6" impeller is smaller than the larger one, but if it is you's lose a lot of velocity going with the 8" hose on an impeller designed for the 6". Let us know how it works out.
The BX 60" deck that I have came with the baffle on the bottom right and when I got the BX bagger, it had the baffle for the bottom left side. I would like to try the baffle like Toolguy made for the entrance of the boot, bet it works good.

 

[Just2quickz28]

Finally got the new engine up and running and mounted on the trac vac. The 8in impeller set up is much bigger than the 6inch one. I still need to get a length of hose and probably modify / buy a new mower boot.