PTO Lawn Vac

[joes_427_vette]

I'm kicking the idea around of building a leaf vac system using my JDs pto. It turns 540... if I can use a pulley system maybe I can get the speed up to 2 1/2 times this amount. I have a 16" rotar with 3" fins and a steel case ready to use. Any idea what the tip speed should be to get enough vacuum to remove those pesky pine needles ? I would use an 8" hose off the 60" mmm. Between the two it should leave a clean path. A 4' x 4' cart approx 50" high should provide the storage space.
With a little engineering I believe it could work

[kennyd]

Joe, I just bought a used Trac-Vac 854 for 1K. They are rare-but do show up from time-to-time.

Some pics of mine are HERE

[keyman1808]

I am going to look at a used 854 this week. Needs belts and a pillow block from what the seller told me but for 350.00 it sounds like a great deal. I just dont like the cart system, wish there was a better way. Maybe a diamond plate box mounted to the 3pt hitch with a hinged trap door at the bottom to dump. Or better yet a hydraulic pusher like on a garbage truck would be real neat. Not sure if the weight would be too much for my BX24.