Should I bother with a lawn sweeper?

[RayCo]

Well, it sounds like it's worth giving it a try. Excellent. Thank you all!

 

[Bedlam]

I have a question are they somehow ratchet driven so you can back up and not have it turn? In other words back it up and then pick up forward. back and forth if needed?

 

[arrabil]

They list the drive ratio on them, ie: how many times the sweeper turns for every turn of the wheels. Make sure you get a hi ratio one. The lower ratio ones barely work. Flat (as in not bumpy) terrain is pretty much essential too.

 

[tsteahr]

Has anyone tried one of these Ingersoll sweepers? They look really nice. Made in Maine I think.

 

[BXpanded]

Has anyone tried one of these Ingersoll sweepers? They look really nice. Made in Maine I think.

Yep! Had one several years ago with the CASE name. Really sturdy, heavy duty sweeper. It filled too fast to be useful for leaves so I didn't use it much. Worked well for most things.
Notice that it has a double brush set up. One brush picks up the debris, the next shoots it forward toward the operator into the hopper. There is no top for the hopper. It can blast acorns or hickory nuts at you with surprising force!

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I borrowed a sweeper from a friend once to see how it worked. It didn't.

I bit the bullet and bought a blower and bagger attachment for my riding lawn mower. Best thing I ever did for that mower. When I'm mowing up leaves in the fall or any other "vacuum operation" I leave the deck a little high to allow more air flow under the deck. I can fit two or three sweepers worth of debris into my collection bags because the stuff is finely chopped. It speeds up the composting process too.

 

[buck12]

I use my neighbors sweeper a few times each year. It does a poor job behind my mower because the mower does not pull it fast enough to through the debris to the back of the hooper. However it does an excellent job behind the ATV. The ATV pulls it faster and I can fill it completely. The neighbor borrows the ATV to pull the sweeper also.

 

[Sackett2]

I borrowed a sweeper from a friend once to see how it worked. It didn't.

I bit the bullet and bought a blower and bagger attachment for my riding lawn mower. Best thing I ever did for that mower. When I'm mowing up leaves in the fall or any other "vacuum operation" I leave the deck a little high to allow more air flow under the deck. I can fit two or three sweepers worth of debris into my collection bags because the stuff is finely chopped. It speeds up the composting process too.

I agree. While I don't have the blower attachment, the standard mower with bags worked well for me. I had a larger city lot in North Dakota that had 9 large trees. Fall was a b*tch until I got my Sears Craftsman lawn tractor with bagger. I mulched it all, small twigs and branches and leaves. It would get every leaf off the lawn, 3 mulched pickup loads every time. I don't rake or sweep any more, let the mower deck do the hard work...

 

[Gem99ultra]

>snip Fall was a b*tch until I got my Sears Craftsman lawn tractor with bagger. I mulched it all, small twigs and branches and leaves. It would get every leaf off the lawn, 3 mulched pickup loads every time. I don't rake or sweep any more, let the mower deck do the hard work...

<snip

Absolutely the best way I've found too. I also had a Craftsman sweeper, but had to empty the basket way too often to be convenient. And sticks simply jam it it. Then bought a grass catcher attachment for my Snapper mower. It worked like a charm, chopping up leaves, sticks, etc. It would average about 100 garbage bags of leaves per acre in the fall. That's a lot of getting off, bagging, etc. Too much work for me...

Now I simply mow with my Husky mulching mower. I do have to pick up the larger limbs, but anything 1" or less just gets mulched up and left for fertilizer.

 

[bjr]

I'm thinkin' there's gotta be a lawn sweeper better than a 3304 Dixon bagger. The Dixon just doesn't pickup lawn clippings. It's a 30" single blade and is butt worthless on bagging and this is over a ten years of trying all kinds cutting conditions, dry lawn, short lawn. I'll be investing in somekind of sweeper this year just don't know what brand. I suppose I wind goin' with Agfab just because that what the local farm store carries and I usually don't do a lot of shoppin' around. bjr