5 hp chipper to vac conversion

Bedlam · Nov 18, 2006

I remember seeing a post where someone took a shredder/chipper and converted it to be a vacuum. But I cant find it . If you know where it is Id appreciate a link.
Others wise does anyone have an idea, if it would work or work well to convert one.
the one I have is a sears and is a chipper shredder. the chipper part has served me well. but Id like to pull a few parts off and make it a vac. I'm not sure if the impeller would be similar, and get any ,or adequate suction.
I'm open to and ideas or experiences. Thanks
Allan

CharlesP · Nov 20, 2006

I think this is the link you might be looking for.

- charles

Bedlam · Nov 20, 2006

Charles. Thanks for the reply.
That wasn't the one I had in mind, but it is one that I'm interested in also. Ill take a look .THANKS.
The one I remember the guy took off the side feed basket and replaced with a vac hose.and added some more wheels. and a basket for collection.
I guess when I see a post I like I should have added it to favorites.LOL
Thanks again.
Allan

dillo99 · Nov 20, 2006

Bedlam said:
I remember seeing a post where someone took a shredder/chipper and converted it to be a vacuum. But I cant find it . If you know where it is Id appreciate a link.
Others wise does anyone have an idea, if it would work or work well to convert one.
the one I have is a sears and is a chipper shredder. the chipper part has served me well. but Id like to pull a few parts off and make it a vac. I'm not sure if the impeller would be similar, and get any ,or adequate suction.
I'm open to and ideas or experiences. Thanks
Allan

Bedlam,

I did something similar (never posted about it before). I took a craftsman 6hp chipper shreader and turned it into a trailer vac. I don't have any pictures handy, but I'll describe it for you. I plugged the hole for the chipper (so suction is maximized) and then removed all the hardware for the shreader input. I then used furnace damper pipe to connect into the shreader. There were basically 5 bolts and I just bolted a piece of sheet metal to this with a piece of ductwork that had flanges on it which I trapped underneath the sheet metal. I then connected a 8" pvc pipe from this duct work to another duct that was bolted to my mower. I then mounted the chipper on a trailer(*) and built screens and tarps around to hold all the leaves. It works pretty well but is much more effective on dry leaves as it can clog if the leaves are wet.

* I don't mow with my tractor and don't have a finish mower on it. I use a zero turn radius walk behing mower so I had to figure out something I could pull with this unit - aka it had to be lightweight. So I built a simple trailer out of 1x3 framing with the vac mounted on the tongue of the trailer. A tarp basically makes up the the floor and sides of the trailer with plain old window screen over the top to allow air to escape.

Anyway...this thing is kinda ugly but it works...and I had the shreader sitting around anyway!

Bedlam · Nov 21, 2006

Thanks Dillo.
Food for thought. Mine hasn't been used much so it is a prime candidate.
Looks aren't important either.It saves work then its worth it.I was basically wondering if it would have enough suction.(wasn't sure if the impeller was good as the the ones you buy).
Thanks again
Al

7mmrum · Nov 21, 2006

Not sure if this helps you out or not..

Homemade leaf cart finished - Tractors Forum - GardenWeb

My homemade leaf Collecting system

dillo99 · Nov 21, 2006

Bedlam said:
Thanks Dillo.
Food for thought. Mine hasn't been used much so it is a prime candidate.
Looks aren't important either.It saves work then its worth it.I was basically wondering if it would have enough suction.(wasn't sure if the impeller was good as the the ones you buy).
Thanks again
Al

the suction is pretty good...I also use the hose without the mower just as a vac around bushes and stuff and it is pretty powerful. I don't know if it is AS powerful as a commercial unit...probably not...but it does do the job. Again, it is helpful to have dry leaves or partially dry leaves. Real wet stuff can present a clogging problem especially if they are deep on the lawn.

Bedlam · Nov 28, 2006

Dillo. I took a closer look at the link you had for your system. I like the idea of the rubber roof vent flange. I assume this allows you to push the hose in and remove if you wish.I plane to do a similar setup, but with the shredder inline. Do you get enough flow out of the mower deck to push everything through the hose?
Your right I searched today and found about 1 dollar without shipping for hose, and they sold in 10 rolls.Which might not be bad because Id want to use mine as a vac also.
Thanks for the links and the info from all.I have learned though to save a link to anything I think is good, as I find months later I wish I had saved it..LOL
Allan