Rake Landscape rake question

[iplumb]

Never used a landscape rake. Can the top link be adjusted to make them less aggressive? Would it be possible to use on a lawn for leaves? Thanks

 

[bjr]

Do you have unground Irrigation? If so you'd tear out the sprinkler heads.Yes, you can adjust the pitch of the rake with the top link but I think you'd still tear up your lawn. Maybe gauge wheels would help if you had them on the rake. I'm in the process of shopping for a lawn sweeper. Agrifab has a 42" for about $300 here. There are several other brands to look at such as Brinly. I'm gonna get a lawn sweeper before this up comping summer. bjr

 

[jenkinsph]

I am going try one of these out as soon as I can get one.

Tractor 3 Point Hitch 72" Pine Straw Rake PSR-6', also dethatcher



Should be more delicate than a landscape rake and can also act as a dethatcher.


Steve

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I think you could rake leaves with a rake......Carefully, so long as the lawn is largely flat.

With gauge wheels it would be less stressful.

Try it in an area that isn't of great importance and decide for yourself.

 

[Kernopelli]

Mine is not very effective on leaves. My experience is that you begin to pick some up but as they gather they begin to roll out from under the tines. I made a "ladder rack" out of angle iron that holds 4 cinder blocks and is bolted to the top of the tine frame. It helps immensely but it is hard on the lawn. Without added weight or down pressure you need a sweeping action or multiple rows of tines to really be effective.

That said, my rake is one of my most used implements. Particularly with the added weight of 2-4 cinder blocks, it is excellent for grooming gravel roads/driveways, dirt and when angled even does a remarkable job of plowing snow.....I know, doesn't sound like it would work because of the spaced tines but it will collect and windrow snow (or packed gravel or dirt) like no ones business.

 

[iplumb]

Mine is not very effective on leaves. My experience is that you begin to pick some up but as they gather they begin to roll out from under the tines. I made a "ladder rack" out of angle iron that holds 4 cinder blocks and is bolted to the top of the tine frame. It helps immensely but it is hard on the lawn. Without added weight or down pressure you need a sweeping action or multiple rows of tines to really be effective.

That said, my rake is one of my most used implements. Particularly with the added weight of 2-4 cinder blocks, it is excellent for grooming gravel roads/driveways, dirt and when angled even does a remarkable job of plowing snow.....I know, doesn't sound like it would work because of the spaced tines but it will collect and windrow snow (or packed gravel or dirt) like no ones business.

Snow Really!

 

[GIJOE]

I use mine on leaves and limbs all the time. It will scrape a little grass at first, but once there is some debris in the rake the scraping is very minimal. The little bit of scraping that does occur doesn't bother me at all, I never plan on achieving yard of the month anyway.

 

[iplumb]

I use mine on leaves and limbs all the time. It will scrape a little grass at first, but once there is some debris in the rake the scraping is very minimal. The little bit of scraping that does occur doesn't bother me at all, I never plan on achieving yard of the month anyway.

Sounds like we are on the same page....Thanks

 

[easygo]

I bought a used light duty landscape rake this summer for that exact reason. I gather lots grass clippings and even more leaves for composting. I have not done my leave collecting this year yet but it worked great on the grass clippings. I blow it into a windrows with the mower, drop the mowing deck and put the rake on and just pull the windrows into piles. It is not perfect but sure beats raking two acres by hand. I have done that for a few years. It worked MUCH better then I expected. When I used it in my yard I shortened the top link to make it less aggressive, but it still scraped up dirt in the high spots, but I'm not bothered by that at all. I badly need the compost for my garden soil and never cared for the golf course look.

It did a remarkable job on my driveway as well.

 

[Kernopelli]

Snow Really!

Really. On an angle it will pick up small or loose material and deposit it in a windrow at the end of the rake. It makes more sense if you think about it, the angle decreases the space between the tines when the rake is pulled forward, as well it angles the face of the tines to the outside. I little momentum keeps the material "flowing" down the tine row until it is deposited in a windrow. There is a post somewhere in the forums where a TBN'er posted pics of him using his rake on snow and its effectiveness. It will do this with loose or clumped dirt, gravel of any size-even pea gravel, snow...everything I have tried it on although I have never tried it this way on leaves, that might be more effective for me this way. When using it to collect and windrow material, it will not get everything since some of the material does pass through the tines but it does a very good job. With multiple passes with a weighted angled rake, you can scrape about anything down to the base material.

We had an unbelievable storm last year that left several inches of sleet that had the consitency of an ocean of small marbles. It ran down the slope of my pond bank and covered my driveway and a good portion of my front yard with 3-4"'. I tried pushing it with my box blade before it froze together in a layer of ice and it just flowed around the box like water. I used the rake on an angle and was able to eventually move the vast majority of it off the drive before it froze in to a sheet. It does a good job of collecting limbs as was mentioned by another poster. I use it to clean up my wood cutting and splitting area where saw dust, small limbs and large chips leave quite a mess. Honestly, I never use it without the blocks on it any more just because it makes such a difference on what it will grab and hold. With the leverage produced by the weight of the rake and the cider blocks extended so far out from the rear, it makes a decent counter weight for FEL work too. I also use it to groom our practice ball field instead of using the drag. I think it's a great tool with many uses.