Hi
There has been very few posts in the 2-wheel tractor forum over the years, that has featured a sweeper for our tractors. In order to help users who might consider getting a sweeper themselves, I would like to share the experience that I have had with my sweeper during the last 11 years.
Early 2011 I was looking for a 2-wheel tractor with a sweeper, to help me keep my 250 m2 (2700 sq. ft) driveway free from snow in the winter. After a lot of research, I finally decided to purchase a BCS 740 with a BCS sweeper with a working width of 100 cm (40’’).
At the time, there were to my knowledge 2 brands of sweepers available for the BCS. The one was/is produced by the Italian company Caravaggi, but was/is in some markets sold with a BCS sticker on it in stead. The other brand was/is produced by BCS themselves to my knowledge, and is the one I will refer to in this post.
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The left photo above shows part of my driveway, just before the sweeper has finished the job. Sweeping my driveway in the summer usually takes about 35-40 minutes, with the tractor in 1st gear and using half the working width. Driving this slowly and with this much overlap, gives a very nice finish, and also removes quite a lot of weed and moss between the concrete pavers, as the joints between the pavers are swept twice - and in opposite directions. When sweeping in the summer, I remove the two caster wheels supporting the sweeper. This way the brushes work the joints a bit harder, as all the weight of the implement rests on them. Secondly the sweeper follows the contours of my driveway better, and leaves no patches unswept.
The right photo also shows part of my driveway, but this time in winter and with the job completely finished. The sweeper works well in snow up to 10 cm (4’’), and can handle up to around 15 cm (6’’). I have found, that when sweeping snow, a part of the snow is carried over the broom, and ends up behind the sweeper - the deeper the snow, the more so. As I saw a lot of snow accumulate on the inner side of the front rubber lip, I decided to remove it. This helped quite a lot, and I haven’t used it ever since. Depending on the amount of snow, I use 30-45 minutes to clean my driveway.
The BCS sweeper is not build as heavy-duty as the Berta and Zanon implements that I have, but it is well designed, well build and nice to use. The broom can be angled around 15 degrees to the left or to the right, from its center position. This works very well with the long handle, which gives you a lot of leverage. Engine power is transmitted through the PTO to a gearbox in the center of the sweeper, and from there to the two halves of the broom. This means that there is a small gap between the two halves, where there are no brushes, and where the ground is not swept. This is most visible when sweeping snow, and the result can be seen on the right photo above, in front of the parked sweeper. Where a perfectly clean finish is needed, you need to sweep half working width, like on the left photo.
Best regards
Jens