Kent Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 I had Eli take some pictures while I was picking up leaves today, just to show the "lazy man's way" with quality tractor time... Here's a pic of the front yard taken about 3 weeks ago, that gives a good idea of the maples and the leaves I have to contend with... Here's a few action pictures. Notice that with gator blades and the deck setting at its highest position, I'm getting some "blowout"... This is my "obstacle course" when pulling the trailer. Like all Simplicity attachments, I'm surprised at how well tested and designed this rig is. The tongue length of the trailer and the relocated hitch on the vacuum seems almost perfectly matched to give you the most maneuverability possible with the trailer. The specs say that this rig holds 26 bushels... that's a lot of leaves. Note how chopped up the ones in the bottom of the cart are. If it had been really dry, those would have been amost dust. But, since it has been damp and drizzly here for the last few days, these were just chopped... One plus was that it wasn't dusty using the vac! With the cart emptied, it seems to pick up much better. I think I could improve the performance if I'd add a screen to the tailgate. Since I couldn't get a new canvas tailgate to replace the original rotten one, I made one out of a sheet of tin. I think I need to add a screen to it to improve the airflow. Even if I have to go over the worst spots twice, it sure beats raking! One final pic from the front porch just to show some of the fall color... A couple more weeks of this, and it'll be time to service the tractors and put the snow equipment on them!
Al Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Kent, I can appreciate this. In 1967 I vaucuumed a 26 acre cemetary with a set up like that. Took me 30 days nights and weekends in the Spring. Something I did with my vac was to make an accessory hose by getting a length of flex hose and put it on the side of the blower and put a 4 ft length of 6" furnace duct pipe in the end of the flex hose for a nozzle and to put a handle on. This really works great for cleaning out corners and around bushes that you can't get with the mower. Those vac set ups are wonderful as you have shown. I believe that leaves are supposed to be compacted by about 8 to 12 to 1. As your cart shows the bottom is as dense as chopped hay. Great shots. Al Eden
MPH Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Nice pics Kent. Must addmit I miss real trees living up here. Be nice to have full of them leaves to till into this place.
PatrickE Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Thanks for sharing the nice pics, gonna have to get me one of those set-ups! Great looking house there!
RayS Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 These vac system sure do a nice job. Can`t wait to get mine hooked up.
gmackle Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Great setup! Sure beats raking! Nice pictures! Thanks
Roy Posted October 24, 2004 Posted October 24, 2004 Lovely looking house and yard. I love old, white, 2 story homes on shady lots. The fall leaves are a problem though (as in clean the gutters). Aren't nice toys great?
Rob-B Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 nice vac hey even nice mower deck. I thought you painted the front of the house? Rob
comet66 Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Kent: my 55 bushel trailer has the screen in the top. I will be getting it out today to start my leaf pick up, I'll post a couple of shots. Nice looking place you have there.
AC808 Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Kent, I noticed in the last pic the neighbors lawn could be vac'd...have you offered? Im sure youd enjoy it...and theyd appreciate it!
Kent Posted October 25, 2004 Author Posted October 25, 2004 Thanks, guys! I thought it might be useful for people to see how good a job these things do, since I don't remember good pictures of one being posted... Al, I've considered making a separate vac hose for picking up leaves, but for right now I just have Eli use the electric leaf blower and blow them out to where I can pick them up with the tractor. I didn't really take the time to get them all "neat and tidy" this time, but will do that when ALL the leaves are down. I usually have to vac about 4 weekends in a row before they're all down, and all picked up. Then, if I'm lucky I'll have time to mount the snowplow and snowblower before they're needed. That's one of the reasons why I'm using this tractor -- the recently acquired 3112V is getting serviced and ready to mount the snowcab and snowblower for winter. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to where the leaves don't get snowed on -- but sometimes not.... Roy, and others, this old house is certainly neat but a it's been a real "money pit" also, since it was built some time between 1853 - 1857, with wide plank floors, cut nails, and horsehair plaster. Any simple repair (and they're constantly needed) becomes a major project. I've done a lot of work on it in the past six years since I bought it, but a lot more is still needed. Always too much to do, with too little time and money... Rob, hey, I painted the front last year -- it just doesn't show up well in these pics -- 23 gallons of paint and primer! I took this year off from painting, but need to get back to it, and finish painting both ends of the house. Then, if I'm lucky the paint will hold up long enough for it to become the next owner's challenge...
acken Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Nice pics Kent. I use the easy vac cart on mine, larger capacity, but quite heavy when full. I was tired of the power loss running off tractor, so I mounted 8hp Briggs to run the blower. Whole set-up pulled by 918. I attack my yard every couple of days, taking a load each evening so they don't get away on me. Just trying to keep a straight face when I tell the other half I am "working" in the yard.
HubbardRA Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Kent, You can bring that rig down and clean my lawn. I thought about one of those, but just can't justify storage space for a once a year use on my 1/3 acre lawn. Guess I'll just pass on that attachment and use the leaf blower and hand rake to put the leaves in the trailer. If I had a place like yours, the vacuum would definitely be worthwhile. Guess I'll just continue to blow the leaves onto the neighbors' lawns while they are not home.
johnmonkey Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Looks good! I have a similar set-up w/a homemade leaf vac. The leaves down here in Md. have too wet to vac lately. JH
Tom Deutsch Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Gee thanks, Kent. Now I have to try to find a vac and cart. I have an old house too with a bunch of maples, etc. 1.5 acres. Having a yard on this scale is new territory for me. Last fall (my first year in the house) I just punted and didn't pick anything up. Killed a couple patches of grass that way. This year, I've tried the little lawn sweeper that came "free with the house." Fills up way too quick and doesn't shred. (Anybody want to buy it?) Best leaf solution I've found so far is to blow them into a pile and call my three kids outside. They provide the shredding action by jumping in them. But then I still have to pick them up. So this vac/shred/big old cart deal looks like a nifty answer. What am I looking at to set one up on my 917?
Dutch Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Great pix Kent. After this topic runs its course it should be moved to the Mow, Plow & Till ( Show & Tell ) forum. Your house and property are beautiful. Just what Judy has always wanted. “Wide plank floors, cut nails, and horsehair plaster. Any simple repair (and they're constantly needed) becomes a major project. 23 gallons of paint and primer!” is the reason we don’t have one. I told Judy years ago that I would buy her one. But if she really thought an “original” 150 year old house was charming, I would restore it to its original condition…….. Real fireplaces, wood cooking stove, no electricity or indoor plumbing. That ended that.
Dutch Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Kent Al, I've considered making a separate vac hose for picking up leaves, but for right now I just have Eli use the electric leaf blower and blow them out to where I can pick them up with the tractor. I don't have a child to exploit, so .......... [img]/club2/attach/dutch/blow-seq.jpg[/img]
AGCO918 Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Kent , Nice action pictures and very nice fall color in the back ground.I love the fall color of the leaves on the trees.
ambler Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Good shots kent, We're not that advanced in season down here, but I'll trick out one of the tractors this weekend. This was last years rig (11/17/2004). I used window screen on top and it worked well.
JimH Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Nice package Kent! Thank's for sharing with us. Jim.........
Salthart Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 About 13 years ago a friend owned what had once been a dairy farm. No idea how old the house was but it had been there a while. The lawn was full of old growth red and white oaks and getting leaves up was a big deal ( About 3 acres ) as these big oaks could cover the ground to quite a depth. He had a David Brown diesel, around 50 hp and a Woods finish mower and asked me if we could make it pick up leaves. We started by finding one of those cheep folding trailors like Norther tool sells. Built the sides up and made a top then made a rear door out of expanded steel and burlap. Going on the idea that most all "Pumps" work far better pushing than pulling, We took a 5 hp briggs engine and blower off an old Billygoat walk behind vac and mounted it on the finish mower. The shute for the discharge had to be hand made. Once this was done we made hi lift blades by adding the bolt on wings made for Snapper mowers. The trailer ball was hooked to the center of the rear mower and once it was all hooked up we had to make a weight and pulley system to keep the slack out of the flex hose and still have enough hose for the very quick turns that are made when hooking to the mower so far behind the rear axle ( This was a bit of a pain for a little while ) But the unit worked well enough that acorns were picked up also. And it worked flawlesly until he sold the house. All at a cost of about 350 and the biggest price in that was the trailer and hose..
Boney Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 nice pics all, Kent that it a very nice New England style home. thnx for posting.
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