JoggerFogger Posted June 15, 2014 Posted June 15, 2014 I didn't have time to finish this today, but I took pics anyway.My wife and daughter want me to mow with my push mower because they don't like the clippings all over the lawn. I have two of these 50g cans that a tenant left behind and I spent about $12 at HD for some 6" ducting. I cut the tube off inside the can and drilled about 200 little 3/8ths holes in the lid on one side for venting. I fired it up to see if it would even blow air and 30 seconds into it I broke my deck drive belt. In that short time it didn't feel like it was pushing enough air to really throw the grass. I'm worried it was a waste of a couple hours work. We'll see.The duct tape is just for proof of concept purposes. I plan on getting a proper elbow if it works.Things I'm going to try if it doesn't work:1. I have some coroplast, and I saw one guy make a little front "air dam" or "skirt" around the front edge of the deck to seal it off.2. I might weld some "wings" on my blades to make them like "high lift" blades for more pushing power.If it's a total failure, no big loss. More time than money.-Kevin
Multiplicity Posted June 15, 2014 Posted June 15, 2014 . ...."Hi-Lift" blades will help, might suggest lower pipe in can for less lift and more exit clearance, the clippings will still rise as they exit the pipe and reach the far side.....
fishnwiz Posted June 15, 2014 Posted June 15, 2014 You should only need the high lift blade on the side closest to the exit tube.
huffy Posted June 15, 2014 Posted June 15, 2014 quote:Originally posted by tripleguyThat a UFO landed in your yard? (first photo) id="quote">id="quote">LOL. I'm guessing a kiddie pool killed the grass.
JoggerFogger Posted June 15, 2014 Author Posted June 15, 2014 My wife bought new outdoor furniture, and I set our old round glass table with broken legs upside down on the grass out of the way. It was there for just one day and totally scorched the lawn. I'm still kind of amazed at the damage. I've left a kiddie pool out for 3-4 days in the sun and it didn't kill the grass like this. Must have gotten really hot under there. I need a new belt before I do any real testing. Spent the day riding my motorcycle and playing with my daughter instead of driving to Napa. I will follow up with this. If I was going to weld little wings on the one blade closest to the outlet, how big do you think the "wings" would need to be? I'm guessing about 3/4" by 3-4 inches. -kevin
JoggerFogger Posted June 16, 2014 Author Posted June 16, 2014 quote:Originally posted by BrukerYour last name wouldn't be MacGyver would it? id="quote">id="quote">Kevin McDowell. But my friends called me Teenage MacGyver in high school.Now my friends call me Junky Junkster. I'm constantly building these silly contraptions. I call them "projects".
goatfarmer Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Would the blades be balanced, if you welded wings to them? I would buy a set of hi lifts myself.
JoggerFogger Posted June 16, 2014 Author Posted June 16, 2014 That's not really in the spirit of my quest. I have 3 sets of blades, and I'm willing to sacrifice one of them to a little testing. I can balance motorcycle tires, so I think I can balance a mower blade.So there's a break in the rain and I went out armed with my new belt. There's a little wet layer of clippings on one part of my lawn that I thought I'd give it a go. No dice. As expected, clogged almost immediately. I should have cut the hole in the can lower, but it's kind of too late for that now. Besides, even with less elevation, I don't think there's enough draft to push clippings even horizontally. I did notice some blow-by on my deck boot adapter. Does anyone have a picture of high lift blades?Duh, google image search. I think I can do this. I mean, how hard can it be? (famous last words)Let me know if this video link works: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LQQihFykVg0F48TBiHHaqWU5dw_l7C8VcBFOv-sIIvs?feat=directlinkIf not, I'll send it to youtube and try again.-Kevin
tripleguy Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Those 5200 and 6200 machines had turbo bagger systems that really worked well. Basically a pulley driven fan over the deck chute that sucked the clippings into 3 mesh bags that sat in a frame off the rear of the tractor. The fan was driven by a stacked pulley on top of the first arbor by a small belt that went around the blade pulley and on the other end, the fan pulley. Not sure what if any reduction ratio was used but it probably spun almost as fast as the blade. Those things really sucked the grass. I'd imagine the outboard blower carts for the large frames would do similar. I like the extension hoses those had on them for sucking up the neighbor's cats.
JoggerFogger Posted June 17, 2014 Author Posted June 17, 2014 Goatfarmer, After looking at my blades again, I started having second thoughts. Visions of my "wings" flying off at 200mph and hitting my house crossed my mind. Welding mild steel to whatever the blades are made of might not mix well. And for $16 or whatever, it's not going to break the bank. Tripleguy, I would love that system. I found one picture of it and it was a right side discharge. I couldn't find any info on one that would fit my deck, and then if I did, finding one would surely be hard/expensive. I would love to fabricate a similar unit, but I don't fully understand how it works. Most of the "Turbo" vac systems look a whole lot like an automotive/diesel turbo with a nautilus shape where the intake is in the center of the fan and the output is on a tangent to the perimeter. I love to build stuff, and I have two of these 50g cans to cut up. I think I'm going to try a "high lift" blade first, and if that doesn't work, some sort of powered turbo system will be created. -Kevin
huffy Posted June 17, 2014 Posted June 17, 2014 quote:Originally posted by JoggerFoggerI would love to fabricate a similar unit, but I don't fully understand how it works. id="quote">id="quote">It's basically just a "fan" inside of a housing that hooks onto the deck at the discharge shoot. As stated above, a belt run from the top of the fan to a pulley on the deck turns the fan, blowing the grass up the tube.
JoggerFogger Posted June 17, 2014 Author Posted June 17, 2014 What's the part number or schematic you're looking at there? That's what I've been looking for. It looks more like a sternwheeler paddle boat than a traditional turbine. I'd love to see one in person before I start trying to build one. Thanks for the image. I'm going to try and find more images to get an idea of how I'm going to build one in my head. Thanks, Kevin
JoggerFogger Posted June 17, 2014 Author Posted June 17, 2014 I'm trying to find some pictures of the guts of one of these things and it seems like they're a pretty complicated shape. I might have to do some modeling with cardboard first.Might be easier to just buy one for my deck if I can find one.-Kevin
huffy Posted June 18, 2014 Posted June 18, 2014 quote:Originally posted by JoggerFoggerWhat's the part number or schematic you're looking at there?That's what I've been looking for. id="quote">id="quote">1692002. It's a turbo off of a Sunstar.
RayS Posted June 18, 2014 Posted June 18, 2014 I got three of them for 48" deck mfg. no. 1691606 will work on Sunstar or Sovereign. Problem is you are going to spend a bunch for pulleys and parts to attach it to the deck.
Brettw Posted June 18, 2014 Posted June 18, 2014 I am not sure of your lot, but the ground clearance on the bucket looks to be much to close for any type of hill or ditch. Might want to check on that before the trial run or you may end up ripping it all up on the first romp over anything but flat terrain.
JoggerFogger Posted June 18, 2014 Author Posted June 18, 2014 Lawn is flat, but good eye. I set the can on 4x4's to mock it up, but yes, it's too low. Easy fix, but I'm not there yet. I need more flow first. More draft. More wind. Not sure the correct term for it. Ray, finding pulleys would be way easier than building one from scratch. Sending you a PM now. -Kevin
Talntedmrgreen Posted June 18, 2014 Posted June 18, 2014 quote:Originally posted by RaySI got three of them for 48" deck mfg. no. 1691606 will work on Sunstar or Sovereign. Problem is you are going to spend a bunch for pulleys and parts to attach it to the deck. id="quote">id="quote">Ray was mistaken...he only has 2 }:)The turbo's work fantastic...but in your case, you may be better off finding a rear mount vac from that era. They are relatively cheap and run off your mid PTO. I had a PECO and it worked real well...I hear the Simplicity built variety works better, and I think the turbo that mounts to the deck works best.I have two RH discharge turbos I'll never use. One is horizontal mount, the other, vertical.
JoggerFogger Posted June 18, 2014 Author Posted June 18, 2014 quote:Originally posted by TalntedmrgreenThe turbo's work fantastic...but in your case, you may be better off finding a rear mount vac from that era. id="quote">id="quote">Why do you think a rear vac would be better?I've been trying to read up and I see the deck mounted turbo runs off a series of 3 belts. PTO to Arbor drive to Turbo drive. To me, having the rear mount turbo driven straight off the BGB clutch would be less belt strain on a series of belts. Is that why?I've just always thought that pumps, whatever they are, work better pushing than sucking. And the closer you can put the pump to the source, the better efficiency it will have. That's my armchair engineer theory anyway. I'm sure both work great.-Kevin
tripleguy Posted June 18, 2014 Posted June 18, 2014 If your lot is small, towing a vac cart would not help nimbleness. Deck blower on a 5200/6200 series has just one stacked pulley on the deck and one belt. The Sovereign series don't have exposed pulleys though and they may be mounted lower. Maybe look for a 5216H or 6200 series tractor and put a blower/bagger on it? They're better on small properties anyway.
laytonlight Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Have you thought about something like this? I use it on a 2 acre lawn when it gets too long and I want to pick up the hay rows I've made. Your lawn looks small enough that it could probably be towed as you mowed. Great for leaves, Honey Locust Seed Pods and Walnuts. The hitch is such a short throw that it's tough to back, but other than that, it's pretty nimble and tracks about the width of the mower. You could cut so you throw stuff to the the middle, put this on and pick it up. Storage isn't too bad. I take out two pins and hang the basket on the wall and the body underneath it. It's about $300.00 at HD.
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