Vacuum Collector

[ka9bxg 3]

Since I am getting tired of raking leaves, I am considering getting a vacuum collector for my 7117H. The parts manual I have tells me that three different collectors were available for the 7100 series. the: PTO Frame Mounted Collector, #1690402, PTO Collector for use with dump cart #1690503, and a 48" Mower Deck Mounted Collector for use with dump cart #1692257. Does anyone have experience with any of these attachments? Do they work well? Which works better, PTO or deck driven? Can the 17 HP tractor effectively drive the mower and vacuum system, while climbing grades? Any input would be appreciated. Thank You Jeff

[tej 1]

Jeff. Yes they are GREAT!! I have the frame mounted collector that works great with all of our trees. The type that uses a trailer will not work very good with many trees or other obstructions. This unit may be hard to find. I do not think they are made anymore?? Good Luck! MikeES

[tej 1]

I'd like to know as well RE the ability of the tractor to drive both the mower and collector. I have a Trac Vac which is a seperate stand alone vacuum unit which trailers behind the tractor and is fed from the mower discharge. The Trac Vac has its own 10 hp engine and it gets a real load when heavy leaves are encountered. So I would doubt the tractor could handle both well at the same time - especially a typical 6" or so stack of New England leaves. I picked up a tractor driven unit (1690503) but have not used it yet - need some missing components/parts. But I will probably use it only for the lightweight applications - not heavy leaves; or take smaller "swaths" thru the leaves a half mower width at a time. This is the season when a vacuum system is worth its weight in gold!! Tuffy

[dlcentral 1]

Jeff, I've had both types of vacs. eng. powered and tractor powered.I tend to like the eng.powered type,it seems a bit more powerful on suction if you don't mind hearing that eng. running behind you!This is especially true if you have a smaller HP[10] tractor as that vac.really taxes the power to drive the mowerANDvac.That will indeed give your eng. a "load test!"Either way I agree also they work great like anything else they make for attachments. on these things! dlc

[LarryC 0]

Jeff I have both types of vacs. The deck driven and the seperate motor Trac Vac type. I have the deck mounted vac on my 6011 with a 42 inch deck and do not find I have any problem with power. I did repower this tractor with a 14.5 HP last year but did this only as the old engine needed a lot of work and I got the 14.5 for less than I could short block the old briggs. I have a Trac Vac with a 4 HP Kohler motor and six inch hose intake. I find the motor type vac tends to grind the leaves finer so you can get more in the trailer. Once you get either type you will throw the rakes away. Either type do a fine job of not only picking up leaves but will also pick up grass even when wet. If your yard gets away in the wet weather you can pick up all the extra grass and make it look like a golf course. The advantage of a deck mount vac is being able to get closer and be able to manuver easier plus not having another engine to maintain. The trac vac has the advantge of being able to be used to use the hose to pick up loose leaves and material plus the trailer will hold a lot more than the bag set up. I know of a used trac vac with a tongue monuted 5 HP Briggs motor on the cart that is for sale. The lady that had it said it was too big and hard to get arround with. Hope all this helps you make a decision on what is best for you. Larry

[Guest]

I see that you already received a few replies, but I'll say something anyway. We have a `68 2210 Landlord. It's only a 10 horse model. We have the 42" deck and the vacuum collector. It works fine. You don't have to worry about grades because when you are mowing and picking up leaves you will be crawling anyway. (first gear and stopping a lot) But it is worth it. Our vacuum collector is frame mounted and PTO driven. Hope this helps, Barry P.S.- I posted a link to my page only because I have a couple of tractor links on it (listed under miscellaneous)[A href='http://members.tripod.com/~hammerhead39/barrys-links.html']http://members.tripod.com/~hammerhead39/barrys-links.html[/a]