Pull behind lawn sweeper

[dsarow]

Any one know of a good brand and where to buy a lawn sweeper to pull behind my 125.Thanks

 

[rkuik]

they are hard to find and new is expensive, not sure if they are even available new anymore, but the Case/Ingersoll lawn sweep is one of the best. it is a 2 brush sweeper, pulls backwards from most as the basket is in the front and brush assemble is in the rear. has adjustable height settings. have to be careful on the pole height as when behind my 1450 that had the tiller gear box on it and the hitch was upside down, it did not work as well as when on my 108. make sure it is a gear drive one (old ones from the mid 70's had belt drive). i have an old Case one the basket is shot on it and an Ingersoll one from the 90's. i dont use it a lot, but when i need it, i know it is there and it will work. be careful going across a gravel driveway with or under a hickory nut tree as it will chuck the stones/nuts on you if you are going too fast.

 

[rkuik]

oh, forgot one of the best features, when basket if full, back up to where you want to dump, tip basket over the sweeper head to dump, put back and continue on. do not use it backing up like a bulldozer to address your pile, the pole is not strong enough for that.

 

[Tom]

I actually have a pretty decent pull behind lawn sweeper. It is built by Agri-Fab and is adjustable sweeping height plus dumps by rotating hopper backwards. The price 6 or 7 years ago was around $150.

 

[gary noblit]

just gotta share this..An old friend(80's) took the hopper off lawn sweeper. Put a 2x4 across a 8x10 tarp,tied the ends with a rope to the sweeper .He would run until the tarp was almost full,pull up to a dump spot and flip the tarp empty and off he would go again.He thought dumping the hopper was a pain...It worked great and he didn't care for rakes too much

 

[kharvey]

I have an Agri- fab sweeper from fleet farm store very good for the cost I think.
I've had it 10 plus years trouble free.

 

[eweiss]

Tie a rope to the hopper and run it to your seat, Just pull to lift and dump it

 

[jdrong]

just gotta share this..An old friend(80's) took the hopper off lawn sweeper. Put a 2x4 across a 8x10 tarp,tied the ends with a rope to the sweeper .He would run until the tarp was almost full,pull up to a dump spot and flip the tarp empty and off he would go again.He thought dumping the hopper was a pain...It worked great and he didn't care for rakes too much

So, he would just drag the tarp around his yard until it was full of leaves? I have an Agri-Fab lawn sweeper and don't see the advantage of dragging a tarp around versus pulling a rope to dump the hopper.

 

[john.knutson]

Tie a rope to the hopper and run it to your seat, Just pull to lift and dump it

I've got a rope on mine, works great. It has a knot on the end and I just tuck it in the cubby beneath the seat on my 1x7s and it's there for me to pull when needed (I just gotta remember to keep an eye on how full the hopper is).

I also grabbed some 1/4"-20 (I assumed that was the thread) wing nuts last time I was at the hardware store, thinking that it would be nice to be able to adjust the height on the fly without a wrench/pliers. It would be really neat if I could adjust the height with my sleeve hitch somehow...

 

[john.knutson]

It would be really neat if I could adjust the height with my sleeve hitch somehow...

Thinking a bit more about that idea, I could modify the sweeper hitch hookup to fit a sleeve hitch, and potentially lift the whole thing up when it gets full. Wouldn't have height adjust though, just up or down. I would also need to somehow lock it from pivoting when raised, and make sure the frame and tongue of the sweeper could handle the weight of a full hopper.

 

[knolte]

Echoing the comments on the Agri-Fab unit. I have used/abused one for many years. I think I bought it from Tractor Supply but I could be wrong about that. It's been a good unit for me. The limitations are they generally only work well on fairly short and smooth lawns. I have tried to use it to sweep leaves a few times with no success. If you are looking to sweep up behind a mower, it will work pretty well.

 

[PACub100]

I know I've thought about this before and I'm curious if anyone has ever modified (or if one was produced commercially for that matter) a sweeper offset from the tractor / riding mower? I mean, almost all units discharge the clippings to the right of the mower deck, you'd think pulling the sweeper offset to the right would be a no-brainer that way it gathers the clippings while you're mowing instead of mowing first and then going back over the yard a second time sweeping...

 

[knolte]

I know I've thought about this before and I'm curious if anyone has ever modified (or if one was produced commercially for that matter) a sweeper offset from the tractor / riding mower? I mean, almost all units discharge the clippings to the right of the mower deck, you'd think pulling the sweeper offset to the right would be a no-brainer that way it gathers the clippings while you're mowing instead of mowing first and then going back over the yard a second time sweeping...

Funny you should mention that. Yes I have. I found that it did not work well for me. It made the tractor and sweeper too wide to get around the yard without a lot of extra turning. The sweeper did not follow the thrown grass when you turned and the grass also sweeps much easier if it dries even a few hours before running the sweeper over it. It was fun to build a hitch to make it work but my results quickly showed me the error of my ways. Way easier to hook the sweeper to the extra smaller tractor to drag around the yard after I was done mowing.

 

[jdrong]

I made a cover for the discharge opening on my deck. You could also buy one From Cub Cadet years ago. I think CC called it something like a "mulching attachment" or cover. This is on my 149 with a standard 42" deck. It keeps most of the clippings and chopped leaves under the deck.

 

[gmeador]

So, he would just drag the tarp around his yard until it was full of leaves? I have an Agri-Fab lawn sweeper and don't see the advantage of dragging a tarp around versus pulling a rope to dump the hopper.

Maybe get more leaves/grass on the tarp? Also I found as Ken Nolte said; " it picks up better when it dries a little"

 

[gary noblit]

perhaps the point was missed..In his 80's,not about to buy another pull behind to replace one pretty ragged.A little inginuity and back in business.The tarp allowed him to pull along side of the pile with out pulling into it and just flip it over.. 8x10 holds a lot...dry helps

 

[mpatterson]

Get yourself one of these if you have $$$ to spend on an attachment!

 

[knolte]

Get yourself one of these if you have $$$ to spend on an attachment!

I have seen those advertised and they are failry pricey. Just for my use I would buy a lawn vac unit (PTO driven) before I would buy one of those. The original lawn sweeper mentioned by the OP is okay for short grass clippings on a well manicured lawn. I had an Agri-Fab unit for years and it worked fairly well but back then we didn't have options. The typical sweeper is okay for small yards that are kep short. My yard isn't that way. I still see them on sale at some of the big box stores and they do have a market.

 

[jpaxhia]

Get yourself one of these if you have $$$ to spend on an attachment!

Good to know I’m not the only one with one of these!

 

[snicklas]

Is that Steiner a Bailer?