Lawn sweepers info

[Tomuchmowing4me]

I am looking to get a homeowner pull behind lawn sweeper. 42"-46" wide. I am looking at the Agri-fab, Brinly, Huskee, John deere(looks like a brinly made), Craftsman high speed ratio. Have any of you used these brands? What where your pros and cons? I just dont want to buy the wife a p.i.s. to use for the first time getting one. So I hope you all have some use on these and suggestions on this sweeper purchase. Thanks.

[Restrorob]

Personally I don't like any lawn sweeper, They are a pain in the arss.
You spend more time cleaning the sticks leaves ect. out of the brushes to keep them working right then using a rake. I mulch all leaves anymore with my mower (the one above).

[Tomuchmowing4me]

No homeowners use lawn sweepers? Just to many acres to be raking IMO. Need some insight on users pros + cons.

[nmurph]

my wife got me a agri fab 46" (?) with a 5:1 ratio for xmas. i had my eye on the craftsman with the 8:1 ratio. she totally suprised me, so i didn't have the heart to tell her what i really wanted. here where i live we have mostly pine trees and the oak leaves were already on the ground by xmas, but i will say that it did an excellant job on the straw. it also p/u the leaves, except where the ground is a little bare. i had to adjust the height to height of the grass. but where there were leaves on the grass, it picked them up just fine. i will be dethatching my lawn in a few weeks. i am anxious to see how well it picks up the thatch.

[bif]

well...i used to have a 42" sweeper...Brinly I think, I got it from home depot...

it worked great, picked up just about everything, leaves, grass, small sticks, etc.

Big drawback.......you're done mowing, now you've gotta hook up your sweeper and go back over the lawn....add an extra hour or so on your mowing time, plus it was fairly big and bulky to store...

I sold it with that mower, then I bought a grass catcher with my next mower, and I like that a lot better...

good luck,
Steve

[Tomuchmowing4me]

my wife got me a agri fab 46" (?) with a 5:1 ratio for xmas. i had my eye on the craftsman with the 8:1 ratio. she totally suprised me, so i didn't have the heart to tell her what i really wanted. here where i live we have mostly pine trees and the oak leaves were already on the ground by xmas, but i will say that it did an excellant job on the straw. it also p/u the leaves, except where the ground is a little bare. i had to adjust the height to height of the grass. but where there were leaves on the grass, it picked them up just fine. i will be dethatching my lawn in a few weeks. i am anxious to see how well it picks up the thatch.
You mention 2 of the 3 I am down to picking. I am looking at the craftsman 42" high speed 8.5-1 with 12" sweepers, agri-fab 42" 5-1 10" sweepers and the brinly no info on that one yet, but looks well built. Do you think the high speed ratio and aliitle bigger sweepers will make any difference in pickup? Right now there is only $30-$40 difference in their prices.

[Tomuchmowing4me]

Just to update on the Brinly sweeper. I bought the brinly over the others. It has 6 total sweepers, 3 for each brush at 5-1 ratio. Where the craftsman high speed 8.5-1 ratio and agri fab 5-1 ratio had a total of 4 and only 2 per brush. The sears one had 12" brush and the other two had 10" brushes. The brinly brushes seemed stiffer to me. I figured if the sears was 8.5-1 ratio with 2 brushes turning and the brinly was 5-1 ratio with 3 brushes turning, its got to be doing just the same amount of brushing in the long run. Will give another update after this summers use. Darn thing better work and at least the wife is happy now too, no more raking.

[nmurph]

You mention 2 of the 3 I am down to picking. I am looking at the craftsman 42" high speed 8.5-1 with 12" sweepers, agri-fab 42" 5-1 10" sweepers and the brinly no info on that one yet, but looks well built. Do you think the high speed ratio and aliitle bigger sweepers will make any difference in pickup? Right now there is only $30-$40 difference in their prices.
i had not gotten down to the nitty-gritty research on the sweepers i.e # of rows, stiffness of bristles, gauge of metal, plastic vs. metal gears. if the brinley uses 3 rows of brushes at 5:1, and the craftsman uses 2 rows at 8:1, the number if times the brush contacts the ground would be almost identical in a given distance if the wheels are the same size. i think the agri-fab is going to be ok for my yard.

[nmurph]

You mention 2 of the 3 I am down to picking. I am looking at the craftsman 42" high speed 8.5-1 with 12" sweepers, agri-fab 42" 5-1 10" sweepers and the brinly no info on that one yet, but looks well built. Do you think the high speed ratio and aliitle bigger sweepers will make any difference in pickup? Right now there is only $30-$40 difference in their prices.
i had not gotten down to the nitty-gritty research on the sweepers i.e # of rows, stiffness of bristles, gauge of metal, plastic vs. metal gears. if the brinley uses 3 rows of brushes at 5:1, and the craftsman uses 2 rows at 8:1, the number if times the brush contacts the ground would be almost identical in a given distance if the wheels are the same size. i think the agri-fab is going to be ok for my yard.

sorry for the double post. what i wanted to add was that a wider sweeper might cause more problems with high-centering. i was not able to discover who manufactures the craftsman. i think that agri-fab makes their own equipment. depending on where you intend to purchase, tractor supply is good about returns as is sears, during the first 90 days.

[Tomuchmowing4me]

I bought the Brinly from Home Depot. The sears craftsman looked like it was made by agri-fab, just high speed ratio for more money with 2 rows of brushes too. Huskee was at tractor supply and wasnt very well built IMO with 2 rows. Choose the brinly because of the way it was built and 3 rows of brushes. Just hope it all goes well this summer. Hope this helps some other homeowner out on their choices. Wasnt to much out there on this subject.

[Mic_bug]

[QUOTE=Tomuchmowing4me]I bought the Brinly from Home Depot. The sears craftsman looked like it was made by agri-fab, just high speed ratio for more money with 2 rows of brushes too. Huskee was at tractor supply and wasnt very well built IMO with 2 rows. Choose the brinly because of the way it was built and 3 rows of brushes. Just hope it all goes well this summer. Hope this helps some other homeowner out on their choices. Wasnt to much out there on this subject.[/QUOTE

I've used them before..hardest thing is getting the height adjusted correctly, once you set that they work great.

[Tomuchmowing4me]

Update: The Brinly lawn sweeper is top notch. Went together easy and picks up grass I cant even see. Not hard to adjust either. The 3 rows of sweepers seem like the way to go too. Hope this helps other homeowners with thier choice.

[lawncuttinfoo]

Any lawn sweepers that would pick up galls from trees? I'm looking for a walk behind model.

[petulo]

I bought a used Brinly Lawn Vac (with 6.5 HP engine), which I attach to my mower deck and vacuum clippings (and everything else) while mowing. I also have a tripple bagger, which I used to use, but it was a pain, because of constant clogging, when the grass was a little high or wet. With the Lawn Vac, I make fewer stops to unload the clippings.
One negative aspect is that it is not so easy to turn and back up with the attached Vac, but it is a small price to pay for all the other benefits.
Brinly is still available through Lowes, I think. Its a bit pricey if you buy a new one ($1,100).

[Capemay Eagle]

I have a agri fab sweeper and I love it. I just use it for acorns and leaves and it works great.

[Rebel727]

Just joined so you probable already got your sweeper. I 60 yrs old and moving to a Condo. I have a Crafstman 42 in high speed lawn sweeper for sale. I used it once last fall and it worked great. It has around one hour usage. The price is 200.00 firm and it must be picked up at my home. If you know of anyone that is looking please let them know about this offer. I am sure it will go quickly. I am going to miss doing my own lawn work but that is life. my email is rebel727@comcast.net. I live in Ct. If I posted this to the wrong forum please direct me to the proper one. TIA

[Capemay Eagle]

Just joined so you probable already got your sweeper. I 60 yrs old and moving to a Condo. I have a Crafstman 42 in high speed lawn sweeper for sale. I used it once last fall and it worked great. It has around one hour usage. The price is 200.00 firm and it must be picked up at my home. If you know of anyone that is looking please let them know about this offer. I am sure it will go quickly. I am going to miss doing my own lawn work but that is life. my email is rebel727@comcast.net. I live in Ct. If I posted this to the wrong forum please direct me to the proper one. TIAI will never miss doing my yard. Acorns and leaves that never end. I have been looking for a new home for about a year now. My yard is beautiful, but it is just too much maintenance.

[Rebel727]

I will never miss doing my yard. Acorns and leaves that never end. I have been looking for a new home for about a year now. My yard is beautiful, but it is just too much maintenance.


I only have 1\4 acre but I have two horrible banks that I have to mow with a push mower. I play tennis so I use to look at it as exercise but after 30yrs. I can do without pushing and pulling a heavy push mower. I have a lot of plants that I have to mow around too so a self propelled was out of the question. I have a riding mower that I will also be selling when I move to the condo. I wouldn't't mind if the 1\4 acre was completely flat. I do not need anymore land then that. My wife is set on the Condo.

[talon86]

I purchased an Agri-Fab SmartSWEEP 44 In. Tow Lawn Sweeper from Home Depot a year and half ago. I could not be happier. I have pine trees so pine cones and pine straw were my main concern. This sweeper is unbelievable. You have to make sure you adjust the height correctly or it does not work well. Get the right height and off you go.

I just finished picking pine cones up this week. I would estimate we picked up a dump truck load (6 yards) in about 2 hours. No problems at all. I will say that when you pickup straw, it does tend to start accumulating on the hopper blocking additional straw from being picked up. The solution I use is a stick about 4 foot long with multiple small stubs on the end. Occasionally I stop turn around and run the stick across the entrance to the hopper. This cleans it well without getting off the mower.

Sears sells the same one with craftsman branding and more money of course. I paid 299 at Home Depot. Considering the work it has already saved me, I would buy another one today if mine were disabled for some reason.

Please note that I bought another brand from Home Depot about 2 years ago. It was crap. Pine cones would not fit through the opening to the hopper. It would not pickup straw on the first pass. Worthless....

[Rebel727]

Just joined so you probable already got your sweeper. I 60 yrs old and moving to a Condo. I have a Crafstman 42 in high speed lawn sweeper for sale. I used it once last fall and it worked great. It has around one hour usage. The price is 200.00 firm and it must be picked up at my home. If you know of anyone that is looking please let them know about this offer. I am sure it will go quickly. I am going to miss doing my own lawn work but that is life. my email is rebel727@comcast.net. I live in Ct. If I posted this to the wrong forum please direct me to the proper one. TIA

I sold the sweeper. Thanks to the folks that responded.

[Tomuchmowing4me]

Wow this thread is still going. The Brinley one I bought when starting this thread is still working flawless every year. :weightlifter:

[artichoke]

I've got the Brinly and I use it pretty hard. I have 2 acres (about 1 1/2 clear, the rest woods that I dump into) with lots of deciduous trees including a huge old oak that dumps endless leaves. It's been a life-saver this year because the amount of raking required just wasn't going to happen, and I won't pay yard services to do it like most of my neighbors do.

I've had some bent metal tubes from backing too hard into dump zones where prior leaves are piled high, but those I repaired well enough. Now the gear teeth are probably stripping, the wheels won't always turn when I drive forward, so I'll have to take the wheels apart to see what's up with that.

It worked great picking stuff up in early fall. Now in late fall it's working less well because the grass is bent over, so things are getting below the point where the brushes can get to them. I guess I could adjust the basket height more often, may try that if I get the wheels working again.

I don't think the Agri-Fab and the Craftsman are the same. They look almost the same, but it's my impression that the Craftsman has metal gears and chain drive, but the Agri-Fab has nylon gears and direct drive.

It would be hard for me to use the Craftsman because afaik the chain drive means I cannot back the thing up. Then I could not back into my dump zones, so I would be steadily advancing across the woods where I dump and use up half an acre dumping stuff from the other acre and a half with a shallow coating of leaves. If someone else has a solution to dumping efficiently with a chain-drive sweeper, I'm all ears.

[Capemay Eagle]

I love the lawn sweeper but stopped using it because I notice that it sweeps up allot of grass in the process. Losing to much newly seeded grass in the fall using the sweeper. I am buying a Billygoat Force blower next summer for the fall. I have tried every method to avoid raking (mostly vacuuming) and I have watched my neighbor the last couple of years use an older push blower and he does the whole yard in about an hour, just blows them all to the street. I figure these newer Billygoat force blowers should really do the job.

[artichoke]

I love the lawn sweeper but stopped using it because I notice that it sweeps up allot of grass in the process. Losing to much newly seeded grass in the fall using the sweeper. I am buying a Billygoat Force blower next summer for the fall. I have tried every method to avoid raking (mostly vacuuming) and I have watched my neighbor the last couple of years use an older push blower and he does the whole yard in about an hour, just blows them all to the street. I figure these newer Billygoat force blowers should really do the job.

It looks like the previous Billygoat blowers had more steel, the Force is more plastic. This could be a good time to get one of the old models.

[Capemay Eagle]

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[Capemay Eagle]

It looks like the previous Billygoat blowers had more steel, the Force is more plastic. This could be a good time to get one of the old models.Thanks for the heads up but it's okay, I would only use the thing for a few days a year, and with that it should be fine. I am actually going to sell off some equipment and use that to purchase it. I almost done for the season now, so I am just going to wait till next summer, and heck by that time there may be a new machine on the market.