DR POWER LEAF VAC vs Billy Goat or something else ?

[Tim's Lawn Care LLC.]

I'm getting ready to buy something thats going to speed up my leaf work and am torn between Billy Goat and DR w/b Vacs. I got DR's video and it looks impressive as a machine that could handle smaller yards w/ gates as Billy Goat's can. $ are close between the two, the only issue I am concerned w/ is that DR's say up front that there made for homeowners.
Does anyone out here have any experience w/ either machine related to performance, reliability or any suggestions. Last few seasons I've been using a Trac Vac mounted on my Toro 44" w/b w/ a single 44 gal. container and the big downside to doing a large property w/ this is your continually having to dump and go. Too time consuming. I've got about 2 grand to throw at something this fall thats going to speed things up. Thanx guys. :dizzy:

[S.I.]

For 2K I would be looking more along the lines of a truck loader of some sort. I personally don't like keep stopping and emptying bags or containers, would rather get it all to the curb and then get it all loaded.

[Runner]

What, do you think that you won't have to dump these types of vacuum units? Actually, you're wb with the trac-vac will shred the material up much better than these things do, so that needs to be considered as a factor of dumping frequency.

[Mr. Force™, Billy Goat Industries]

Tim,

The main difference between the two units is the engine. The Billy Goat MV has a Honda 6.5 hp GSV whereas the DR. Power unit has a 6 hp Briggs. The Honda turns at a slightly higher RPM, therefore gets you a little more vacuum power and carries a 1 year commercial engine warranty. The Briggs has a 90 day warranty.

Please let em knw if you have any other questions.

[freddyc]

Get a leaf plow and a leaf loader. Move the majority of the leaves with the plow and suck them up with the loader.... then use your trac vac to do the final cleanup. Of course, this depends how big the properties anre and distance from the road.

[Green Man Enviroscaping]

I've tried the DR and haven't been impressed with the reduction of leaves. In fact, I suspect it hasn't reduced anything.

Also have had some problems with the engine; possibly just some clogged filters, but, really, it's only had an hour or two of use, so it shouldn't be that bad... I've really got to get out there and fiddle with it and get it running so I can see ASAP whether or not I'll be able to use it.

The Billy Goat MV model looks identical to the DR in all ways except the engine itself, so I'm not sure how well that would reduce things. Their VQ looks a bit heavier duty, I'd lean towards that one, and I'd see if I could try them out first.

[Mr. Force™, Billy Goat Industries]

Depending on dryness of the leaves the reduction can be very high 12:1 for dry conditions whereas moist conditions (leaves) will leave you with much less leaf reduction. It's all on your needs and application. Even if you could get better reduction it gets too heavy or bulky to carry. That's the reason for the size of the bag. We could make it bigger but then it drags the ground or is too heavy to dump

The larger VQ series will not reduce the debris any better than the MV series. However, Green Man is dead on when he says get a demo. Only you know your needs as well as what you expect the product to do.

Let me know if there are any other questions.

[Green Man Enviroscaping]

Of course, since I posted what amounts to a bad review here, it convinced me to haul the DR out and give it yet another shot.

I cleaned the air filter and *poof* it started on the first try. Not only that, but it shredded things up fairly well. Since I had only used it for such a small area the only time I had it running before, I hadn't bothered to check the filter.

I did use the hose this time - the reason why I got it, really - so I don't know if that changed the shredding behavior.

Since the MV seems to be so similar, I have to retract what I said before and apply the same reasoning now that I've worked the bugs out of the DR: the MV would probably perform just as well for the shredding, and the difference then would be the engine and the commercial warranty.