Any one ever use lawn sweepers?

[Clean Cut Lawns]

Hi,
I was looking into buying a lawn sweeper for spring clean ups.
Has anyone ever used one? how has it worked? Saved Time? it is worth it?

Thanks?
Marco.
mgoncalves@cleancutlawns.4mg.com

[stslawncare]

those are the things that can be pushed or pulled with trailer right? they got the nice big hooper that all the leaves go into right? i was wondering the same exact thing, how well do they work etc etc?

[dan deutekom]

I have used the pull behind ones. Like every thing else they have their good points and bad. They are great for clipping pickup, or picking up cores after core aerating (if you are so inclined), small debris or after dethatching. They fluff up the grass nicely and leave a lawn looking really nice. The downside is that they really don't hold much, are to small for leaf cleanup, need constant adjusting or they jam, and only last about 1/2 season. All the ones I have seen are geared to homeowners.

[Clean Cut Lawns]

the sweeper I was looking into mounts on to the front of my walker, I see some guys use them for parking lot sweeping, I guess its more of a power broom than a sweeper. The catalog says you can use them for lawn sweeping, dethatching, cleaning up lawns of gravel and other things.

Does any one have success with them for spring clean ups.

[mdb landscaping]

i dont have a walker, but sweepers in general are great for spring cleanups. i have a power broom on my echo trimmer. i use it to get the sand off the lawn after winter and sweep up sand. it works great. a lot of people use walkbehind brooms and use them to dethatch as well. i have a jrco thatcher that i de thatch with, but i may buy a full size sweepster this year cause i sweep up a lot of sand.

[morturf]

I have a 60 inch sweeper/broom on the front of my 955 JD. It is a great thing to clean up larger areas along streets and commercial parking lots where sand and gravel have accumulated during the winter. I would not use it on a whole lawn, but that is just me. I also have 2 power brooms that get used a lot. Here is a site for you guys with exmark/toro to mount a sweeper on your ztr. http://www.agro-tec.com/index.shtml

good luck, mike

[Clean Cut Lawns]

Thanks for all the info guys, keep them coming.

Mike one question, why wouldn't you use the broom on the complete lawn?

Thanks
Marco

[morturf]

It just pulls up too much stuff. Just me, I don't let any of my customers power rake and to me this is the same thing. I don't believe in powerrakes.
Mike

[Clean Cut Lawns]

Thanks mike,

Does it ever damage the turf?
What if you put caster wheels on the power broom, to control its depth?

Thanks for your help.
Marco