Using leaf loader to move wood mulch

[David Gretzmier]

Gonna post this one in landscape too...

Hey all you lawn engineers!
I am curious if anyone out there has tried to use a large leaf loader for a mulch mover. I am wondering if the ones that are tailgate mounted- in the 16-18 horse varieties or towable in the 22-35 horse versions would be able to suck bulk wood mulch thought their intake hoses at street or driveway ( I think they could do this ) and blow it through a 4 or 6" wire reinforced plastic leaf loader hose. ( this is the part I am not sure about.) how far would it push mulch through the hose ? 25 ft, or maybe 100ft? the reason I ask is I cannot justify one of the $20,000++ Finn bark blowers and the trailer model seems inadequate at holdiing 6 yards anyway. they are however able to blow through 150 and 200ft of
4" hose. a $3000 leaf loader with $1000 in hose/brackets and mods seems doable though, if it would work, and we could of course use it for leaves. any one tried this or have any thoughts?
Thanks-
Dave g

[David Gretzmier]

30 views, no replies... come on guys...

[Lawn-Scapes]

any one tried this or have any thoughts?

I haven't tried it but had thoughts about it... like you.

How 'bout you go buy one and give it a whirl.. then come back and tell us about it :D

[cantoo]

I would make sure I bought the leaf loader from a Dealer with a good return and warranty record then give it a try....

[Turfdude]

Hey Dave,
Does that mean that I could use a bark blower to suck up leaves??? LOL.
Don't do it man. You'll screw up your machine. Either sub the work, or just get your crews to work more efficiently.

BOB

[mark2]

Hey, your not the first to think of this. A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine had the same idea. He is going to try it as soon as the grass slows down a little. He plans to use bulk mini bark. I can't wait to see how it works. It would be a two man operation.

[David Gretzmier]

If you look at a serious trailer muonted leaf loader, I'd think you would agree that it could handle mulch. the specs on the landscaper supply version is 1/2"plate on the fan and housing. one could argue that mulch is cleaner than leaves. some loaders claim to pickup trash in parking areas with no damage. mark 2-Keep me informed if your buddy tries this. I'd like to rent one locally and give it a shot w/ cheap 4" ads hose, a 6 or 8" to 4" adapter, but I am pretty sure the ribs in ads drain pipe would slow down airflow. further, they don't rent them around here. perhaps the double wall stuff ( slick inside) would work if I could find it in 4". Dave g

[Whalen Landscape Svc]

Dont waste your time i must say I did with a billy goat 16 hp...It didn't work..

[mark2]

I'll try to keep you informed. We thought about the ADS also. He plans to try 4" solid pipe with the ribbed insides first.
If it works, I hope to purchase a vac (blower) for myself. Even if i I have to start using the really fine mulch.
By the way, I haven't done a search on this topic but, do you think course or fine mulch stays in place better during heavy rain.