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How much horsepower for leaf loader?

2.7K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  Leaf Jockey  
#1 ·
Im looking to get a billy goat leaf loader this year for a rig with walkers. Im wondering how much horsepower to get either the 24 or the 18. Im leaning toward the 24 since it will be used for grass also. And I was also wondering how tall can the grass be to handle it. Would it handle 6 ft tall grass or just normal? Thanks for all the replies.
 
#4 ·
smaller units work just fine depending on what your using them for. if your doing standard residential either one you mentioned will work. I have never attempted to put anything 6' tall through mine tho so i cant comment on that
 
#5 ·
I'd like to make my own leaf loader, something like the turbine from an old wood shop dust collection system and run it off of a 4 cyl car motor from a junkyard.
 
#6 ·
I have a Vanguard (Briggs) 16 and it is all the power I need for my solo operation...I can't imagine the power a 35 must have!
I have sucked up mostly leaves (wet and dry) with nary a problem, and even "collected" the leavings of a ground up stump for a friend that was mostly dirt and rocks along with the wood chips...:angry:
 
#7 ·
Alright thanks guys I talked to my dealer today. Im still not sure if I wanna throw out $4,000 for a new 24hp but I just may. Thanks for the replies anymore are welcome.
 
#8 ·
Just from what I recall from previous threads of this nature it would appear the
general consensus was to get at least 20hp and as was mentioned there's no
such thing as too much power.

Which, even thou I don't have a leaf sucker but when it comes to moving leaves with wind I couldn't agree more,
there is no such thing as having too much power.
 
#9 ·
It'd get the 24hp. If you get large volumes, especially wet and heavy leaves....the extra power will be much appreciated. You are looking at a 6hp difference in engines, thats a fairly significant difference, not a small 1hp or 2hp difference.
 
#10 ·
I bought a little wonder 16hp beginning of leaf removal season last year. First year running a loader, loved it. But even at 16hp I wish I had more. My hang up was where to put a bigger machine even if I wanted to spend the $ on it. Wasn't sure how well I would do pulling two trailers in tandem, one for the dump trailer and another for a larger hp loader. But if you can get close to 10 more horse for around $1000-$1500 more, in my opinion it would be worth it if you can afford it.
 
#12 ·
I would say that you would need the 24hp. I run a mowing crew that uses Walkers and basically collects everything all season long. I have the Billy Goat 23 hp loader and it works pretty well. Wet grass is the worst though. When the grass is wet I just have to slow down and not suck as much grass at any given moment. Basically it will suck large clumps of grass and you just have to wait for one clump to clear before ingesting the next clump or chunk of grass. If you dont, it will clog in the hose and pack itself in the blower housing. As far as leaves go, wet or dry it doesn't matter, my 23hp loader will suck them up all day long no problem. Straight grass with no leaves mixed in it is a whole different animal and much more difficult to suck up. Since I use my loader every day to suck up grass, I think I would actually like even more power. Since the one I have now gets the job done, I will just wait until the one I have now fails to upgrade to more power.
 
#13 ·
I have a Vanguard (Briggs) 16 and it is all the power I need for my solo operation...I can't imagine the power a 35 must have!
I have sucked up mostly leaves (wet and dry) with nary a problem, and even "collected" the leavings of a ground up stump for a friend that was mostly dirt and rocks along with the wood chips...:angry:
i got a 16HP as well and it is plenty powerful..theres no such thing as too much power but the 16HP does fine for me
 
#14 ·
Always a HP race. I have an older 16hp that we put a new impeller on last year. Also bought a new 24 hp last year. Both front mounted to 1 ton dumps. In most conditions there was very little difference in time loading leaves. In the wet, the 24 would suck more but it also seemed to clog more as it caught clumps. The smaller unit takes the leaves in a more even flow as it is fed by the guys. The smaller unit also seemed to shred better (remember both impellers were new) and therefore pack the truck better. Again I think this is due to the flow. Both were loading almost identical boxes. I would think once we get more used to the speed of the 24 it will have an advantage here as well. The 16 burned a little less fuel but not enough to be a factor.

The 24 is much better picking up grass or anything else you want or don't want. I can't see the need to go bigger then that unless you have a really big truck. I got the 24 as a deal. I was looking just to get another in the 16hp range. If you are a smaller company its ok to get a smaller unit. Take care of it, they hold there value well and you can trade or sell for a bigger one when you need it.