Long term update after nearly four years of use. Great alternative to blowing and raking leaves !!! www.agri-fab.com/Products/Swee... www.amazon.com/Agri-Fab-45-04...
I have one of those, not the same brand but basicly the same, Got a little too old to rake leaves all day , so bought one, as soon as my neighbors saw me using it, they all went out and bought one for the same reason. That was 16 years ago, and the only thing I have needed to replace was the hopper, it finaly started tearing at the seams, the new one was a new and improved modle and works great. When I am finished cleaning up the leves in the Fall ,I take it apart and store it in the basement, out of the weather and close to my basement work shop so I can service it during the winter and get it ready for Spring.
@@jessealcorta5271 Just clean it up, make sure everything is clean and lubricated, and try to keep it out of the winter weather, I kept it out doors year around and then after 16 years of weather the hopper material finally started to wear out so now will only bring it up when I am ready to use it. This spring I did not need to use it, so it stays in the basement until Fall. LOL Then it does it's job.
Just got mine and used for 1st time this past weekend with the dethatcher attachment and it worked great. Only thing that sucked was that ground still very wet in areas as we have been hit hard recently and only have so much time to take care of lawn. So if grass pickup & dethatching is your issue, this thing works great for it.
I'm getting one of these too this year. I've chopped them up in the past with the tractor and they do disappear each week through Thanksgiving..and my grass does appreciate it, but that decomposition stops by 1st wk December as the temps go below 50. I also do dethatch each year, and picking up that debris layer with a push mower gets a little old.
I’ve had this one 5 years. The trick is to not have it adjusted too low. And yes, the best part is the ability to use it even on windy days ! Thank you for watching !!!
Thanks for this video. I bought one of these last month that I pull behind my Gravely zero turn. My application use is much different than yours. I'm cleaning up a few acres that sit under oak and pine trees in Florida. Years and years of leaves, acorns, sticks, etc. Some of the family helped me awhile back do some raking and we thought we did great. Truth is we barely made a dent. We all ached and had blisters and like I said, barely moved anything. Ended up leaving some piles that just keep growing. Last weekend in about 2 hours it was like a ran a giant vacuum over the place. This thing is fantastic. Now I have at least 20 good sized piles to move (with the tractor) to the burn pile. Thanks for reviewing this thing!
Damn if he ain’t lying , moved to ohio from being raised in Florida , it can be 39 degrees in the morn and 107 at 4pm . Florida is just hit as satans scrotum 24/7 365 , we have no season there. I am putting together the black 52 inch version of this as I watch this, getting excited after seeing it
Ha ha ha ha, my grandfather's mentality also, up to camp "if you do it right, it'll blow into the neighbor's yard" , like you said--outstanding! The saw was nice too btw, and the light actually came in handy. I got a late start last night, sun was setting but i had to test it. Take care, and thanks for the help.
Awesome ! Glad to hear it ! EGO makes some nice stuff. I’m sure it will only improve with time as technology improves. Thanks for watching and commenting, we’re working on new content and better defining the channel direction this year !
I’m sold. I have 2 acres of property up here in WNY, and it’s getting filled quickly with leaves. Only thing I’m worried about is putting it together correctly lol. Beautiful property you have by the way sir. Thank you!
@@ohiorectec6055 Is this built better than the green models or did you just happen to get this version? I noticed the other models have a rope for a release/emptying mechanism. I empty into a ditch, by a fence, so no pissed off neighbors, LOL.
@@MrRondonmon green models ? Agri-fab was actually building this particular model for John Deere lol. The John Deere version was almost $200 more 🤦🏻♂️
Mine works well too. My only beef is that the wheels lock up on turns since there's no slip ability to account for the inner and outer wheels moving at different speeds and the outer wheel skids along grass which tears it up. I try longer radius turns but its not always feasible. Wish it was designed properly for turns.
Just purchased this unit at Lowe’s. They’ve made a few changes to it…most likely cost cutting. The bag looks like it’s cheaper, thinner vinyl…I don’t see it lasting four years like yours. The leaves are hanging on still, here in upstate NY. I’ll get back to you once I use it.
Ohio is sounding like Georgia with having 4 seasons in one day. Sometimes we can wake up to temperatures in the mid 30’s and by midday it can be in the high 70’s to low 80’s. Mowing grass nearly year round. One good thing about it though. I never have to winterize my boat.
Yep, your the guy that puts them out in the street so the first time it rains it blocks the storm drain. Not to mention the mail man having drive in them. Hey the yard looks good. Great sweeper.
How well does it pickup grass? Some lawns have taller grass that needs to be raked and picked up. I do not want to mulch it into the grass and choke it. I think I need the vacuum one.
I’ve done it both ways. All depends on how thick the leaves are. If you mow while sweeping, offsetting the unit to the discharge side is the way to go !
See that's what I like,a true American posting a great video on helping a neighbor across the state .thank you on the helpful hints and of course God bless
Will it pick up twigs and small sticks? We have a lot of large trees that drop twigs all the time and I would like to be able to just drive something around like this and pick them up.
I wouldn’t say it’s going to do a great job of that just because those are quite difficult and would require setting the brush low enough to dig them out of the grass. It does pick up smaller sticks I’ve found but it’s not going to be consistent with it.
@Gary H I just got one of these. Enjoyed the OP's video. I have to pipe in here though because I have used mine in a much different application. I'm cleaning up years and years of oak leaves, pine cones, sticks, twigs, acorns, etc. It works fantastic to pick up every bit of what I mentioned with exception of the pine cones. I'm most excited about the sticks and twigs. I wish I could post a photo of the cleanup I did this past weekend. Moss and vines like to get all wrapped up and that's a pain. Using it in my environment may not last me 4 yrs but this weekend alone made it worth it. I wish I could attach photos. Get one! I need to caveat there's not a lot of grass in this area.....yet. I'm literally sweeping years of debris off the dirt....so the grass will grow. The areas that do have grass it still works but the grass is a centipede that is not tall blades.
@@rgrubbs Thanks for sharing. I have a bunch of twigs from several oaks on my property. I pick up the twigs and a week later they are back. This sweeper sounds like it would save me some work.
I have not used it solely for that purpose. However when I am picking up leaves if I have mowed it does an awesome job Of picking up both. I have mowed as I’ve pulled it to mulch up leaves before and it picks up nearly everything
I have the same set up and I use it while mowing. It works great get for picking up the lawn clippings too. A third the cost of a bagger and holds more than the JD bagger.
Hey! Nice video. It answers my questions halfway. Will it work on cut grass? I have a mower that doesn't collect grass, can I pick it up with this thingie? thanks!
@@igipop1981 I’ve been mulching the leaves as long as there aren’t too many and leaving the grass clippings on the lawn. It’s supposed to be better for your lawn. However it requires consistent / frequent mowing. If you have tall grass I totally get why you’d want to collect it.
@@ohiorectec6055 thing is, i usualy clip it regulary an leave it scattered about. However, this year has been rainy as never, and then hot. And thick wet grass is a no-go. So, sometimes it gets away from me, and i get a thicker layer of clipping tham i would like to have. Next round fixes it, but those situations would be better handled if i pick them up the next day :) Thanks for the responses!
I’d contact Agrifab and let them know. I’ve found their customer service to be very helpful. That handle is definitely part of the original unit. Follow up and let me know if they took care of it for you. Thanks for watching !
As long as you pull it slow (5mph or less) it’s good do fine. For bigger leaves you’ll get better clean up if you set the deck high and mulch them a little as you pull the sweeper. I know a few people using zero turns with this and the Agri-Fab Aerator.
@@ohiorectec6055 thanks for the quick reply! Oh wow, so you're saying to run the blades on the mower deck while towing at the same time? That doesn't sound like a bad idea. I'm definitely going to pick one of these up soon. I had my eyes on a billy goat lawn vacuum for this fall but it's a $1800 machine. This is a sub $400 machine that looks like it does a great job.
I have one that picks up too many Acorns here in Maine. I have to remove the bag, haul it into the woods to dump. Too heavy for my old body so don't use it. Only other choice for dumping is to raise it up and dump it in the bed of my pickup and off to the dump. Can't use it.
😂 if you do it right... That's what my neighbor thought until someone started putting railroad spikes countersunk in his yard. I bet he has replaced his more deck 3 times before hiring a crew to do it now🤣. What I do know for sure, yard bags are cheaper than lawn service, mower decks and classy.
I wouldn’t buy it for that. Lighter / smaller materials are fine. I’d be willing to guess you’d have to set the brushes very low and that would wear out the gears prematurely.
I’ve actually had no issues with it. The collapsible hopper makes it light to empty and easy to store. I’d imagine a hard shell would be subject to deterioration and cracking like a plastic swimming pool over time
@@matthewsalvador9783 it doesn’t have a lot of tongue weight. If you were on flat ground, I’d look for a bike attachment for pulling a bike trailer could work. Or fab up a strut off rear of the bike frame that would facilitate a pin attachment. Thule may have something that may work.
I have had mine less than a year and use it to pick up grass clippings. The basket has torn in multiple places from falling off the unit when empty on the return from the compost pile. The blades no longer pick up grass. I am guessing the gears need replacing. The design is flawed. Most people who use these have a compost pile and need to get the load there. There needs to be an easier way to lift/disconnect the wheels/gears from the blades so it can be pulled with a full load while not picking up more material. There also needs to be a bracket to tow the basket upside down so it doesn't fill back up on the way back from the compost pile.
