Re: (ET) Leaf Clean-Up

["Steven Naugler" <snaugler earthlink net>]

Several years ago I faced the same leaf collection problem, so I called 
Bill
at Technical Service to see if I could buy one of the vacuum units.  He
instead sold me a unit that mounted to the back of my E15.  This unit does
not appear in any of the GE catalogs I have seen or in my dealer's shop or
parts manual.  It had an electric blower and a bag, both of which mounted 
on
a frame that could pivot up and down off the tractor frame.  There were two
swivel casters at the far back to support the weight.  The bag volume was
about 1-1/3 cubic yards.  He supplied a special side discharge nozzle that
mounted to the mower deck in place of the side discharge chute.  A long 
hose
ran from the front mounted mower deck to the rear mounted blower.  The 
mower
blades chopped up the leaves allowing more leaves to be collected than
un-chopped up leaves.  The deck had to be converted to side discharge
instead of rear discharge, but in the damp Delaware climate side discharge
works better than rear discharge.  Bill sold the kit to convert the deck to
side discharge also.  It was a fairly long assembly from front of mower 
deck
to rear of bag unit.

After the original bag rotted out I was going to order a new bag from Bill,
but was shocked at the cost.  All of the original bags were gone and Bill
had new bags custom sewn, hence the cost.  Faced with spending that much
money I decided that a larger leaf storage unit was needed.  The system as
purchased typically needed emptying 30-40 times each season.

So I retired the frame and made a wooden frame on a utility cart and 
wrapped
it in fabric.  The blower is now mounted on the tractor.  I collect more
like 3-1/2 cubic yards of compacted leaves and still fill the cart to the
brim 4-6 times a season, depending on wind direction and how well my
neighbors rake.  When I collect leaves I feel like I am driving a train.

I don't know if Bill has any more of these units, but he should have
blowers, even if a vacuum unit becomes a donor.  it wasn't too hard to
modify the cart or the tractor to take the blower.

Someone was mentioning that backing up they would gouge or otherwise damage
their lawn.  Make sure your rollers are full diameter.  New they are 2.5
inches in diameter, and anything less that 1.75 to 2 really aggravates lawn
damage when backing up.

Steve Naugler
snaugler earthlink net