Re: (ET) Just sayin'

["Christopher Meier" <mr23 mn rr com>]

You'll find a few postings from a couple years ago in the archives about
using the mower deck in a likely unintented fashion.  I found that driving
backwards (with a rear discharge mower deck), the deck would act as
a mulcher and sweeper.  It very nicely 'cleaned' the area swept, no matter
what size the leaves/etc were.  I use this method on a small hill at the
edge
of the property, backing perpendicular to the slope, and collecting the
result into a strip (or a pile if you plan carefully).  If there isn't too
much
material, I'd just do long strips and leave the fairly finely ground leaves
where they landed.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Zach" <czach computer org>
To: "Christopher Meier" <mr23 mn rr com>
Cc: "Elec-trak list" <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Saturday, May 01, 2004 9:33 AM
Subject: Re: (ET) Just sayin'


> *nod* Makes sense. Also the volume issues with regards to leaves and
> their density means you will probably have to dump the load every 3
> minutes anyway.
>
> The Craftsman tractor had a grass bagger that really worked well. One
> could also wait for the leaves to dry for a few days, put 50 gallon leaf
> bags on the output (2) and rake the leaves with the tractor. The blades
> would shred the leaves to dust, and the bagger would fill the 50 gallon
> bags *stock full* of dense leaf stuff.
>
> Something like that for the Electrac would be neat, but the motors on
> the mower deck simply are not going to cut it so to speak.
>
> Chris
>
>
> Christopher Meier wrote:
> > I have an AgriFab brand unit, bought it at "Fleet Farm".
> > Also have the dethatcher attachment for it.
> >
> > We have a cottonwood tree that drops thick waxy leaves
> > beginning late summer, almost until the last tree begins to
> > drop it's leaves.  If I leave these leaves down on the turf
> > for any longer than a few days, the grass is killed off.
> >
> > The ground is a bit uneven, and the sweeper, when set to
> > a depth that is low enough to pick up most all of the lawn
> > droppings, will mechanically 'wear' the grass in the area of
> > that cottonwood.  If I frequently sweep to keep the leaves
> > off to keep the amount of kill down, the mechanical 'wear'
> > thins the grass.
> >
> > Point being, don't expect the sweeper to cure just any
> > leaf problem.  And I've been pining for a few years now
> > to have a vacuum unit to eliminate the mechanical wear.
> > Sweepers seem to work best on thick healthy turf that is
> > maintained like a golf course.  My lawn is not even close
> > to that, just the wear and tear from the kids playing out
> > there makes that near impossible.  So in my case close
> > sweeping has some thinning action on the whole lawn.
> >
> > I'm planning to eliminate that tree, it's 'old' for a cottonwood
> > anyway, we're tired of the months of cleanup each year, and
> > we can replace it with a more desireable tree.  And if we put
> > in geothermal this year (currently looking into that), the ground
> > loops will go in the area where this tree and it's leaves fall;
> > it just coincidentally happens to be the closest and best location
> > for that field.
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Chris Zach" <czach computer org>
> > To: "Elec-trak list" <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
> > Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 9:32 PM
> > Subject: (ET) Just sayin'
> >
> >
> >
> >>I sold my Craftsman 16hp Lawn tractor the other day to my Dad. I'm now
> >>100% electric.
> >>
> >>Now to get a lawn sweeper, and to figure out how to pick up leaves.
> >>Anyone got an Elec-Trak lawn sweeper? :-)
> >>
> >>Chris
> >>
> >>
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