[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: (ET) Just sayin'

Drive backwards, hm? How about simply rotating the mounting arm brackets 180 degrees and mounting the deck backwards? Can that work? 

Chris


Christopher Meier wrote:


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


_______________________________________________
Elec-trak mailing list
Elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
https://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mailman/listinfo/elec-trak



_______________________________________________
Elec-trak mailing list
Elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
https://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mailman/listinfo/elec-trak