(ET) Sucking up leaves and an option for the guy who was considering a geothermal heat pump

["The Nauglers" <snaugler earthlink net>]

All this talk about sucking up leaves.....

Several years ago I bought a leave sucking attachment from Bill Gun that 
was
one of the GE optional accessories.  There was a frame bolted to the back 
of
the tractor.  On that frame was a 36 volt straight blade blower and a bag.
The mower deck had to be converted to side discharge, but instead of the
chute there was an adapter to connect a flexible tube.  That tube took the
chopped up grass clippings or leaves from the deck and directed them into
the blower which in turn blew into the bag.  (I like side dischage better.
Here in Delaware the grass is frequently damp, and having had both side and
rear mower deck discharge I think side discharge works better.)

Well that wasn't big enough for me, even though the GE bag was bigger than
almost anyones rear bagger I've ever seen.  So I made a new frame to mount
the blower higher on the back of the tractor, and the blower was also moved
closer to the seat.  I made sides for a cart, and now I collect leaves at
over 2 cubic yards at a time.  Every fall I fill that cart 6-10 times
depending on how much wind blows my neighbors leaves into my yard.  (They
don't rake.)

Anyway, last I checked Bill Gunn still had a few of the 36 volt blowers.


Now, I lost track of who said they were considering a geothermal heat pump,
but here's a lower cost option that may be nearly as efficient but much,
much lower cost to install.  A company called Nyle Special Products makes a
Cold Climate Heat Pump (CCHP) that is so good at extracting heat from cold
air that they are installing them in Maine.  http://www.nyletherm.com  They
have staged compressors that allow them to get heat efficiently at sub zero
temperatures.  I have a friend that was going geothermal but with this CCHP
there is no payback for the extra cost of the geothermal system.

Hope this helps someone.  They are also developing a CCHP bolier system
which I will consider to eliminate my oil boiler.

Steve Naugler