(ET) leaf collection

[Charlie <medievalist gmail com>]

On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 9:08 PM, Christopher Zach
<cz alembic crystel com> wrote:
>
> The one thing the E15/20 can't do is pick up leaves, the bagger 
> attachment
> on the Craftsman cannot be beat.
>

I am in the bottom of a little wooded valley.  In fall I get ten acres
worth of fallen leaves accumulated in my one acre yard.  Against the
buildings and woodpile they drift four feet deep.

I have a 1973 craftsman gasser with a double bin and a 1973 I-5 with a
front mower.  The Craftsman used to do a great job on the leaves until
I replaced the high-lift blades with mulching blades, now the damn
thing is next to useless for bagging (binning) because nothing goes up
the chute.  It's all about the blades, at least on that (stinky,
noisy) machine.

I bought a used tow-behind lawn sweeper for the I-5.  The broom axle
is geared off of one of the wheels so it turns faster without a motor.
 Unfortunately I find it's pretty terrible for leaf collection.  Fills
up too fast, clumsy to dump if anywhere near full, easily jammed by
small sticks, difficult to adjust just right, tends to pick up stuff
when you are just trying to move it around, only picks up one "layer"
of deep leaves - really not worth the $60 I paid for it.  It does work
for grass clippings, and somewhat for sawmill and chainsaw debris, but
I rarely want to sweep those up.

I think the answer to serious leaf collection in Elec-Trak land might
be the "E-Z Vac Electric Lawn Vacuum" or equivalent.  But as far as I
know, only Geo actually has one!

--Charlie