Trac Vac 580 modify for 8inch hose?

[Just2quickz28]

Guys I bought a used Trac Vac 580 6hp leaf vac a while back for 200$. I am using it behind my BX24 with a 54in mower. I find that for grass clippings the 6inch hose is not a problem, but this time of year the leaves tend to build up and even going slow tend to clog up the hose.

I was looking at the unit doesn't look like it would be too hard to swap the front plate over to one with a 8in adapter on the front of course I would have to change my mower boot. Any one have any input?

 

[art]

I'd think that a better investment would be the larger machine.

 

[Just2quickz28]

How so. even a bigger used unit is 1300$. I already need a new hose so that money will be spent. The boot I have is AgriFab that I got for 45$ so loosing that isn't a big deal. The only real cost will be changing the front of the impeller housing. Which is just a plate with a 6inch tube sticking out......

 

[Tompet]

I've had a 6in and 8in model of Trac Vac. Your idea is excellent. An 8in hose makes a large difference picking up leaves especially when they are thick and wet. To keep my same deck boot a friend made an adapter for the 8in hose. IMO the 580 model and similar should have the 8in hose option.
tp

 

[Just2quickz28]

The local shop has 8in hose for 13.95$ a foot and the 6in hose for 11.95$(plus shipping since its special order for them). I took a look at my cheap plastic AgriFab boot and it has a place for an 8in hose (just need to cut the 6in section back) I will talk to the local welding shop to see how much to make me a new impeller cover for 8in. I could make it but just be time that I don't have.

Last concern: Any issue if the intake is 8in and the exhaust is 6in? Usually the hose clogs up before the impeller,I am thinking the reduction of the leaves caused by the impeller should keep the exhaust hose from clogging up. I guess if theres an issue there I can always retro fit the exhaust hose to 8in at some point (Like in the summer when its not in use )

 

[kennyd]

Last concern: Any issue if the intake is 8in and the exhaust is 6in? Usually the hose clogs up before the impeller,I am thinking the reduction of the leaves caused by the impeller should keep the exhaust hose from clogging up. I guess if theres an issue there I can always retro fit the exhaust hose to 8in at some point (Like in the summer when its not in use )

Seems to me you would have "bottleneck" there at the blower with a 8" hose feeding into a 6" hose. I think you will need to change both.

 

[TBDonnelly]

I've had a Trac-Vac 580 for 20 years. About 6 years ago I bought a new riding mower and there was a promotion for a power-flo bagging unit. This unit hangs on the end of the mower deck and has it's own impeller that is powered by the closest mower deck spindle. I coupled this unit with the Trac-Vac 580 and the performance is incredible. In my mind, changing to a larger hose with the same amount of horsepower will actually slow the flow rather than increasing the performance.

Don

 

[Toolguy]

I think you are on to something. The long length of hose from the chute to the vaccum is the problem. I had a similiar setup. I pulled a 5hp Easy Rake with 6" hoses behind my JD318 with a 50" mower. It had problems with the hose clogging on wet leaves. When I got my B3030 I converted the Easy Rake to 3PTH. I wasn't sure how well it would work behind a 60"MMM, but I gave it a try. The resulting setup reduced the length of the hose by half. The shorter hose makes such a difference that even with the 60" MMM on the Kubota it works better than it ever did pulling it behind a 50" MMM. I think the larger 8" hose should help. It is worth a try, at least.

I also have an Agri Fab plastic boot on my Kubota MMM. The steel one from the old setup was way too small. I made a few mods to the deck and the chute to keep the air moving through the boot as smoothly as possible. The boot causes a big dead air space where the grass and leaves coming out of the deck slow down before being sucked into the hose on the way to the impeller. I made baffles that make the opening of the deck and the interior of the boot smaller. That helped a lot. I can now mow grass at normal ground speed. I slow down in leaves depending on how thick and/or wet they are. Wet leaves are not a problem. The only time the boot or hose clogs now is if a stick get sideways in the hose. Good luck.

 

[redharley]

I think you will be ok,I have 8" hose's on my older trac-vac,I have replaced the old worn out 5hp motor with a 6.5hp and it makes a world of difference.I run it behind my BX with a 60" deck this thing really suck's.Like said before the sticks can be a problem. Boy and this year if I could get it to pick up all my acorn's and hickory nuts, but wait that's why I have the trained squirrel's.

 

[Just2quickz28]

Thanks for all the info. I am beginning to think my boot my be some of the cause of the clogs. It has seen better days. I may try modifying the boot and pull the machine closer to the tractor. My 6in hose is already about 2 ft too short since over the weekend the discharge hose ripped in half and I wanted to keep working so I cut the mower hose down to repair the other.

Just trying to figure out what will work the best before ordering a 120$ worth of hose

 

[keyman1808]

Toolguy, I lik ethe bin. No wheels. Where did you get that? The PTO trac vac I'm looking at uses a cart ?? Yours would be much better suited and could be used as a grass catcher as well. The cart idea just doesn't work well for me

 

[LHoyer]

Toolguy, could you explain the baffles you had mentioned. Also, the strips on the front of your moser, does that help? I was thinking of doing that to my Woods belly mower on my 7100.

 

[Just2quickz28]

I think I may have my answer. Not too far away I may be able to get a 6hp Kohler engine with an 8 inch impeller set up. Engine needs a carb or at least carb work, may be worth while to repower my 580.

 

[Toolguy]

Keyman; I took my Easy Rake pull type vacuum and converted it to 3PTH. It does work a lot better than when it was a pull type. A company called Bluebird now makes something similiar to the Easy Rake.

LHoyer; The baffle narrows down the opening on the deck and lines up with a narrow wooden board that I made fit into the boot. The board is held in place with small screws. It helps keep the debris coming out of the deck moving in the right direction towards the vacuum hose on the boot. It also allows the deck to work together with the vacuum. Before, the deck would blow the debris into the oversized boot where it would lose some momentum before being sucked into the hose. Just a little change like that made a huge difference.

The metal strips on the leading edge of the deck are there to help keep the wind created under the deck from blowing leaves away from the deck before they get a chance to be picked up by the blades and blown out the chute. I just cut and drilled some 2" X 1/8" metal and bolted it to the bottom of the deck. The holes in the deck were already there. I think the deck is setup for these as a factory option. They help a great deal even for just mowing grass.

 

[Raw Dodge]

My trac vac on my dixie chopper has an 8" hose from the deck to the impeller and a 6" from the impeller to the can.That is the way it should be...you always need a larger hose on the suction side,the presurre side will move faster as its being pushed,under pressure,so a smaller hose will get the same CFM ,as one step larger will on the suction side.Mine never clogs on me unless i get a small thick stick caught in the hose,then the leaves will hang onto it,and create a clog.I have the Honda 5.5hp,and mine runs perfect,I hardly use it,was thinking about getting rid of it,

 

[Just2quickz28]

My trac vac on my dixie chopper has an 8" hose from the deck to the impeller and a 6" from the impeller to the can.That is the way it should be...you always need a larger hose on the suction side,the presurre side will move faster as its being pushed,under pressure,so a smaller hose will get the same CFM ,as one step larger will on the suction side.Mine never clogs on me unless i get a small thick stick caught in the hose,then the leaves will hang onto it,and create a clog.I have the Honda 5.5hp,and mine runs perfect,I hardly use it,was thinking about getting rid of it,

Thanks for the info. I may still grab the other engine and impeller set up. Cheap enough it may be worth it.

 

[Carl_NH]

Just2quickz28,

Tollguy has the right track - I have the 580 with 6 HP B&S engine installed on 44" Cub deck with no issues mostly due to the smaller deck, and as Toolguy indicated you need to either run the deck close to the ground or put some baffles on the deck and in the pickup chute of the vac. This will help "direct" the material into the hose and get as much suction and debris flow.

Whether its 6" or 8" I think it will work but I would probably go 8" and leave the 6" output as is then put some baffles on the deck to minimize the vacuum loss.

I my 580 chute clogs only when there are sticks or when i windrow leaves to reduce the vac time.

One other point - the top screens -they are very weak and "blow out" so I went to HD and got expanded steel mesh sheet stock 24 x36 with 1/2" openings and this works great - no clogging and does not break out like the screening from the factory.

Carl

 

[Just2quickz28]

I picked up the other engine and impeller set up last night. It is a 6hp Kohler Command with a 8in intake and 6in exhaust ports. The impeller and housing has very little wear. The previous owner says that his shop says it needs a carburetor. they dismantled the carb looks like it may be saved with a good cleaning. It also came with a 2in reviewer mount.

Ill post pictures when I start working on it.

 

[milkman]

I picked up the other engine and impeller set up last night. It is a 6hp Kohler Command with a 8in intake and 6in exhaust ports. The impeller and housing has very little wear. The previous owner says that his shop says it needs a carburetor. they dismantled the carb looks like it may be saved with a good cleaning. It also came with a 2in reviewer mount.

Ill post pictures when I start working on it.

I think picking up the 8" impeller is a good idea, I don't know if the 6" impeller is smaller than the larger one, but if it is you's lose a lot of velocity going with the 8" hose on an impeller designed for the 6". Let us know how it works out.
The BX 60" deck that I have came with the baffle on the bottom right and when I got the BX bagger, it had the baffle for the bottom left side. I would like to try the baffle like Toolguy made for the entrance of the boot, bet it works good.

 

[Just2quickz28]

Finally got the new engine up and running and mounted on the trac vac. The 8in impeller set up is much bigger than the 6inch one. I still need to get a length of hose and probably modify / buy a new mower boot.