Cyclone rake XL

[donn12]

I just bought one and I am pretty impressed with the whole set up. It arrived in 8 boxes but very well laid out. They have obviously been doing this for some time. The unit works very well. The only down side is that when you put it behind a commercial mower the whole things is pretty heavy. It was still pretty wet when I used it and I got stuck twice. That is bad on grass just like wet leaves. I went in on it with a neighbor and he bought a mower deck adapter from trac vac. It was about 400 and made of metal. It just popped on and is pretty slick. If my plastic unit gets messed up I will think about getting one of those. We also got the 17 vacuum hose to handle mulch beds etc. I used it on Sunday and had the whole area of grass clean not its almost covered again.

 

[frogfish]

I've been considering one for a while now, just have not heard enough good or bad about them to do it. Let us know how it performs over time.

 

[6dog]

Nice! :thumbsup:

If I didn't already have the factory 3-bag MCS on my 4110, I would have bought the Cyclone Rake. I've heard nothing but good things about them, other than they can produce a lot of dust in dry areas. But, so can my current setup.

 

[Baby Grand]

They make a very nice machine. I use one that I borrow from my mother in law in return for keeping her tractor running - I'm very happy with that deal. Her yard is about shin deep in leaves and she can clear it herself - and she's 80. Does a nice job reducing the leaf volume & tendency to blow around if used as mulch. MAkes a very nice mulch, BTW.
-Jim

 

[955er]

I bought an agri-fab unit 7 years ago. Best move I ever made. It was pricey, but I can now enjoy the fall colors. I used to dread doing the leaves, but now it is nothing more than mowing.

You will love it. It is going to save you a ton of labor.

 

[Zxyrthe]

I'm a huge fan as well. I bought the XL about a year and a half ago. THEY called ME after a year just to see what I thought about their product. (Brave move!) I told the woman on the phone that it was life changing being able to finally get all my leaves up (3+ acres) in a few hours rather than a few months.

"Any problems?", she asked.

I told her that some of the velcro stitching had come loose on the bag unit but I just clamped it in place.

She replied, "It shouldn't do that. I'm going to send you a new bag."

Dumbfounded, I asked, "Is there an RMA number or something I need for the return?"

She answered, "No, no. Just keep the old one. . . By the way, would you mind if we used you as a reference in case one of your neighbors were interested in buying one of our products?"

I enthusiastically told her that I'd be happy to recommend them to my neighbors.

A quality product made by a quality company in the United States.

 

[Bascom]

I've owned a Cyclone XL for three years. It is just simply awesome at vacuuming up leaves and debris. Very easy to use, reliable, starts every time, manueverable, easy to dump and makes excellent mulch!

The only complaint is from my wife who says it is too loud.

 

[IXLR8]

I have the JD 727a which I think is a bit weak to put on the mower driven blower/bagger system and I was considering one of the smaller Cyclone rakes. How does the CR XL affect the handling/manuverabilty of the Z? In the open I would expect no issues, but close to the house and decks.. I would think you would need to be careful with all that stuff hanging so far out the back.

 

[CHDinCT]

I have owned one of the smaller units since 2004. Now in it's seventh season of leaf duty. Bought it with the 17' hose extension for doing my shrub and flower beds. It is a well made, well thought out product and their customer support is superb. Since I live in CT, I was able to go look at them before buying. The newer models have gotten bigger and they've gone from 7" deck hoses to 8" and now offer the Z version with a 10" hose. Can't imagine how fast that unit will suck leaves. All the hardware is top notch, many of it chrome, and if space is an issue, the whole thing breaks down for storage. I like that they put the engine on it's own frame with casters so you can roll it around your shed/garage.

The unit is loud so it's recommended to wear good hearing protection, and it can be dusty if the leaves are dry and the wind is blowing at you from behind. It attaches rigidly to your tractor (no swivel point) so it takes some getting use to on inside turns. You can't pass an object then immediately turn away from it as the unit will swivel in the opposite direction into the object (tree, fence, mailbox, etc.). But after a little use, you adjust. In tight areas, I'll use a back pack blower to move the leaves out from house, bed, etc., to make clean up with the tractor a little easier. I also like they went to B&S Vanguard engines. Mine is a Tecumseh. Have not had a problem with it, but would have preferred the Briggs.

Here's a pic of it attached to my Wheel Horse, but this year I've hooked it up to the BX.

 

[Stonehaller]

I have had a DR 9.00 vac for four years. I tow it behind two different zero turn mowers, an older White with a 62 inch deck and a Scag with 36 inch deck. I was worried when I got it that the 6 inch hose would not keep up with the 62 inch mower, but if the leaves are dry it does fine. It will clog quite often if the leaves are wet. I considered the Cyclone XL, but at the time, it was about $500 more. If I had to do it again, I would go with the larger hose.

It does take some time getting used to having that extra length behind you, but once you get the hang of it you can really get into tight areas well. And you can tell when it starts getting full as it becomes difficult to turn.

On my White it is easy to independently change front and rear height of the mower. I find that if I angle the front of the mower higher, it handles deeper leaves better. Without that, the front of the mower can push the leaves into a pile. If you just raise the whole mower, it does not pick up as well.