Grass Catcher Solution For PT425

[MossRoad]

I got to use my Brinly lawn sweeper to pick up leaves for the first time last night. I towed it behind the PT425 with the 60" mower deck running out front. I started on the outside and kept turning right so that the windrow that occurs under the right side of the mower was overlapped by a foot or so on each pass. It worked just fine. Only a few scraps of leaf shreds left here and there. Perfectly acceptable for me and a lot less mess VS just mowing the leaves and leaving them lay.

I also ran a long rope from the center of the rear of the hopper up along the left side of the engine compartment and tied it to the engine compartment lift handle. Just enough slack to make turns but not enough slack to get tangled in the left rear wheel or the broom. It was nice to be able to back up to a pile and just pull the rope and drive forward to dump the hopper. Never had to get off. Dumping spread the leaves forward about 10 feet, but I found if I just let the hopper back down and back up, it back-plows the leaves up into a nice pile. I had the whole yard mowed and leaf free in about 40 minutes.

Supposed to get lots of rain and wind this weekend, so next weekend after it dries out I'll try to take some pictures of it in action.

 

[Marks481]

I do find the lawn sweeper a worthwhile (and relatively inexpensive) attachment.

The only thing is that I feel like I am driving an 18 wheeler truck when I use it while I mow.... although I am starting to get good at driving backwards with it on.

The only downside is that the faster you drive, the better the lawn sweeper works. But when I hit tall grass, I tend to slow down to get a better cut and not bog down the engine... maybe time to put a hydraulic motor on teh sweeper so it always spins real fast?

Also, the lawnsweeper wheels tend to dig ruts in soft dirt, which played havoc with my last "lawn" which was 30% weeds, 20% rocks, and 50% dirt despite my dumping of seed and fertizler on it dedicatedly for 3 years. It works liek a charm where I live now with it's lush grass/clover lawn.