Leaves

[sherpa]

I got out this morning blowing leaves with my backpack blower. After about an hour of blowing these leaves and walking up and down the hill and looking at my tractor just sitting there I thought "theres got to be some way that tractor can do this". My question is, can I use my finish mower to grind-mulch these leaves up and not have to blow them? My finish mower has a rear discharge, one with a bunch of 3 chain links hanging down. What do you think?
Sherpa

 

[johnday]

sherpa; I use my little LS25 to do that. It's got a mulching deck on it. You've just got to drive over the leaves a few times. Give it a shot /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[sherpa]

Johnday,
great, I was hoping that would work. I just didnt want to make a mess and not be able to clean it up. I will try that next week when I have a yard full of leaves again.

 

[MrCJ]

Sherpa,

I'm in the same boat! We built a box / vacuum system with a 5hp B&S to connect to our side discharge deck. Works great - usually! Can't be too wet. With a rear discharge your out of luck.

One nice item out there is the new Hasty-Vac PTO vacuum system for side discharge decks. The only thing I don't like about that is emptying the box. They make a hopper style, but not PTO.

I think when you chop the leaves up it is harder to suck them in these systems on a second pass. They work best when done in the same step.

I'm still deciding on what tractor to buy, but I think I have decided on a side discharge solely because of this application.

Sorry, I know that doesn't help your specific need.

Has anyone had any experience with Hasty-Vac?

 

[Cliff_Johns]

Depends how good the mulcher is on your mower. I have an LT that will mow 6 inches of oak leaves and leave grass behind it (admitedly dirty grass) and by the next day you can't tell there were leaves there, but it's a special deck that doesn't have any discharge port at all. It can only be used as a mulcher.

I think you've got nothing to lose. Any thing the mower doesn't sufficiently mulch will still be blowable, but I'd mow it twice or even three times to avoid the backpack blower. Those things are really obnoxious and loud.

Cliff

 

[PineRidge]

I haven't raked a leaf since I moved to our present place (4+years) I mow them and the grass with the finish mower. It makes the leaves small enough that the wind takes them away every time. Now if I could only figure an easy way to get them out of the gutters too.....

 

[chim]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm still deciding on what tractor to buy, but I think I have decided on a side discharge solely because of this application.)</font>

This is one of the reasons I like side discharge mowers. When it is "leaf time" I start mowing in the center and work my way out in a counter-clockwise direction. One would expect to have a large quantity of leaves in the windrow, but a lot of them get finely chopped and disappear into the grass.............chim

 

[Gatorboy]

<font color="blue"> Now if I could only figure an easy way to get them out of the gutters too..... </font>

.. with Gutter Helmet they will never get in them in the first place.

 

[theboman]

I just mow'm and mow'm into a pile, er row, and then discard them either over the creek bank or a mulch pile on onto the garden.

 

[Twanger]

I have found my rear discharge 72" woods to be very good at doing leaves. If you ever look at the way leaves or grass exits rear discharge mowers clippings are thrown to a dominant. I start at one side of my 3 acres and go backwards blowing the leaves to the dominant side, the side I will mow on the next pass. It doesn't work on very windy days and you want the leaves damp in order to keep the dust down, but I've done it this way for 3 years.