Looking for suggestions on building a tractor leaf vacuum without a mower deck

[Macdaddy]

Hello,
I have a couple of acres of mature trees and fall leaf pick up is a never ending task. We've been using a JD L120 garden tractor with a agri-fab tow behind sweeper, and using a JD4410 with FEL to scoop the piles and put into a 6x10 utility trailer. The next step would be to a tow behind vacuum unit for the L120, but the extra volume doesn't seem like enough to try it. So I want to skip that stage and make something to use the 4410 for picking up leaves.

But my 4410 doesn't have a mower deck.

Any suggestions on how to make a mowerless vacuum? I'm thinking of a 60" wide scoop where the deck would be, with a tractor mounted vacuum pump that discharges into the towed behind trailer. I can't see the leaf pick up working very well.

oh, also, I'm not interested in converting the 4410 to have a mid mounted mower. Waaayy too much cost.

thanks in advance for suggestions.
Mac

 

[chim]

I'll be watching this to see what the clever people come up with. I know there are implements like TracVac out there, but I'm cheap and like to tinker. Right now I blow leaves into the fencerow and fields that border my property. For that I took a blower from an old HVAC unit that was removed on a project we were doing. It mounts to the 3PH and runs off the PTO. Driving at a slow pace it clears about 6' on each pass.

It would be nice if I didn't have to drive in a particular direction and could pick the leaves up and dump them. We don't usually get enough snow here to justify a snow blower, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be nice to have one at times. At one time I was thinking that it might be possible to fab a skirt for a snow blower to have it do double duty as a vac. Wish I could talk Wifey into a pole barn so there was more room to play.

 

[CalG]

I've been contemplating converting a "smaller" snow blower attatchment for "leaf sucker" service.

The impellers for each have a lot in common.

Face the auger intake down, and speed up the blower fan.. A re balance and regear might be needed ;-)

front or rear mount, I'm not particular on that, though a behind the tractor version could be made to fit between the tag along trailer taking the discharge.

Wild thoughts, that's all

 

[Carl_NH]

Find a used trac vac, cyclone rake or similar vac for $4-600 and use the JD 120 - the mower with gator blades shred the leaves and the vac will further shred them so you have a lot less volume than raking and it makes good compost

 

[CalG]

Carl

Now where would be the pleasure in that?


;-))

 

[nc redneck]

Chim
Do you have any pictures of your HVAC to PTO leaf blower ? A very interesting idea. I just scrapped out 2 10 ton air handlers that came out of my commercial building because they were 220 volt. I wish I had thought of your idea before.
Thanks
Scott

 

[BHD]

here is a picture of a vac, original posted in 2010 http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/176002-i-need-really-large-lawn.html

I think this was the manufacture,
Scag Giant-Vac - Truck Loaders for Leaf and Debris removal

here is another company that has bigger unit,
GranTurk Equipment: Giant-Vac - Self-Contained 9900
PTO with pick up
Tuff Vac 4000 Sweeper Vac | Agrimetal

similar • F R A D A N • P O W E R •

impellers http://www.odbco.com/products/lctreplacementparts.htm

saw a pick up that would probably work with the hose units, that looked like bush hog being pushed, (no blade that I could tell) just the deck pushed with guide wheels (castered) and the hose was at the rear of the unit it was straight across the front, with a curved rear profile and the suction hole in the rear of the deck

this unit posted above, looks to have a brush or a rotating fingers that pick the leaves up out of the grass,
Tuff Vac 4000 Sweeper Vac | Agrimetal
rake teeth off a commercial farm rake would most likely do a good job or bailer pick up teeth.

 

[chim]

Chim
Do you have any pictures of your HVAC to PTO leaf blower ? A very interesting idea. I just scrapped out 2 10 ton air handlers that came out of my commercial building because they were 220 volt. I wish I had thought of your idea before.
Thanks
Scott

Others have done this before me. Not the best photo, but here it is crammed into one of the sheds. The fan discharges out the bottom and I made up a crude discharge chute to blow the leaves to the right. I fiddled with the duct's shape and it seems to work best with a larger opening. The squirrel cage provides a large volume of air when the duct opening is larger. Transitioning to more of a nozzle doesn't work as well because the fan likes to make volume more than pressure.

It attaches to the 3PH and has skids for when it skims the ground. I calculated the pulley sizes to approximate the fan speed it was designed to run at when installed in the air handler it came from.

 

[CalG]

here is a picture of a vac, original posted in 2010 http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/176002-i-need-really-large-lawn.html

I think this was the manufacture,
Scag Giant-Vac - Truck Loaders for Leaf and Debris removal

here is another company that has bigger unit,
GranTurk Equipment: Giant-Vac - Self-Contained 9900
PTO with pick up
Tuff Vac 4000 Sweeper Vac | Agrimetal

similar • F R A D A N • P O W E R •

impellers http://www.odbco.com/products/lctreplacementparts.htm

saw a pick up that would probably work with the hose units, that looked like bush hog being pushed, (no blade that I could tell) just the deck pushed with guide wheels (castered) and the hose was at the rear of the unit it was straight across the front, with a curved rear profile and the suction hole in the rear of the deck

this unit posted above, looks to have a brush or a rotating fingers that pick the leaves up out of the grass,
Tuff Vac 4000 Sweeper Vac | Agrimetal
rake teeth off a commercial farm rake would most likely do a good job or bailer pick up teeth.

Why is it that in the "do it yourself" forum, a poster's request on "do it yourself" lawn vacs results in commercial postings?

Anyone can search the web and get the commercial offering photos etc. I suppose it can serve as example, but I did search on this same topic in the DIY forum and got the same "JUST BUY ONE" postings in return.

I LIKE the DIY resourcefulness!

Think outside the box!


Rant over.

 

[Macdaddy]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate ALL the posts.

I was trying to avoid L120 solutions.. fears of overloading the L120.....just read all 72 pages of the K46 transmission overhaul thread. My L120 has 630 hours and only occasionally acts like it has a transmission issue. I think I'd need to tear into it this summer if I decide to get a pull behind vacuum. oh, the additional compaction of the leaves is my wild card....certainly the sweeper I use doesn't shred the leaves at all, so I don't know have a feel for much better shredding will be.

I appreciate the photos of the commercial units. I had been wondering about a simple vacuum head to hang under the tractor, seeing that there are similar commercial unit says that's not a wild idea. I did see a engine/impeller & housing on craigslist. I think I'll call about that. If I cobble up something with that on the 4410 and it doesn't work, I can always use it on the L120.

Oh I might steal the brush from the sweeper and add it to the vacuum head...