Hi. I am a new user but have read these forums here and there when seeking help with lawn tractor questions. But now I am in need of advice from some experts.
My wife and I have a lake home in WI. About 1.5 acres, and a fair number of mature oaks. My tree guy says the one white oak is over 260 years old, a red oak is near 200, and the other 4 red / black oaks are like 60 to 80. I bring up the trees because my question is about leaf removal. The 260 year old tree and the 200 year old one are monsters and they drop a boatload of leaves.
We bought this lake home about 7 years ago. The owner left me his Simplicity mower. It's a simplicity express 14.5 HP with a gear transmission and a 38" deck. . It seems very reliable and runs fine. The only real complaint is that the traction stinks. Since I am on a lake, the ground slopes downward towards to lake and it's a bit hilly N to S and E to W. It happens quite often, especially if the grass is a bit damp, where one rear tire slips and tears up the grass in that spot. Other that that loss of traction it's a rugged little mower and has never failed me.
In the fall I use it to suck up the leaves and then burn them, and it gets messy. I'd like to not burn them and maybe mulch them all up. The oak trees are all sort of close together so in the fall, 30% of my land has so many leaves you can't see the grass. The other 70% has other leaves and some Oak leaves the wind put there but not as heavy as near the trees. I have a 2 bag attachment for collecting grass clippings and leaves and it works okay as long as I go slow over the parts with the very heavy leaves.
My question is this. I had been thinking about upgrading to a used Broadmoor, legacy , or Conquest. Something that has the rollers. I think I have seen a few Regents with rollers as well. I am intrigued by the rollers on the back of the decks and I like the idea of striping of the grass. My Simplicity Express has no rollers. In looking for Broadmoor , legacy, and Conquest tractors for sale, I see many of these larger units do not have the bagger attachment. I think I saw one that had a bagger with a separate belt driven blower unit. I also see for the Broadmoor/legacy/conquest there is some sort of leaf / grass mulcher / chopper kit that has some baffles that go in the deck and then little chinese throwing star like things that bolt into the inside deck that I suspect help shred the leaves. But, does anyone know how effective is this leaf mulching kit really is?
One of these kits is Simplicity 1686609 ( https://www.jackssmallengines.com/j...-kits/1686609-leaf-shredder-kit/leaf-shredder)
I have no use for a bagger except for sucking up the leaves. I am wondering if I bought a broadmoor or Conquest and added in this mulching / shredding kit, would it work even with the very thick layer of leaves I have near my oak trees. Has anyone used these leaf shredder things with lots of leaves that also may be wet?
I also have a 2000 John Deere LT155 at my main home in IL. It runs smoother than the Express and has better traction. I have a bagger on that as well, and it sucks up a bit better than the Express does. But I have not seen these leaf shredding kits for the Deere like the Simplicity has. The thought of just swapping them has crossed my mind if the Deere had the leaf shredders.
Thanks
My wife and I have a lake home in WI. About 1.5 acres, and a fair number of mature oaks. My tree guy says the one white oak is over 260 years old, a red oak is near 200, and the other 4 red / black oaks are like 60 to 80. I bring up the trees because my question is about leaf removal. The 260 year old tree and the 200 year old one are monsters and they drop a boatload of leaves.
We bought this lake home about 7 years ago. The owner left me his Simplicity mower. It's a simplicity express 14.5 HP with a gear transmission and a 38" deck. . It seems very reliable and runs fine. The only real complaint is that the traction stinks. Since I am on a lake, the ground slopes downward towards to lake and it's a bit hilly N to S and E to W. It happens quite often, especially if the grass is a bit damp, where one rear tire slips and tears up the grass in that spot. Other that that loss of traction it's a rugged little mower and has never failed me.
In the fall I use it to suck up the leaves and then burn them, and it gets messy. I'd like to not burn them and maybe mulch them all up. The oak trees are all sort of close together so in the fall, 30% of my land has so many leaves you can't see the grass. The other 70% has other leaves and some Oak leaves the wind put there but not as heavy as near the trees. I have a 2 bag attachment for collecting grass clippings and leaves and it works okay as long as I go slow over the parts with the very heavy leaves.
My question is this. I had been thinking about upgrading to a used Broadmoor, legacy , or Conquest. Something that has the rollers. I think I have seen a few Regents with rollers as well. I am intrigued by the rollers on the back of the decks and I like the idea of striping of the grass. My Simplicity Express has no rollers. In looking for Broadmoor , legacy, and Conquest tractors for sale, I see many of these larger units do not have the bagger attachment. I think I saw one that had a bagger with a separate belt driven blower unit. I also see for the Broadmoor/legacy/conquest there is some sort of leaf / grass mulcher / chopper kit that has some baffles that go in the deck and then little chinese throwing star like things that bolt into the inside deck that I suspect help shred the leaves. But, does anyone know how effective is this leaf mulching kit really is?
One of these kits is Simplicity 1686609 ( https://www.jackssmallengines.com/j...-kits/1686609-leaf-shredder-kit/leaf-shredder)
I have no use for a bagger except for sucking up the leaves. I am wondering if I bought a broadmoor or Conquest and added in this mulching / shredding kit, would it work even with the very thick layer of leaves I have near my oak trees. Has anyone used these leaf shredder things with lots of leaves that also may be wet?
I also have a 2000 John Deere LT155 at my main home in IL. It runs smoother than the Express and has better traction. I have a bagger on that as well, and it sucks up a bit better than the Express does. But I have not seen these leaf shredding kits for the Deere like the Simplicity has. The thought of just swapping them has crossed my mind if the Deere had the leaf shredders.
Thanks
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