Having Trouble Picking a John Deere Model

[Darryl G]

Good stuff. Thanks. Yes, maybe it makes sense to use the mower to mow and a blower to blow. I'm going to check out those blowers.

There are smaller ones that will do the job too. The Husqvarna 570 and 580 are a step down yet still very capable. I wore my Husqvarna 580 out after 7 years of professional use, but I miss the waist strap. The Echo 580 is a nice smaller blower that's still pretty capable. The Husqvarna 150 and 350 aren't bad either but will struggle for large jobs. But for no nonsense insane power the Echo 580 and Stihl BR800 are the ones. They're not for everyone though. My Echo pushes 30 pounds fueled and can wear you out. Just the force of it can make you lose your balance

 

[lawnforanderson]

I've had smaller Echo blowers in the past. They are great. I'll have to see if my back can tolerate the bigger ones.

 

[lawnforanderson]

Anybody have any experience with the Cyclone Rake? Looks like that could be a good option for the leaves.

 

[Darryl G]

Anybody have any experience with the Cyclone Rake? Looks like that could be a good option for the leaves.

I've never operated one but I've seen them in operation plenty of times. One thing to keep in mind is that the Cyclone Rake units have a rigid mount to the mower and caster wheels, so the tail swing on them is significant - they can be cumbersome where there are a lot of obstacles and you may also find yourself spinning your tractor wheel(s) at times. I believe some others have an articulated trailer-style hitch system. It's also putting a strain on your transmission, so you'd want a tractor with a robust transmission.

DR has a similar leaf vac as does Trac-Vac I believe. You can often pick these units up used with low hours on them because people find they're just too cumbersome. But for bulk leaf pickup of large amounts of leaves, with the detail work left for other methods, they can be quite useful. It's certainly a viable option.

 

[Richandtd]

I have a DR leaf vac and as long as you are careful with your turns you”ll be fine. Ive had mine for 12 plus years and I use a John Deere X324 and it has 4 wheel steer. I har to get a John Drrer power flow assembly because the shoot that came with the DR kept clogging. That cost me an additional $450.00 then had to fabricate a connection between the power flow and the DR. All said and done it Does a great gob. It really makes the lawn look nice and the leaves are chopped up real fine. You can then dump them where ever you want.

 

[Its Me]

I bit the bullet and got a 48" cut Scag, the Tiger Cub, (commercial unit)with the grass catcher it has a a blower on the end of the deck, with a 12' heavy discharge house going to the three cloth bags, it will pick up everything and cut up in small pieces goes right into the flower bed, big investment but will last a life time, with proper maintenance, it is a 96 year model, has been trouble free.

 

[Lancslad]

Some of the commercial guys use "X" blading to mulch. You put 2 blades on each spindle , a mulcher and a high lift at 90 degrees to each other. It chops up the leaves real fine and they disappear into the grass

 

[Its Me]

Heck I might try that, but those blades are spinning so fast it does a great job, I just have a high lift of the right side just before the blower, thanks for the tip.

 

[cruzenmike]

Heck I might try that, but those blades are spinning so fast it does a great job, I just have a high lift of the right side just before the blower, thanks for the tip.

Chances are that if you try the "x-blade" setup while the blower/bagger is connected you will be disappointed. The blower vac for you bagger is designed to be used with a specific blade under the deck.

X-blades while discharging can shred leaves up good, but a true mulch kit can also do the same. Your best results would be to side discharge using "leaf shredding blades" like G5/G6 Gators and then to follow up with your bagger on. You might be able to keep the Gators on with the bagger but typically the blower vacs require a normal high lift blade.