Grass collectors

Mith

Active member
Does anyone here collect their clippings when they cut the grass?

Here atleast its almost essential.

Has anyone had any experience with fan collectors, with the fan blowing the clippings into a collector on the back of the tractor?
I like that they appear to be quite compact, but not sure how effective they are in heavy grass, particularly in the wet.

If anyone has any thoughts on other grass collection methods I'd like to hear them. I have only really used a collector with a chute from the deck to the bags, with no fan assist, and it clogs up all the time.
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I'm happy to say I do not collect clippings. :D I despised doing it when I did have to do it (small yard in town w/ leaves). The bag filled up so quickly that more time was spent on the emptying routine than actual mowing.

Good luck with it Mith. I feel for you, & at the same time I'm glad I don't have to.
 

snowbird

New member
I've seen a commercially produced grass vacuum system in stores and copied it to make my own which I pull behind my front-mounted 72 inch mower. It's true that wet grass is more difficult to handle and I need to slow my ground speed when collecting it. Unless the grass has gotten way ahead of me in height, I just leave the clippings on the lawn for fertilizer. There may be locations in the USA where this isn't advised, but it is in my part of the world.

I think the newer John Deere models have a vacuum system built into the mower deck as an option, which might handle wet grass better. It's powered via a v-belt right from the deck. My home-made unit has the engine and fan mounted on the trailer hitch of the trailer I pull behind my mower. The grass travels about 15 feet before it gets blown into the trailer.
 

quincy

Member
I collect the grass in the max growth part of the year but when the growth slows down, I remove the bagger at the back and deflect the clippings down.

Heres a pic of my White ride on with the bagger on the back.
104977466bcde09d2e66a5971d1292734178e5f10d24041fbbd54550.jpg


And a pic with the DIY deflector that does a good job of forcing the clippings down into the grass.. (The rake is a DIY too, using seed drill forks and some old shelving angle iron. Does a great job dethatching etc...)
3455460860699efb6850278fc8c75c8e30fbde562f734a86f81539b6.jpg


And heres a pic of a tipping trailer I made for my White mower... (Yeah, just showin' off now...lol)
0362729419929eb1bf991c4a4fd4ad2a687fbb675adca709b27222a1.jpg
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
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Good pics Quincy. Nice setup you have there. Good looking dethatcher. I particularly like the bagged cement you use on there for weight. Good thinking!!! :thumb:
 

Mith

Active member
Mulching or just leaving them on top isnt really an option, you just end up with a lawn full of moss, or a real bad looking lawn, depending on how long you leave it between cuts. Most people want it collected anyway so the clippings down get dragged into the house.

Snowbird, does your fan collector clog up atall? I'd really like something that will collect wet grass, or rather, I wont buy (or build) anything that doesnt. Got any pics of your setup?

Quincy, I can see why you need a Kubota, thats a fair bit of ground you have there.
The machines I use at the moment are similar to what you have there, only the tube goes up the side rather than the middle.
BTW, nice trailer, looks very similar to the ones that are for sale here for $600+
 

quincy

Member
Yeah, I tend to agree with you on the mulching. I tried it 2 years ago all the way through the summer but found myself having to cut 3 times a week or else having to cut once, then go over the lawn again the same day to shred the clippings... My wife was not impressed either with the kids dragging grass into the house if they were out playing on the lawn. As much as I enjoy my seat time, I didnt enjoy being a slave to the lawn. I only mulch in spring and autumn when the clippings arent a big problem. Didnt find the decomposed clippings were beneficial to the lawn. A bag of fertiliser every 4-6 weeks was way more effective.
I got a set of high lift blades for my mower which I found to be very effective in taking up all the clippings, even wet clippings (going a little slower over ground)
Here is a pic, my hi lift blades are on the right of the gators...
blades.jpg


The blades fitted originally to my machine when I bought it didnt have as much of a lip at the trailing edge and as a result were not as efficient at picking up clippings. The hi lift are awsome, not a blade of clipped grass left behind. I find them really good for picking up leaves in the autumn too.
BTW the gators didnt work out for me. I ordered them from a MTD p/n off some lawn tractor supplier on the net but when they arrived (from the USA) I noticed they were all designed to rotate in clockwise direction where as the blades on my White are contra-rotating. Tried to get a couter clockwise blade from gator but they dont make them to suit my european machine. They live on a nail in my workshop now... never been used... pity.

Mith, The photo of the lawn was taken last year, I've changed that area significantly since. Now theres a curved retaining wall, raised bed, planted 150 silver birch trees and currently building a steps going from one level to the other. I'm also building a seating area in the middle portion... Hoping to finish it before the winter comes. I use my rider mower to haul everything. I have a bad back so I use it for all the heavy stuff. I try to avoid using wheelbarrows etc. The tipper trailer is worth its weight in gold.. It holds about 4-5 wheelbarrow loads of material and is used regularly. The poor ol White struggles with it though... The Kubota will be far more suited to the task I expect. I was looking for a 7100 with a FEL but they are above my budget. I plan to make a 3pt box loader (sorry I dont know exactly what they're called) that I can use for moving material around my property.
Trying to buy a kubota in Ireland is tough, not too many around. The one I have zoned in on is over in the UK so I'm going over there on Sat hopefully to buy if its as good as the seller says it is. I only have photos and the sellers word that the machine is in good working order... a bit nervous about travelling so far but with some luck all will work out.

Would like to build one of these too... time permitting, maybe next year...

hedgertrimmer1.jpg
 
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Mith

Active member
I had forgotten you were this side of the pond, your mowing conditions are probably similar to mine. Maybe I will try higher lift blades (though it might be getting tight on HP).
I'm still pretty interested in a fan collector, and I'd appreciate any more comments on them and other collection systems.

Quincy, you seem pretty mechanically inclined, so you do have the option of building a loader. There is a thread on here about the one I built. Costwise, you could probably make one for under £500 using the hydraulics the B7100 already has.
 
B

bczoom

Guest
On a previous tractor, I had the collection system. The fan/blower mounted to the rear of the tractor and was belt powered from the tractor engine.

The collection bin was a dump trailer similar to the one Quincy pictured above. On this trailer were mounted another 3' tall walls and a roof (for increased volume). Part of the roof was screened to allow the incoming air a place to go.

In general it worked well. As noted by others, there's clogging issues when the grass is wet. Another issue (for me) was the hills. Once the trailer started getting full, it got very top-heavy and tippy. I never rolled the trailer over but got close a couple times. Another issue (again, for me) was where to dump the clippings. My compost area was on the other side of a creek. Since the mower deck didn't give me clearance to cross the creek, I had to disconnect the trailer and hook it to another tow vehicle to dump it.

For my current grass collection method, I use one of the tow-behind sweeper types. Something like this.
When I'm anticipating having to pick up clippings (as I don't do it every time), I mow in the reverse direction (blowing the clippings into the next area to be mowed) and thus creating windrows. When all the mowing is done, I then take this sweeper and pick up the windrows. Whether wet or dry, it works well.
 

quincy

Member
Quincy, you seem pretty mechanically inclined, so you do have the option of building a loader. There is a thread on here about the one I built. Costwise, you could probably make one for under £500 using the hydraulics the B7100 already has.

Im a mechanical engineer. I work with engineers all day and when I'm at home, I'm in my workshop making something or other. I make utility trailers as a hobby/sideline. Just in the blood I guess, dont feel right unless I have the smell of iron in my nostrils... I'm sure you understand...

I like the look of your FEL Mith, nice work, looks very well engineered. For my own purposes, I dont really need a FEL. it was just something that I thought would be handy. But after months of searching, and seeing the prices kubs with FEL's were reaching, I changed my mind. I only have an acre to deal with, where most of you guys seem to have farms/ranches with multiple acres and FEL and Back Hoe (or "back actor" we call them in ireland?) seem par for the course. I just wanted a FEL for convenence but it was a bit down on my list of things I needed.
My plans for the tidy hedge trimmer (photo above) would be something I would use though. I would primarily use it as a hoist. I regularly find myself in a position where I could do with another pair of hands (or two) for lifting things. Depending on the capability of the 7100, I think a hoist would be very handy. Using the same articulation as the trimmer above but with a hook on the head instead... The hedge trimmer would come along after. I read somewhere that the "cat1" 3 point hitch on the 7100 is rated up to 350lbs before I need to think about a subframe..? Should be more than enough to suit my needs I believe. Might need front weights or even struts for stability...? I wont know for sure until I get to learn the limitations of the machine I guess.... I have to learn to walk before I run...
My wife thinks its a mid life crisis (me buying a compact tractor) but as I said to her yesterday, wouldnt it be worse if I started wearing white tracksuits, bought a red sports car and went cruising on the weekends... lol

q
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I've never seen one of those 3ph hedge trimmers. Way Cool!!!!!!!
 

Av8r3400

Member
I'd like to see something like that for mowing my ditches. They are too steep and narrow to side-hill with my tractor and brush cutter.

I've seen the county (municipal) tractors using a similar deal for mowing and trimming back trees. The finish is pretty ugly they get on both applications, but it works.
 

Mith

Active member
BC, I used to have a tow behind sweeper like the one you link to, it just didnt work on the hills, and reversing it was a pain.
On the sweeper note we do have a brand called Westwood over here that have powered sweepers on the back, but with the sweeper on them they are very long, and you cant collect grass in corners around buildings.

Q, I only have 2/3 acre, and have little need for a loader either. Its hard to know how I lived without one now though.
I'd imagine your 7100 will lift much more than 350lbs. I had a B6000, the lift on that would lift 500lb maybe more, but it needed a whole load of front weight.
Seeming as the B7100 is 4WD I'd be tempted to put the cutter/hoist on the front end, with stabilisers for heavier loads.
 

snowbird

New member
I'll try to get pictures posted of my grass collection system next week. I think with a few design changes it would handle wet grass.
 

Grrrr

Member
I have come to the conclusion that there are only 2 collection systems that will work in the UK.

Westwood / Countax powered sweepers. Never clogged our A20-50 up and I have mowed in the rain before :umbrella: LOL

The other type of collection that seems to work is the Kubota G18 direct shoot system. Way out of our price range but they do work very well. The collection system doesn't have a fan but just shoots it straight into the box through a big hole under the seat. My school uses one and it does a good job with minimal clogging.l

I think Etesia also have a machine similar to the Kubota G18.

All the other collector mowers you can buy at stores are junk when it comes to collecting as you know! Anything with a side chute will mean you spend more time unclogging then mowing unless the grass is perfect showgrass.

I wouldn't trust the cheaper fan assisted system much. I doubt they would be overly impressive.
 

Mith

Active member
I agree, the Westwood collection system is hard to beat, but has 2 flaws in my view.
The first being its size, which would make it difficult to move around in tight areas. With the collector it got to be a good 10' long?
The second is (and this might not be the case) is that if you drive into a corner to cut the grass and reverse out then it wont collect a bit of the grass as the collector is behind the mowing deck.
As you say though, it sure puts an end to clogging!
 
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