Bagger or no bagger

[HamptonT 33]

I'm about to buy a 314-8. One of the units I'm considering has the bagger with blower. The other does not.

i have about 20+ full grown oaks on a one acre lot. Lots of leaves. Is the bagger good for leaves? Or just grass?

thanks. I'm new here. 

[WHX?? 48,763]

Excellent for leaves, keep the right blades sharp and you won't be sorry. I have a bagger set up just for leaf pick up & threw the yard rake out!

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,490]

[HamptonT 33]

If I ended up with the 314-8 that doesn't have a bagger, what are the chances of me finding a bagger for it? Do they come up for sale periodically?

Thanks

[12 hp Kohler 1,014]

Well I look on Craigslist every day and I have never even one come up but that's just in my area

[Irv 115]

I have a 314-8 with a bagger and the 37" deck and it works great for leaves. The one you're looking at probably has a 42" deck, therefore the blower. If you don't like raking leaves, it's definetly the way to go.

[ericj 1,578]

just don't let the leaves get ahead of you, once they start pilling up on the ground the deck turns into a plow lol, I have one and love it, I use mine on a 48" deck, didn't really care for it when I had it on a 42". it just seemed to blow the leaves out from under the left front tire more so then the 48"

 

 

 

eric j 

[smoreau 658]

I have a 42" deck with a blower and it does ok. The lower you run the deck the better the pickup on leaves. Small maple leaves you have to go slow and you will be fine. I'm not a fan of grinding up too many oak leaves in the lawn luckily most of the maple leaves have fallen when the oaks fall. I leaf blow the oak leaves but its only 3 trees. So far I have had it for 7 years and its been nice to have for leaf pickup. I would like a larger set of bags as they fill up fast.  This year i tried a acreage rake on the oak leaves. Was not that happy how it Doug into the grass that late in the year. But it did the beast dethatch job I have ever seen or used. 

 

[ericj 1,578]

i talked to a guy one time that owned a wheel horse, of course, he said he waited for them all to fall, then put the snow plow on and simply pushed them into the woods.

 

 

 

 

eric j

[smoreau 658]

Don't be giving away all the secrets.  Been doing that for years. In the back yard only though. 

[can whlvr 993]

I have a cyclone rake at work,its amazing,and it will suck up wet grass full of dew even,does the oak leaves harm the grass,just curios,are they acidic

 

Edited March 8, 2017 by can whlvr

[smoreau 658]

Almost bought one last year and decided on the acreage rake instead. Now I might make one this summer after the new horse barn is built. I have been told that they take a long time to decay and that they are harmful to the grass. Not sure if its all true or not but i have noticed that the leaves are hard and stiff just like the wood. Been trying to grow grass in a new 1acer section of front yard last year that was thick woods and now i have 3 oak trees that I never had to pick up before in the fall 

Edited March 8, 2017 by smoreau

[SylvanLakeWH 25,490]

20 minutes ago, ericj said:

i talked to a guy one time that owned a wheel horse, of course, he said he waited for them all to fall, then put the snow plow on and simply pushed them into the woods.

eric j

 

I blow them (oak and maple) onto the driveway and then front blade them to the pile with the C-105. Works like a charm!!!

19 minutes ago, smoreau said:

Don't be giving away all the secrets.  Been doing that for years. In the back yard only though. 

 

I'm thinking my back lawn would be dirt pretty quick if I used the blade on the grass!!!

[Sarge 3,463]

I've been using a large sweeper for years , worn out it's wheel bushings twice now but it works ok - just hate handling the leaves so many times to load them into the trailer since I stopped burning here in the fall . Been eyeing those Cyclone rakes for some time now or one of the Agri-Fab tow behind trailer units , just not sure which design is better overall . The front blades do work well in pushing pile of wet material around - just have to be careful.

 

Sarge

[clueless 2,975]

Last summer got a great deal on a cyclone rack that fits my JD GT262, just had to do a little fabrication to make it fit the 48"deck. For the last couple of months I let my oak leaves build  up, just to test it. Hooked everything up except the hose to the deck, put some fresh gas in, checked the oil, and fired it up talk about suction, told the wife keep an eye on the cats! One pass with the deck set at 2.5", no leaves, no acorns, damn near no grass! If you have a fairly nice lawn, not a lot of bare spots, like my front yard, this thing is the bomb, my back yard that's a different story. My back yard has seven large oak trees, two are live oaks, hard to keep any grass or weeds alive under them, so it's a mixture of weeds, grass, and dirt (sand). If you have places like this in your yard be forewarned, you will create a dust storm not seen since the '30s. The bag has a blow hole in the top that blows the dust out the back, it works great, but if there is any wind blowing, even a slight breeze be prepared to blow dust off every thing and I mean every thing with in a 250ft radius. Neighbor used it in his back yard, said it worked great but way to dusty, had to clean his pool filter twice in one day. Okay now I'm just rambling, to much coffee this morning. This green monster is great for what it is designed to do, suck up anything in its path, but unless you have a yard that looks like the ones in the brochure, be prepared for a bit of a mess. By the way this is just the 6.5hp engine, they make a 13hp model . 

[Sarge 3,463]

I've got my eye on that 13hp model , really like the option to blow the debris back out of it . The dust could be dealt with using a filter bag for blasting cabinets , just saying....

My biggest issue is during work season - the grass can sometimes get out of control easily and most nights I get home well after dark .

 

Sarge

[Woodland Power Products 0]

On ‎3‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 9:17 AM, clueless said:

Last summer got a great deal on a cyclone rack that fits my JD GT262, just had to do a little fabrication to make it fit the 48"deck. For the last couple of months I let my oak leaves build  up, just to test it. Hooked everything up except the hose to the deck, put some fresh gas in, checked the oil, and fired it up talk about suction, told the wife keep an eye on the cats! One pass with the deck set at 2.5", no leaves, no acorns, damn near no grass! If you have a fairly nice lawn, not a lot of bare spots, like my front yard, this thing is the bomb, my back yard that's a different story. My back yard has seven large oak trees, two are live oaks, hard to keep any grass or weeds alive under them, so it's a mixture of weeds, grass, and dirt (sand). If you have places like this in your yard be forewarned, you will create a dust storm not seen since the '30s. The bag has a blow hole in the top that blows the dust out the back, it works great, but if there is any wind blowing, even a slight breeze be prepared to blow dust off every thing and I mean every thing with in a 250ft radius. Neighbor used it in his back yard, said it worked great but way to dusty, had to clean his pool filter twice in one day. Okay now I'm just rambling, to much coffee this morning. This green monster is great for what it is designed to do, suck up anything in its path, but unless you have a yard that looks like the ones in the brochure, be prepared for a bit of a mess. By the way this is just the 6.5hp engine, they make a 13hp model . 

Thanks for sharing about the Cyclone Rake.

The bag has to have the venting to allow for air flow

It’s perfectly OK to use it when the leaves are moist as that will significantly cut down on the dust.  Some of our customers with dryer conditions find that after a rain or while there is dew on the ground is the best time to use their Cyclone Rakes.

[Tankman 3,518]

Never had, nor desired, a bagger.

I have used a Parker and/or Jackson sweepers. Worked well.

 

Nowadays I tow a Little Wonder leaf blower or walk-about wearing my big Echo backpack blower.

Surrounded by woods, the leaves "settle down" there.

 

P.S.: I also have several Grandsons, they have to earn their "treats".

Edited March 10, 2017 by Tankman