Turning Radius with Cyclone Rake

[Zeke98 2]

Brand new.

[clueless 3,012]

36 minutes ago, Zeke98 said:

Brand new.

First I would call woodland power products and make sure the mower deck adapter (MDA) mounting plate is the right one for your deck. It looks like it may be a problem even after you cut the MDA to fit, you may want to send them a few pic. You are going to have to cut the MDA to fit the deck properly, you should have gotten instruction on how to measure and cut it with your package. I'll try to get some pic of my MDAs, one that fits my JD, and the one that came with it I believe for a craftsman, nether or on the tractor, but my help.  It will be this evening before I can send the pic. Hang in there once you get it to fit right your going to be very happy you bough it .   

[pfrederi 17,902]

I just bought my rake a few weeks ago.  A few days later they sent me an extra mounting plate free.  Apparently some of the ones they used turned out not to meet spec so they sent out replacements.  The one that came with my rake worked fine..They said just keep the replacement.

 

This is on my C175 with a 48" SD.  The last picture includes the replacement plate they sent me

Edited October 10, 2017 by pfrederi

[rmaynard 15,628]

 

Geez...I've never gotten anything free from them. When I backed into a tree and broke the bag frame, I had to get a whole new bag and frame. What's worse, the new bag has a collar that is configured differently than the old one, so I had to buy a new chute that comes up from the blower. 

 

Having said that, the cost for replacement parts was not bad, and nowhere near as pricey as having to buy a whole new unit. The new bag design was better and the weight of the canvas was heavier. They replaced the zipper closure dump door with Velcro and snaps. So all-in-all, 15 years of trouble-free use was great. 

[pacer 3,174]

Noticed in this pic you may be looking at a future 'patch' here. 

 

I've had my CR for some 12-14 yrs and have found about all the weak spots. The area in the pic, and in fact all around the perimeter of the opening starting weakening and cracks started. At first I cobbled a couple stiffeners and while it slowed them down, I still had to go back in later and refit/remake the stiffeners until I finally have pretty much boxed in the opening with metal, and for the last couple years it seems to be holding. Also on the front of the adapter there is that sorta triangle opening between the plastic and the sheet metal - I added a small piece sheet metal there as I was getting a fair amount of 'leakage' there. One season I hauled 24-26 FULL loads of pine straw with this thing, I have worked the honk out of it! I quickly found that a full dust mask and goggles are a must if there is any breeze at all - and a good long shower as soon as I come in!

 

 

So, I would suggest you watch this situation and before any splits/cracks get bad you might add stiffeners.

[Zeke98 2]

17 hours ago, clueless said:

First I would call woodland power products and make sure the mower deck adapter (MDA) mounting plate is the right one for your deck. It looks like it may be a problem even after you cut the MDA to fit, you may want to send them a few pic. You are going to have to cut the MDA to fit the deck properly, you should have gotten instruction on how to measure and cut it with your package. I'll try to get some pic of my MDAs, one that fits my JD, and the one that came with it I believe for a craftsman, nether or on the tractor, but my help.  It will be this evening before I can send the pic. Hang in there once you get it to fit right your going to be very happy you bough it .   

Yes, I did contact Woodland and sent them many photos. They were very responsive and wrote, " you will need to cut the plastic boot large enough to allow the top part of your deck to go inside the boot.  I know this means drilling 2 more holes into the top of your deck, but allowing the top part of the deck to slip inside of the plastic boot is the only way you are going to get close enough on the bottom of the deck opening to cover it."

 

There were instructions, but they weren't as good as most of the instructions included in the other CR materials. The instructions indicated to use the spacers if the deck is greater than 4 1/2" high, which mine is even at it's lowest height. Any photos would be appreciated!

17 hours ago, pfrederi said:

I just bought my rake a few weeks ago.  A few days later they sent me an extra mounting plate free.  Apparently some of the ones they used turned out not to meet spec so they sent out replacements.  The one that came with my rake worked fine..They said just keep the replacement.

 

This is on my C175 with a 48" SD.  The last picture includes the replacement plate they sent me

Thanks for the photos. Very helpful. I noticed that your deck doesn't appear to extend too much into the boot. You still get good suction? Also, when you fitted the boot, was the deck set to its lowest height? Thanks again!

3 hours ago, pacer said:

Noticed in this pic you may be looking at a future 'patch' here. 

 

I've had my CR for some 12-14 yrs and have found about all the weak spots. The area in the pic, and in fact all around the perimeter of the opening starting weakening and cracks started. At first I cobbled a couple stiffeners and while it slowed them down, I still had to go back in later and refit/remake the stiffeners until I finally have pretty much boxed in the opening with metal, and for the last couple years it seems to be holding. Also on the front of the adapter there is that sorta triangle opening between the plastic and the sheet metal - I added a small piece sheet metal there as I was getting a fair amount of 'leakage' there. One season I hauled 24-26 FULL loads of pine straw with this thing, I have worked the honk out of it! I quickly found that a full dust mask and goggles are a must if there is any breeze at all - and a good long shower as soon as I come in!

 

 

So, I would suggest you watch this situation and before any splits/cracks get bad you might add stiffeners.

Thanks for the warning!

[pfrederi 17,902]

Don't recall setting but probably highest or second highest.  I cut long.

 

I only had to drill one hole in the deck, used one that was there for #2

 

Haven't done leaves yet,  just grass but it has sucked well.

 

Will watch the bulges and reinforce after this season.

Edited October 11, 2017 by pfrederi

[pacer 3,174]

Some times its hard to describe a repair/fix and I wasnt satisfied with mine on stiffening of the boot/adapter so I just went and took a pic - thats always better! This is the latest version of probably 3 tries to get it 'stiffened' and its doing good --- so far! I keep the CR fairly low to enable better suction/pickup and with that constant rubbing along the bottom edge it had gotten very thin and was trying to tear so I added that metal strip with another piece inside sandwiching the plastic along the bottom. On the side wall that is 2 pieces of angle with the - mangled - plastic of the boot sandwiched in between and a piece of sheet metal to spread the stiffening out.

 

Ideally you guys should have several seasons before youll need to think about this!

 

 

[Zeke98 2]

Thank you for the photos!

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

I ordered the optional yellow MDA with mine. If the green MDA is like the suction tube from the Estate Hose option, the yellow is a heavier duty plastic. The one thing that I found with Woodland Products is that the Wheel Horse design is not a high priority. But considering there hasn't been a new Wheel Horse in over ten years, I guess that is to be expected. Most other manufacturer's decks have a discharge, including the 5xi decks, that are not swept at the bottom. Another problem is that the discharge tube end of the CR MDA angles out to match other decks on the market. To better fit the Wheel Horse deck, it should run straight back. If you fit it straight, the angle is too great going out back to the vacuum unit.

 

I never needed to but another company, Trac Vac says that they can make a MDA for other brands. They do make them out of steel.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by shallowwatersailor

[Eric C 109]

On 9/10/2017 at 8:35 AM, Sarge said:

My biggest question is how does the whole thing pivot in the middle if you go through a ditch or depression ? There is very little of this property that is flat and whatever is used to hook the CR to the Horse has to be able to bend in the middle lengthwise - or it would bend the whole assembly . I see how the two pin mount works - is that joint built to allow the rake to move up/down at an angle in comparison to the tractor ? The problem I have here is the ditches - steep enough angle to damage a Kohler K series so I have to work those areas up/down when mowing or picking up leaves . The Craftsman sweeper I use now can barely handle that angle without bending the hitch on it and regular powered lawn vacs with a wagon would hit the tractor when it bends in the middle to mow across this ditch ....

 

Sarge

I made my own leaf vac using the business end of a trac-vac unit. (The impeller and housing) to solve the pivot in the middle issue, I use my sleeve hitch for the connection and disconnect the lift cable. This allows for the unit to swing up/down but not left/right. A set of pneumatic tires on swivels in the rear allow the unit to swing just like the Cyclone Rake.

 

I would attach some pics, but I need to renew my supporter status. 

[Zeke98 2]

Hi All,

 

After some modifications, I have the boot attached securely and it's working well. Cyclone Rake's customer service was excellent in helping me with additional parts.

 

I decided that to get the boot on as far I wanted, I needed to change the mount. I cut it up and used the metal to secure the boot. I also used the grass deflector rod to lock the boot in place. Many measurements!

 

Here are some photos.