Cyclone Rake

[ELECTRORIC 230]

Finally bought one I was very impressed with the company and the machine I used a class lll hitch because I have a receiver on the tractor but was surprised that they offer a hitch for Wheel Horse.

[clueless 3,113]

I would like to see how you attached it to the deck.

Edited November 23, 2019 by clueless

[pacer 3,176]

I've had one for some 10-12 yrs and I LOVE it!! The only thing that would help pick up pine straw that I seemed to have tons of!

 

Im on my 3rd tractor that Ive moved it to, is now on a D-200 - and I'm still using the original boot. But the boot is a bit of a weak point, it will wear on the under side pretty quickly. After 2-3 attempts to make a repair I fabricated a sheet metal 'shoe' to the underside. My canvas bag has been patched and repatched, but is still useable.

 

I got the double wheel set-up and I would highly recommend it - you get on any soft ground with a bag full and those 2 wheels make a difference, it gets HEAVY!

[SPINJIM 1,981]

I picked up a Cyclone Rake at an auction a few years ago, and it's one of the best purchases I've ever made, especially this time of year.  I contacted the company to buy some missing hitch pieces, and although they were very friendly, they weren't real familiar with WH hitches.   I had to attach it to my wife's green mower.   I think I'll contact them again, now that you tell me that they do have the WH hitch.   The green machine is starting to have problems, and now I might have an excuse to get rid of the JD and make more space for another Horse.

 

Enjoy your new machine.   I have two acres with a hundred trees, and (at my age) I don't know what I would do without the Cyclone Rake.

   Jim

 

P.S. - If you're taking more pictures, I'd like to see a picture of the hitch setup.  Thanks.

Edited November 23, 2019 by SPINJIM

[pfrederi 18,335]

C-175-8  48"SD  Hitch works great I leave it on the tractor year round.  Have barked my shins on it a couple times...ouch!!

 

 

Edited November 23, 2019 by pfrederi

[rmaynard 15,927]

I have had my Cyclone Rake since 1999. It was the best purchase of lawn equipment that I have ever made, and that includes all my Wheel Horses. At the time of purchase, I only had my 1977 B-100 with a rear discharge mower. Cyclone Rake did not yet have a boot to attach to that, so I bought a used John Deere STX-38. That served me well until the transmission died. Over the years and subsequent towing tractors, I have had to replace the boot several times, and the canvas bag and folding frame due to an unfortunate encounter with a low hanging branch, which meant that I also had to make some other modifications. A new impeller & housing, and new hoses (larger diameter) was a obvious upgrade. However, with all the repairs, upgrades and add-ons, I still think that it's a bargain. Initial purchase was around $1400.00, and the new stuff was under $500.00, so I'm still under $2000.00. The original Tecumseh 5.5 hp engine is still going strong.

 

I just finished using it for the 21st leaf season. The nice thing is that it folds up, hangs on the wall of my shed, and is out of the way until 2020.

 

 

@ELECTRORIC You have every reason to be impressed with the folks at Cyclone Rake. They have been easy to deal with, and are extremely knowledgeable of their products and the tractors they fit on. 

[rmaynard 15,927]

2 minutes ago, pfrederi said:

 

 

 

The only thing that I do differently with my pins is to insert them from the bottom with a large washer on the bottom and the top. then put the hair-pin clip on the top. The reason for this is that when dumping the leaves, the bottom of the hitch will bang up against the bottom of the plate, bending the hair-pin clip and making it difficult to remove.

[pacer 3,176]

4 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

bending the hair-pin clip and making it difficult to remove.

 

Excellent suggestion!!!

[ELECTRORIC 230]

 They back ordered the adapter boot supposed to get it monday I will post a picture yesterday I used my leaf sweeper to gather the leaves and then racked them into the 8" tube worked just fine.

[ELECTRORIC 230]

Fed Ex delivered the back ordered adapter today so here is pictures some of you guys asked for.

[Lee1977 7,044]

Mine is all home made.  The vacuum and engine fits in the receiver hitch with one brace down to the Wheel horse hitch. The trailer hooks to the Wheel Horse hitch and the receiver hitch with an extended hitch.

These are old pictures , but I did get up four loads yesterday. I usually dump them in the middle of the field, the field has been planted so I dump at the edge in small trees made it a lot harder.  

[top_cat 41]

Just figured I'd chime in even though the leave seasons about finished here in New England. I've been a member here for a while and I do read the posts but never had too much to offer (lots of smart guys here!) even though I'm 2nd generation Wheelhorse. My father had a 1960 something ?, then a 1978 C-101 that I still use.

 

I've been debating for a few years on either the Cyclone or the DR leave vacuums. A friend has a Cyclone & another an older DR with the plastic box. I saw both in use and pulled the trigger on the DR (I also have a DR brush mower, chipper & power grader, they are built like Wheelhorses to last a lifetime)  I have about 2 acres of oak, beech and poplar and couldn't be happier. I put about 25 hours on the vac this fall, and it did a great job with no issues. The DR vac will pick up pine needle & cones, grass and all my leaves (did have to use 2nd low for a section of 6 inch deep oak leaves, but got them all. The best part is one handed dumping that empties the complete trailer in less that a minute. The only draw back I have found is you have to keep your turns wider so the tube doesn't pop off. I talked to their tech support guys before I bought it about the China motor and was told they have used these motors on a lot of their equipment for about 10 years with no issues.  He said they bought the plant a few years ago and now manufacture the engines. It looks like a copy of a B/S, which from what I can gather are now mostly made in China & Mexico. It's used behind my 315-8 with a 48 inch deck, perfect combination. Here's a couple pics of the vac and my tractors.

 

My winter project is to pull the Kohler off the C-101 for rebuilding. Got to have 1000s of hours on it.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

[ELECTRORIC 230]

The main reason I chose the cyclone is the way it folds up for storage I have a lot of tractors and storage is limited. I really like your barn wish I had the space for something like that.

[clueless 3,113]

On 11/25/2019 at 4:28 PM, ELECTRORIC said:

The main reason I chose the cyclone is the way it folds up for storage I have a lot of tractors and storage is limited. I really like your barn wish I had the space for something like that.

Let us know how well the deck adapter works, as in not allot of blow by around it.

[ELECTRORIC 230]

I will be using it tomorrow morning I will post how it does.

[Lee1977 7,044]

When it comes to pick-up chutes bigger is better. Over the last 30 some years I have built a few. The last on is the best It is raised above deck 2 1/4" and raps back under the deck. The only open area is where the back end of the deck tappers up. This leaves a little gap, the only time leafs come out is when the trailer is full.