Backpack Blower? Power Broom? Better than Raking?

[GarethVW]

Yes. I have a sweeper broom on a 2-wheel tractor and a sweeper bucket for my bobcat. They are both awesome for cleaning up twigs, particularly on stuff like dead pines that shatter into tiny pieces.

Unfortunately, there just aren't too many places where it is practical to tote the extra equipment along. If the area is big enough to need them, it can be well worth your time to bring them along. Unfortunately, unless you do that kind of work all the time, it wouldn't pay to buy one for tree work.

Are you talking about a rotating broom like the road crews use to clean off the road? With poly bristles? I had thought one of those might work well.

 

[Goose IBEW]

Can anyone comment on using this?
http://m.stihlusa.com/products/multi-task-tools/accessories/yard-boss-attachments/powersweep/

 

[squad143]

Can anyone comment on using this?
http://m.stihlusa.com/products/multi-task-tools/accessories/yard-boss-attachments/powersweep/

Have one for my Komi tool. They work really great on stump grindings and cleaning gravel off the lawn after the winter snow thaws.
The wire bristle ones work better on concrete and asphalt, but tear up the lawn. Rubber is better on the lawns.
They are a bit on the heavy side and there is a bit of a technique to using them. For regular tree clean up, you're better off using a rake. Less of a workout. However, like I said. If you're moving stump grindings, theses are definitely better.

 

[pdqdl]

Are you talking about a rotating broom like the road crews use to clean off the road? With poly bristles? I had thought one of those might work well.

Yep, poly bristles on a rotating broom. IF your machine has some sort of built in depth gauge, they are great for cleaning up messes in the grass. I did a small sod job in some very wet conditions once; the little 40" wide broom just picked all the compacted mud-bunnies up off the turf and left a clean lawn. Without the caster wheels, it becomes uncontrollable and starts tearing up turf.

The sweeper bucket on my bobcat just cannot be matched for a cleanup. Pick up all the bigger sticks then run the bucket (backwards ONLY) across the lawn. It gets all the crumbs and sawdust and leaves virtually nothing behind.

 

[old_soul]

Yep, poly bristles on a rotating broom. IF your machine has some sort of built in depth gauge, they are great for cleaning up messes in the grass. I did a small sod job in some very wet conditions once; the little 40" wide broom just picked all the compacted mud-bunnies up off the turf and left a clean lawn. Without the caster wheels, it becomes uncontrollable and starts tearing up turf.

The sweeper bucket on my bobcat just cannot be matched for a cleanup. Pick up all the bigger sticks then run the bucket (backwards ONLY) across the lawn. It gets all the crumbs and sawdust and leaves virtually nothing behind.

Sounds like you have a plan, but I just gotta ask how you can get away with using a bobcat to sweep the lawn.

I sneak in with mine to grab logs and piles of wood. But too much tracking and turning will destroy the grass and make ruts.

Which I often tell people, some ruts can't be avoided. We have to have access to do the job.

But just to rake up leaves and sticks? That would cause more damage than it would help.....

 

[pdqdl]

1. Large areas only. If there isn't a big mess, then it isn't worth bringing. Generally, we are bringing the Bobcat with grapple to handle the large wood, so we might as well bring the sweeper bucket.

2. Get a machine that is not skid-steer. You are right, a typical Bobcat will do far more damage than good. I refused to even buy a skid steer for about 25 years, 'cause I figured that I couldn't use it very many places due to the turf damage inflicted. Then I discovered the A300: It has 4 wheel steering and is a rather large capacity machine in a very tight package. In fact, it is the same size as an S300 Bobcat.

I bought mine in 2007, and I am still running on some of the original tires. The 4-wheel steering has MUCH more traction than any skid steer, it does no damage to turf if you are careful, and it is considerably more comfortable and less expensive to operate. The floatation tires I bought in 2007 are pretty bald now, but that works even better for avoiding turf damage.

The current version is an A770, slightly bigger.

 

[GarethVW]

1. Large areas only. If there isn't a big mess, then it isn't worth bringing. Generally, we are bringing the Bobcat with grapple to handle the large wood, so we might as well bring the sweeper bucket.

2. Get a machine that is not skid-steer. You are right, a typical Bobcat will do far more damage than good. I refused to even buy a skid steer for about 25 years, 'cause I figured that I couldn't use it very many places due to the turf damage inflicted. Then I discovered the A300: It has 4 wheel steering and is a rather large capacity machine in a very tight package. In fact, it is the same size as an S300 Bobcat.

I bought mine in 2007, and I am still running on some of the original tires. The 4-wheel steering has MUCH more traction than any skid steer, it does no damage to turf if you are careful, and it is considerably more comfortable and less expensive to operate. The floatation tires I bought in 2007 are pretty bald now, but that works even better for avoiding turf damage.

The current version is an A770, slightly bigger.

I really like the A300 but the 10,000 lb empty weight has me thinking it would still sink on lawns. I run a 75 hp tractor with turf tires that weights 8000 lbs WITH my 1800 lb pto stump grinder attatched. I really like how compact the bobcat is but it is just so heavy!

 

[pdqdl]

A300 is only 9k empty. Perhaps the newer version goes for 10k. Yes, even with the floatation tires, it will leave depressions if the ground is too soft.

That 75hp tractor simply cannot do all the work the industrial loader frame on the bobcat can. I have loaded 4,000lb logs onto my trucks with it, and it has a much more powerful hydraulic system than any comparably sized tractor. When I put my 6' rotary mower on the bobcat, I have an underbrush destruction machine almost without equal, at least for the money. The number of implements available for the skid-steer machines is almost limitless.

On the other hand, it cannot navigate as severe terrain as a tractor, and it certainly does not have equal traction or PTO horsepower as a tractor. But then, I have a tractor to do those jobs. ...and it has a quick-tach loader frame that can also use the same attachments as the bobcat. So I can use all my toys on either machine, except where the tractor doesn't have the guts to run them.

Quite an awesome ground clearing combination: my Houle tree shear on the A300, and the brush grapple on the tractor. Although, the tree shear will chop off more more trees than 5 tractors could carry off.