Trac-Vac problem...
 

Leaves are mostly all down and cleaned up in my yard. A couple straggler younger trees made me get the Vac out one last time yesterday.
Hitched it to my JD GX335 and started the 5hp B&S engine on the vac and made about three passes when there was a bang. The vac engine slowly spun down and quit. I got off the tractor and tried to restart it....it pulled with no effort....oh oh!

I unhooked the hoses, unbolted the engine from the frame, drained the gas and threw it in the trunk of my car. Brought it to my local small engine repair and left it there

He called this morning and said "broken rod". He ordered a new Honda 5.5 hp engine and it should be here in a day or two.

I'm glad it didn't happen until the end of the clean-up season. I can't be upset about it because I bought it new in 1980. :)

Pic of it before it broke...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1732046158.jpg

That sucks.

I'm looking at it as a needed upgrade. Good-bye Briggs...hello Honda.
He said the turbine had two broken vanes and two other bent ones. He is going to weld and straighten those out...which should give the thing more suction.
I'm anxious to get it back and try it out.

His estimate was $800 for the whole works.
44 years is a good run for the Briggs.


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Apologies in advance.
Don't care.
WTF is this 'cleaning' thing?

Leaves insulate grass from major temp swings.
That is a good thing.

Leaves break down as organic material and provide nutrients.
If your current grass can't sustain local nature conditions without maintenance..it is not the right type.

Yeah, bought a used one a couple years back for $300, needed a carb. The 5.5 runs well but if it dies I think I'll go up a couple hp.
I'd leave the leaves but we live in a clearing in the woods and if I didn't clear them they'd mat down with rain and choke out the grass. Its possible that my mulching blade would cut them fine enough, but whatever. I do compost the leaves-usually about 15-20 loads, so there's that.

^^^ John
I like having a nice looking lawn.
With the number of trees that I have, the grass would die if they weren't removed.


He sent me the model number of the Honda.
The bolt pattern is the same as the Briggs...so it will bolt right up.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...L._SL1100_.jpg


The side where the turbine/fan attaches.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51hW3OWRq4L.jpg

A used Trac-Vac for $300 is a good deal.
I've never thought mine needed more suction...it will draw in leaves a half foot outside of the deck.
My problem is finding a place to dump the Trac-Vac loads. I'm running out of spots.

The benefits of the Honda engine will be quieter and better fuel economy.

I'd be concerned about balancing the blower after the repair.

He mentioned that would be part of the repair & welding.
When I was using it, it never showed any signs of shaking or vibration...even with two broken vanes.
Maybe it doesn't spin fast enough to be a factor? I don't know.

My suggestion would be to use a 'mulching' mower blade. Till it back in. Free feed.
But only after it gets 6-10".
Grass needs roots to stay healthy. Feed it with organic nutrients.

Mowing acreage 2X/mo costs in gas.

Or better yet, put in some native beneficial plants, create a local ecology, and even write it off and get grants.


I simply don't understand the idea of mowing 10 acres of grass with no purpose.

Not with a broken rod .... it doesn't suck any more! 44 yrs is a good run tho'. Some folks just don't understand leaves .... I can't relate to snow....

Stevo loses wif bof 'em :D

No..I still have a working snowblower/thrower.:)
I wonder how it would work on fall leaves??


Btw....I have one acre of lawn.


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When is this summer's Croquet Tournament?

Had it in July....funny thing, I missed picking up one of the wickets.
Might be what broke the Trac-Vac.:eek:

The only problem I see with your Trac-vac is that you don’t live next door to me!

I’ve lived in my house for 28 years and have only a couple small trees; the neighbors have been in their house for many more years before I moved in and have a couple huge maple trees.

The way my yard sits, leaves blow in and never blow out, so I could have 13 bags of leaves each year. I understand tree law and appreciate having large trees in the neighborhood, so I just rake them up like a big boy.

This year for the first time, the neighbors started blowing the leaves in my yard into piles and may have removed some, but not sure- have no clue why and haven’t run into them yet for information. They may have needed some for their flower beds?

Well, the trees are bare now, so I went out Sunday, raked them up and used my leaf blower set on vac and mulch to fill up only three bags- shredding them really saves bag space- would have been a dozen or so bags otherwise.

Took me a couple hours and then I mowed it one last time with my reel mower- makes a guy happy to have it all done.

^^^ Yes, there is a lot of satisfaction in a nice lawn...I enjoy it.
I have a neighbor to the east of me that would end up with a lot of my leaves if I didn't vac them up before they the wind gets them. So I try to stay ahead of that.

I still remember the day I bought the Trac-Vac in 1980. It was $850 (which was a lot of money then) and this was the first time I had any problem with it.

That's a really cool rig ya got there. I have Gator mulching blades under my riding mower and a mulching plug so I just ride around and mulch up the leaves in my yard.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

^^^ Thanks! I have the Gator blades also. When the Trac-Vac is full, it's the devil to get the thing emptied because it's like one giant compacted bale of shredded leaves.

I use a five tine pitch fork to work it loose. When emptied, the pile looks like 5 cart fulls. (the fan/blower really packs it in)

About half of my leaves (multiple lawns) get mulched and returned as I mow.... three lawns, three methods...

Mowers... Zero turns, a JD pulling a "finish mower", a Honda push mower, a Cyclone Rake (for larger acrerage), Stihl backpacks that don't suck ... they blow ;)

It's leaf season here .... about half-way thru... some trees are barren, some just getting started... BUT...

I don't even own a snow shovel .... so I win ... most years :D

The Trac-Vac is a model 560, (5 hp and 60 bushel cart). When the leaves cover the lawn, I can do the acre in less than 2 full dumps....about 100 bushel.
I usually end up pulling it about 5 times a season.

My property with the Cyclone Rake also has a nice "drive thru" leaf dump gully .... lots of leaves... lots of dumps ...

No black Walnut trees (on that one) at least ... whew!

Ya gots to keep the turtles happy ... they like a leafless lawn when they emerge :)

^^^ I wish I had a spot like that....my township doesn't even provide a drop-off spot.

The turtles here are on their 5 month warm southern vacation. They just lay around, sleep, and eat shrimp.....they've got it made.

Us poor folk woulda bought a Predator.
That Honda should be a nice starting upgrade. Coulda put my Lifan 420 on that thing and pulled the leaves from around the neighborhood while sitting still!

My CR has a Vanguard ... I think it's 5.5hp...

It sux bigly!

Luv them Honders too :)

If the engine on the Trac-Vac was bigger, I might never get the stuff out. :)
The first few times in the fall, most of the load is grass and it's packed in tighter than a bale of hay. I have to really drive the pitch fork in to get a start of it to come out.
Later on when the grass is not as long, the mixture is mostly leaves and it comes out fairly easy.

Dry leaves .... meh!

Wet leaves wif grass ... rut-roh ...

Easy dumping on-site .... I don't pack 'em in .... but it fills quickly.. one "gully dump" and 3-4 other places too ... handy!

.... but I don't think Hank done 'em this way :)

I live in a wide open farming area where the wind blows freely across my property. The leaves from many of my trees end up blown into the pond if left in the yard to accumulate. Last few years I have just been making some quick passes every other night or so during leaf season with the 60" zero turn and mow them towards the center of the yard eventually mulching them into tiny bits.

Years ago I would wait until all had fallen then rake and use a leaf blower for hours.... screw that.... Now I just keep them mowed into tiny bits. I have reduced the amount making it into the pond by a bunch using this technique. Only takes maybe 10 minutes to buzz them down in whichever section of yard has them building up.

Yep .... I'm with Tim .... until 4-5 trees decide to drop 'em all in one day ;)....

And trees are like wimmins .... ya think you have a Maple figured out .....and then she changes her mind :D

I have two black walnut trees, and they are the first ones to drop their nuts and leaves. In fact they are bare before the maples even get fully colored. Makes for a long leaf season.

Oak trees look at maples and say “hold my beer”.

Some of the oaks around here keep their leaves well into winter just to drop them into the cross country ski tracks acting as brakes so your skis almost come to a stop.

The big white oak behind my deck will keep about half it's leaves for months, the 200+ year old red oaks are dropping, and two ginormous willow oaks (we call 'em pin oaks) with thin leaves are a 3 month PITA .... and these are trees "in the yards" .... next to acres of them... and it's OK ...

I can't leave :)

I've got so many friggin leaves I use a york rake & front loader on a kubota along the street, driveway, and wooded areas. The rest get chopped.

.... a "york rake?" he mutters to himself as he searches the web .....

You ba$tid you :D .... I may not need one .... but I WANT one :)!

I had to look it up also....What do you do with them after you rake them up?

A few years back, I tried filling 30 gal bags with the shredded leaves from the Trac-Vac and loading the bags into my garbage cart.
That lasted one week and they sent me a letter saying I would no longer be a customer if I did it again.:confused:

Apparently tree leaves don't break down/decompose like plastic or styrofoam does.

Hi
The 44 years on the Briggs is a very good run.
Interested to know what your maintenance schedule /program was ?
Also what oil was used ?
Many thanks

A guy with the same model as mine. Cuts the grass at the same time.

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Thanks....all I ever did was change the oil once every season with a 20 or 30 weight oil. Nothing else...it always started right up on the 1st or 2nd pull.



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Old Briggs were awesome ... back when earl wuz earl :D