I love mine. Although it is like having a 5 year old riding piggy back for hours.

I looked at the cyclone rakes and came very close to buying one a few years back.
glad I didn't. I don't think it would have gotten the leaves that were really packed down.

I still go pretty dirty but not like I do when I was bagging them with the mower.

Nope...the CR is a great collector and move them device, but no better than the mower it's attached to. Backpacks are essential...

Have you used a tarp? I do occasionally after observing how a team of pros attacked a lawn full of leaves years ago....they had all of the right blowers too.

Does your mower have a hitch?
Instead of blowing them around..chop and pick them up in one pass.
The leaves get condensed into about 1/4 or less volume after driving over them.
I've had this one for about 35 years...best purchase ever for me.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1520875108.jpg

^^^^ Yep, that's what the Cyclone Rake does nicely too. We have all kinds of leaves here....also a bunch of Willow Oaks...long skinny leaves...a mower won't do much with them. I've observed the pros using Walkers that collect....they blow first with a quick pass...otherwise they have to dump too often. They are all about efficiency...I suspect they've tried it all...

I have an encore extreme ZT mower. it has a big sucker fan mounted on the output of the mower deck to help pickup and chop up leaves. it is belt driven from the mower deck.
it wont pick up all the leaves. those ones that have been embedded in the yard have been there for many many years. as packed down as they were I know the cyclone would not have picked them up either.

even when my wife raked she could not get all the small leaves. I have those really small oak tree leaves.


I think the CR could do the job now perhaps but the initial job called for the blower.
those leaves were like cement, they even came up in chunks at times.

still need to do the neighbors back yard, I will try to get pics if they will show the extent of it.

The TracVac has a 5hp powered fan on the front. It provides enough suction that pulls leaves into the deck that are close but not in the path. Plus all the grass clippings, small twigs, and pine cones.
The contents of the trailer are so compressed, I have a hard time driving a 5 tine pitch fork into them. It wants to come out in one big bale.

Seems very much like the CRake...a great tool, but not the right tool ;), and for larger areas. I think I know what he's dealing with...nuthin' a backpack blowing like a hurricane won't move...btdt.

I have a track vac. You would be surprised at how much it sucks up in combination with the mower.

They will, but not for packed down stuff like he moved with a blower...Willow Oak leaves either if allowed to lay and get wet. But I wish I'd purchased a CR years ago too...they are the real deal for sure.

Is yours a tractor mounted or tow-behind model?
Mine is old enough that I've been thinking of going with a tractor mounted sometime. I bought the one pictured (post #24) in 1984 and would like a little more maneuverability.
Too many trees and shrubs.

Steve I'm not answering for Daniel, but my CR is very much like yours, and it's definitely more suited for acreage and wider spaces. I bought it for my rural property, thinking I might take it to dad's on occasion...not gonna happen. It's just easier to blow his property too, just like mine is. The CR has a fixed bracket on the rear of the lawn tractor, not a hitch, so when you turn, the CR sorta swings wider than a hitched trailer would. I throw that in for others' considering one....hth.

Just looked at their website. Very similar. I see why the trailer is made of poly or canvas (for storage), but given the number of times I have scraped trees with mine, I would prob stick with the TracVac.(aluminum)
They (CR) do have quite a few choices of models.

You might be surprised at what it will suck up, but mine has an 8HP motor. I can't drive it over gravel. A lot of how much is sucks depends on how high the mower deck is set.

Looks just like yours. I still use a blower to get things away from the house and shop, but I also use the pickup hose independently from the mower. It's extra long. But I also have a blower, to move leaves to where I can get at them. Who would have thought I would one day eye lawn tractors and leaf vacs with the same lust I used to reserve for sports cars? This one tool changed my entire fall schedule.

I tried a good backpack blower but needed more. I’ve had this monster for over 5 years. Great purchase. Makes a backpack blower feel like a gentle breeze compared to a tornado. Don’t have to mix gas either.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1520958363.png

exactly. you guys just don't know how packed these leaves were.
they had also been parking on the grass, so you have 100year of wet leaves compacted then add cars to it. (she has not been parking on the lawn long so she still has grass.) ok maybe not 100 but I can guarantee you it has NEVER been raked.
she will either mow them until they are dust or I will vacuum them up.

my mower is a commercial grade ZT with the discharge mounted vacuum. no not as much suction as a CR but its better than a standard mower.


I even thought about the CR and its vacuum hose when I was blowing then leaves and thinking that the CR probably wouldn't pick up this stuff and if so how much dirt is it taking with it.

I thought about one of those big blowers too. too much $$$