Falling leaves are a pain as they must be cleared for many reasons like letting moisture and nutrients through to the soil and to stop them becoming matted slippery over larger areas.
They might inspire poets when they are falling but look a right mess if left to rot. And it’s a fair bet that the romantic poets of yore never had to set to with a rake.
There are many pieces of machinery which can help with this but to assist you in making your choice here are ten top pieces of equipment.
All are made with large areas in mind, not only lawns but long drives and public areas like parks and shopping centres and car parks.
We have included the popular blowers and vacs as well towed sweepers and four machines from the American Billy Goat range, often the choice of the professional gardener as well as local authority parks departments and shopping centre managers.
This first one is exclusive to us at MowDirect and is also on special offer.
The Oleo-Mac BV270 Pro Leaf-Blower with Free Vac-Kit is powerful yet quiet with its 30.5cc engine producing a 234km/h blast of air.
And with that suction it can also deal with twigs and pine clones and other bits of garden debris – it has steel blades to shred the waste and blow it into a 36-litre collection bag.
The shredder vac kit is free – it usually costs £40.
The machine itself is £219.95, £80 off the recommended price and is delivered free the next working day with a three year warranty.
When clearing larger areas many gardeners prefer a backpack design and this one certainly first the bill.
The Echo PB-265ESL Backpack Blower weighs only 6.1kg and yet produces a 58 meters a second air blast.
This is produced by a 25.4cc Power Boost Technology engine developed in the USA to combine light weight with fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. It also has a highly efficient air filter to reduce wear and prolong the engine’s life.
Delivered free the next working day it costs £259, a massive reduction on the recommended price of £279 and it has a five year warranty.
This next one is from Japan and from a company often the choice of the professional gardener.
The Tanaka THB-260PF Commercial-Grade Handheld Petrol Blower-Vac has a 23.9cc engine and is designed for prolonged use.
It weighs only 4.1kg and comes with a free vacuum shredder kit worth £69.
The machine has an auxiliary handle for easier use and cruise control.
It costs £268, a full £100 of the price recommended by Tanaka and has a five year domestic warranty, two years for commercial use.
Delivered free it has a five year warranty.
If you have a larger lawn you’ll have a lawn tractor to cut it and this machine will hitch on to the back to keep it leaf free.
The Agri-Fab Smart-Sweep 44″ Towed Lawn & Leaf Sweeper (45-0492) has a working width of 111.5cm and has been designed so it will not ‘skip’ or jump as it is towed along.
This means that it will collect leaves on the first pass – it is not necessary to go over the same ground twice.
As the wheels turn they drive brushes to sweep the leaves into the massive 710 collector. There is a single lever so you can adjust the working height depending on how many leaves you have and whether you are clearing a lawn on drives.
It is attached by a pin hitch making it suitable for virtually all makes of lawn and garden tractor.
It costs £339, £110 off the recommended price and is delivered free the next working day with a five year warranty.
Now the first from Billy Goat, an American company known throughout the world for manufacturing the most powerful vac and blowers for all manner of surfaces and debris.
The Billy Goat F601S Force 6 Push Leaf & Debris Blower is designed for major tasks where leaves, pine cones and all manner of debris need to be shifted.
Mounted on pneumatic tyres it weighs only 35kg and is very simple to use with its 170cc Subaru engine giving a 322 km/h blast of air.
It has been designed so that the user can direct the swivelling nozzle while at the controls.
It costs £639, over £60 off the price recommended and is delivered free the next working day with a one year warranty.
Wheeled vacs are a simple way to clear leaves from large areas so have a look at this one, the Ariens APV SP Self-Propelled Wheeled Vac (995301).
It has 17 working heights so it can clear lawns, gravel paths, Tarmac drives, the lot with heights from zero when it sits virtually on the ground up to 12.7cm.
The steel serrated impellor reduces the debris to a twelfth its original volume before packing it into to a 195 litre collection bag.
And as it is self-propelled it is easy to use on undulating ground especially as it has twelve positions for the handlebars.
It costs £649, £130 off the maker’s recommended price and is delivered the next working day with a three year warranty.
The SCH TS98 Heavy-Duty Leaf Sweeper has been designed and manufactured for heavy-duty use over larger areas and has a differential on the brushes to give greater manoeuvrability tight turns.
It also makes it a more efficient debris collector.
The catcher can hold 270 litres and the working height is adjustable.
It costs £949 compared with the recommended price of £1034 and we deliver it free within two to three working days. It has a one year warranty.
Back to the USA for the Billy Goat MV650H Multi Vac Outdoor Vacuum (Push).
The makers say this is their most advanced machine yet with its great suction, collection bags which are easy to empty and a top fill system to keep the dust down.
It is powered by a Honda engine and has a amour-plated steel impellor to deal with all manner of debris including broken glass, hedge clippings, pine cones, the lot.
The suction width is 73.5cm wide and the suction inlet is adjustable according to the debris you are collecting. By adjusting this you can even use it on gravel drives.
Being a machine which will from the top you will waste less time emptying the rubbish as the bag it will always be full.
It costs £1669, £130 less than the price recommended and is delivered free the next working day with a one year warranty.
The Billy Goat DL1301HEU Leaf & Debris Truck Loader is a great machine for shifting really large piles of waste.
Once the leaves and rubbish are blown into a pile this machine sucks them up and blows them into the back of a truck or onto to a compost pile.
Ideal for clearing up after festivals, fetes and large garden parties it can deal with glass bottles and tins as well as leaves and general garden debris as it has an armour plated shredding impellor with serrated edges.
The hose has a diameter of 20cm and should it become detached a safety device will instantly stop the engine.
It costs £2329 compared with the recommended price of £2509.99 and has a one year warranty. We deliver it for free within two to three working days.
And the final machine is the Billy Goat QV550HSP QuietVac Outdoor Vacuum (Self-Propelled) aimed at contractors or the owners of large parks and gardens as well as stadia and leisure centres.
The ground speed is infinitely variable and it is powered by a Honda 160cc engine which gives low emissions and less vibration.
It is also designed to keep the dust down when working in dry conditions and has a six-bladed steel impellor and a 225-litre collection bag.
It costs £2459, £200 less than the price recommended. We deliver it free the next working day with a one year warranty.
These machines are aimed at the larger gardens and small estates. For a full selection of leaf vacs and blowers see these pages – there’s one for every type of garden.
And if you would like out advice before purchasing please give us a ring on 020 3026 8712.
