A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 CYCLONE RAKE

Does anyone on here use the Cyclone Rake. I just saw one on tv. Looked it up on the internet and sent for their info packet. It did not list the cost. It will probably be prohibitive to my pocketbook.

Hi Erak,
I have wanted something in this nature for
quite some time...My mom was going to buy
one for me, (I take care of her lawn too)
and my husband talked her out of it,
ONLY BECAUSE of my mowing habits...
I'm not always out there
once a week like some people like to do...
so, mine gets a bit tall on occassions..
But the reason he talked her out of it, is because when the grass is wet, sometimes it clogs up and is a pain to unclog....
How ever, if you mowed normal, and basically dry lawns I wouldn't see why any brand you buy wouldn't work well for you!!
Also, our back yard is filled with kids stuff, you know, swing sets, pools, dirt piles, badmitton nets, climbing units, etc, etc....
and he said for the size of it, I couldn't manuver around all the obsticals with that thing, too long for roundie corners'.....

Buttttt I've also talked with the gardener at my elementary school here and that guy loves his,
(again, not sure what brand he bought, but same style) he said he wished he had one at home....
(**I said I did toooooooooooooo )


I ended up with a leaf sweeper, works great, but
is heavy when I have to manually lift it up for 100000's of loads, (for the 2 yards worth) but, it's quick to pick up a load, and hardly no working parts, and cheap compared to the other..
But I still want one.... Maybe in a year or two..
I can keep my husband OUT of the conversation next time!!!

The one you posted looked GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would you let me know if you get it and what you think of it if you do get it???????????
I would LOVE to hear about it!!!
The plus' and the minus' if there are any!!!

Weezie

Hi Erak, we recieved the brochure also. We kinda cringed at the cost, so we decided not to invest in it. Now, we wish we had. We are seniors, and we have two acres of Oaks, all kinds. We have a power blower which helps a lot, but my Husband still has to rake them and put them on the back of the property. I'm sure you know what a pain in the back that can be. So we may invest in one next year. It is guaranteed. If we decide to purchase one, I'll close my eyes when I write the check.!!!!!!

Thanks for the recommendations on the rake. Sears has one for $1000. I havent received the cyclone info yet, so still dont know their charge. We have almost 3 acres and use the little baskets that hang on back of mower. They get filled in minutes and must have to empty them hundreds of time. Hubby tells me next year we probably need a new mower. I figure to get the rake this year then wont have such big bill for both mower and rake at one time. We have two mowers, one fairly new the other on its last leg.

I received the info on the cyclone rake. It looks like a jim dandy. Cost a little more than Sears but looks better built. I was all set to order one but my husband said he didnt want one. We also are senior citizens with over two acres and many trees. I may put one on our Christmas list. He cant refuse it then.

I have owned a Cyclone Rake (Commercial Model) for four years and have found it to work as advertised. It's construction is of very high quality as is their selection of engine. I use itto mow and pick up leaves from a 2 acre wooded lot and it works better than anything else I've tired, including bagging attachments for my riding mowers. Fears about it's length making it difficult to maneuver are completely unfounded. Since it locks to the lawn tractor, they move as one unit and windong in and out around trees is a breeze. Backing up is also easy. I use it on a 46" cut Murray. The extra suction provided by the blower allows even wet leaves to be picked up, but speed must be reduced to prevent clogging and the bag gets very heavy very quickly. Yes, it's expensive, but the quality is worth it.

Does anyone happen to know how well the Cyclone Rake does with picking up smaller things like acorns and hickory nuts?

thanks!

Cyclone Rake.

I finally purchased a cyclone rake after walking around with the literature in my pocket for two years. I had a hard time justifying the cost. I am glad I did as it is everything I hoped it would be. The construction and quality of the materials is very nice. The vacum and mulcher on the mower deck is superb. The 15' vacum attachment is probobly my favorite, as I have many perm obstructions that leaves blow up against and pile up. It vacums so fast it is almost like they were never there. (although the attachment vacum does not mulch as thoroughly as the mower vac, as the mower blades help a tad)I really was impressed with the overall job. I live on a city lot 100x360 with 80 or so hickory and oaks, it is a real mess, what with the squirrels and branches and hickory nuts. I use a small john deere sx75 rear engine and even with the bag full it pulled ok, and the bag really gets full. I make far less dumps and it saves tons of time. The rake does not make the yard perfect but it looks great and yes it even did a good job with the wet leaves. The only thing I did not care for is the way it snowplows leaves in front of the mower deck, if the deck is too close to the ground, but I cant see a way around it cause if you dont stay low to the ground it will blow the leaves around. Any how, as I've said, it is a great machine so far, and I am glad I spent the money, as now I can spend more time chasing my wife around the hot tub.

Boy, am I glad I checked out this forum today. We too, got the brochure & video last year. As you say, it is on the pricey side. My husband also passed it up again this year, but I think he may just have to bite the bullet and get one for next year. We're on the senior side too, with 2 acres of Oak trees (which I wouldn't trade for anything).
He has a large leaf blower, which works well, but he still has to rake the leaves into a trailer and empty them out. My yard seems to be shrinking for all the piles!!!!!!

Thanks for all the intersting comments.

I have had a cyclone rake for four years and it is the very best piece of equipment I have ever owned. It gets it all, leaves, acorns,pine needles. I have about and acre with many large oak and pine trees, used to take at least a week to hand rake it properly and get all of the pine needles in order to keep a good stand of grass, as I love a nice lawn. The price seemed high at first, but good equipment is not cheap. It is the lowest overall cost in the long term if you purchase quality .

Which Cyclone rake model do you use?

have any of you who responded to the post about the cyclone rake actually purchased one? i am going to buy it in about a month. i have a lot of ground and the leaves in the fall just about take up every waking moment. i had a lawn vacuum from sears for the longest time, but it is falling apart. this cyclone rake looks wonderful!!

Gardener, How does your Cyclone do with pine cones? I have a lot of pine trees, so a lot of needles & cones.

I bought it and it's wonderful!! There was no way I could put it together myself - the hitch bar had to be screwed on to the back of my tractor, and the tractor needed holes drilled, etc. It was definitely harder to put together than the website indicated, but I had my lawn equipment company do it for me. It picks up everything - pine cones included. I can't wait until the fall when the leaves are falling and I don't have to give up my life until December. One thing, there is a collector accessory which you really should get if you want to use it for your lawn, which I will. If you don't have it, when you are finished collecting you will have to get it into bags or trash cans, and really who needs all that additional work.

I've owned a Cyclone Rake for 2 years. I don't know how I got along without it. Wait, yes I do.......I had kids living at home Now that they're gone, my wife and I decided if we were to stay "on the farm" we needed the equipment to allow us to help with the chores. Buy one. TODAY! Worth every cent.

PS: concerning the question: How does it do with acorns, etc.? Know this: keep small animals and children away from the intake. Seriously, it picks up all of that stuff (not the kids).

I have a Cyclone Rake for 2 years now and I'm very happy with it's quality and it's powerfull engine.