Chipper vacuums which one

[Invicta]

I've got two large gardens with overhanging trees that I look after.

Last autumn was a right pain as I spent most of my time with my rake and Echo Vac/Blower getting the leaves up.

 

So I'm thinking of getting something like a Billy Goat or the Handy Pro petrol Chipper Vacuum. I've tried a Billy Goat in the past and the thin wheels and lack of power made it hard work on gravel and with wet leaves.

So I'm seriously considering the Handy. The lowest cost at £569.99 I've found so far is at Crocus. co.uk

 

Has anyone any alternatives or experience of the BG or Handy please?

 

Bern

Edited June 29, 2010 by Invicta
get rid of the tag line for Crocus

[ChrisSaunders]

Hi,

I've owned and used the Ardisam CS6 chipper for two years and for its size I love it. It was cheap to buy (£400 secondhand), it has never clogged, handles up to 50mm diameter stems, and as far as I know is the only machine which bags up the waste and offers a vacuum kit.

It's a compact unit which can fit through most side gates, and I can lift it in an out of my van easily. The only bad point on the machine is that changing the two chipper blades is rather a drag - lots of bolts to undo, other than that I am delighted with it and will be keeping it for a while yet.

Chris

[log supplier]

iv got the ibea turbo 70 vac with 3m hose and there worth every penny (in the autumn)

[Invicta]

Many thanks for the replies folks.

 

I always prefer to hear from people who use kit so I'll be taking a look at both options.

 

Cheers,

 

Bern

[mowandgo]

I run it over with honda 536 mower fited with a twin blade mulching kit then blow and bag. The mulching blade kits from honda are briliant for leaves they chop them up to the size of a grain of rice and its quick!

[ukminch]

I've given up on vacs now, I find its far quicker to blow everything into a pile and then rake it into a ton bag or straight into a trailer if you can get it close enough. Only problem is that you don't compact it that much like if you use a vac.

 

R

[Invicta]

Thanks for the ideas.

 

If it's on Grass or Tarmac I use my John Deere pedestrian mower to get the leaves up (it also works for hedge trimmings).

 

Unfortunately one of the major jobs for me is 2 mature London Plain trees planted in a gravel covered courtyard. So the risk of braking a pane of glass is quiet high unless I use a Vac or blower.

 

The gravel is also why I'm looking at pnuematic tyres as opposed to hard plastic ones which tend to dig in.

 

Cheers,

Bernard

[david]

if i was spending that kind of money id be looking at a big backpack blower and it blow it into a corner / pile. and lift it with 2 short boards of wood.

 

get a demo of whatever machine u chose tho

[Danny Boy]

i've just started looking after a huge garden with mature trees along one whole side of it. i just bought a back pack blower too to do the job. They have green waste collection bins which i put grass clippings etc in too.

 

to be honest i never considered a vacuum, normally i'd just use a mower if i had too.

[log supplier]

if i was spending that kind of money id be looking at a big backpack blower and it blow it into a corner / pile. and lift it with 2 short boards of wood.

 

get a demo of whatever machine u chose tho

 

blowers are no good when theres a breeze, chasing big piles of leaves wouldnt be my ideal day doing carparks:001_tt2:

iv taken the bag off mine and addapted the council look:blushing: 250ltr wheely bin without the wheels. load of small holes drilled into the bin.large hinged door for emptying... makes life so much better:thumbup: