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I found these things called "chipper shredder vacuums (or lawn vacuums or so many other names) which suck up leaves, mulch them and spit them into the holder bag and also have small (less than 2" branch) wood chipper built in. And they run from ~$600 to +$3500. Yet all of the reviews I've found result in, at best, a lukewarm reception for this piece of machinery, regardless of manufacturer. I was, at first, excited about them (the leaves and sticks in my yard are unbelievable), but I'm thinking the idea is better than the reality.
Do you know anything about them? Besides what's on the 'net? Got one?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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My leaf blower has a vacuum attachment, and it works fine for bagging leaves, but I prefer to just blow them into a bare soil area and let them act as mulch.
I also do have a chipper-shredder. I have handled branches up to about 3" diameter, and used the chips as mulch. The shred part works OK for shredding leaves and very small branches but it clogs a lot and you have to shove a stick down it.
The chipper required new blades a few years ago, at about $40 but fairly easy to replace myself. Mine is probably about
15 years old, a Troy-Built with 11 horsepower. I use it 1-3 times a year mostly to chip branches that fall or that I cut off of our many big fir and cedar trees, and pruned from our bigger Japanese Maples, Vine Maple, and fruit trees.
My leaf blower has a vacuum attachment, and it works fine for bagging leaves, but I prefer to just blow them into a bare soil area and let them act as mulch.
I also do have a chipper-shredder. I have handled branches up to about 3" diameter, and used the chips as mulch. The shred part works OK for shredding leaves and very small branches but it clogs a lot and you have to shove a stick down it.
The chipper required new blades a few years ago, at about $40 but fairly easy to replace myself. Mine is probably about
15 years old, a Troy-Built with 11 horsepower. I use it 1-3 times a year mostly to chip branches that fall or that I cut off of our many big fir and cedar trees, and pruned from our bigger Japanese Maples, Vine Maple, and fruit trees.
I have one like your shredder; but I don't use it! The lawnmowers do a better job and faster. OK; so they will not chip the larger branches. But they will 'grind' up the smaller ones and the chipper does not work that great on the larger ones.
With a ridding tractor you can simply keep mowing over the leaves and twigs until they are all mulched. You simply use the direction of the discharge chute to 'rake' and mulch at the same time all your yard debris. Then, after it is 'mulched' you have the option of using the mower to disperse the mulch or collect it into a pile to be picked up. You can do the same with the push mowers but it takes longer.
I got tired of all the clogs with the shredder.
As far as the OP's combination vacuum/mulcher/shredder; I don't have one. My feeling is that just a plain mower and bagger would do about the same work. The one the OP's link shows looks heavy and clumsy. It might reduce the leaves to mulch a litter better; I just don't know if it is worth it?
Yeah, I'm thinking it might not be worth it. I can't use a blower than can suck them up....my back can't take it. I guess I'll just mulch with the mower and leave it. I do have a wood chipper, but for small sticks up to 1.5".
Guess I'll just keep collecting sticks before each mow (I fill a wheel barrow to overflowing each time). But I'll have to get an acorn collector.
Yeah, I'm thinking it might not be worth it. I can't use a blower than can suck them up....my back can't take it. I guess I'll just mulch with the mower and leave it. I do have a wood chipper, but for small sticks up to 1.5".
Guess I'll just keep collecting sticks before each mow (I fill a wheel barrow to overflowing each time). But I'll have to get an acorn collector.
I have five acres that I used to keep pretty clear of leaves by simply mowing the leaves with my lawn tractors. I have had bagging attachments for the tractors and I tried mulching blades; but just mowing the leaves was the easiest solution. I did like the tow behind leaf collectors for the days when I used to compost. But for five acres with lots of trees I would collect about two tandem dump trucks full of leaves every year. You have to have enough space for that size compost pile.
You can mow your leaves first and then bag them. That reduces the physical amount of space needed to store the compost. But any leaves you collect will then be considerably heavier.
With the lawnmowers most discharge chutes are on the right side. So I cut my leaf covered lawn in a clockwise direction and keep re-mowing the leaves until they start getting too heavy of difficult for the mower. Then I reverse the process to spread them out or herd (rake with the mower) them towards the forest or area where I want to deposit my mulch. If no area is around then I just keep mowing them to scatter them where there are no visible piles.
I also found that it helps to work with nature and not against it when it comes to leaves. My property gets some strong Fall/Winter winds. If I keep my dead branches picked up and mow the clumps of leaves where they first start to collect; those strong winds help 'vacuum' the leaves off my property. A dead branch is all it takes to start a pile of leaves for next Spring; so it is important not to let those piles start. I guess your neighbor could complain that you deposited your leaves on their property; but that's Nature!
Ugh. I'm glad I don't have 5 acres to cut. But I suppose it's easier with a tractor, which my lot simply doesn't allow for.
As I age I have cut back on keeping the whole property cut all the time. I have about two acres that I mow fairly religiously and I try to get the rest of the property mowed once or twice each year. I used to have three lawn tractors so when one was down I used another one. Now I only have one. I also no longer compost my leaves; just too much work and not enough time.
But mowing my leaves does help get rid of them. If they are wet and matted to the ground I just mow over the top of them with the mower on the highest setting. Then more dry out and I go over them a second, third or fourth time. About a week ago I went around my house first with my leaf blower to move the leaves out of the shrubbery. Then I mowed them in a counterclockwise direction to keep them moving away from the house. Eventually all were turned into tiny bits that disappeared into my lawn.
Hand push mowers work fine; especially on a small lot. You can use the same principals; let me know how it works.
I have a stand of white oak trees at my lake house, and the property puts out an incredible amount of leaves in the Fall. Unfortunately it's usually raining throughout the Fall and often I cannot get around to dealing with the leaves until May. I have sworn off any burning, as all the neighbors think of my burn pile as their burn pile.
I use a high quality zero turn mower to mulch the leaves somewhat, and I drive in circles blowing the leaves into piles. I will often use a pitch fork and throw the leaves into my pickup truck bed. I drive through the countryside letting the leaves blow into nature (rural area.)
I also often use a Honda self propelled lawn mower with a grass catcher to go over the leaves. it's almost like a vacuum cleaner. The leaves are ground into a mulch that I can use in my yard. Our free city refuse center allows yard clippings to be left there. I also pickup limbs and trimmings that are taken to the dump.
I just love my Honda self propelled push mower. That's the only brand that holds up to our severe use, and their grass catchers are in a class of their own. With a little effort, I've been moving huge piles of leaves and limbs.
My mower isn't self-propelled, and while I thought I would want one to be, turns out I think it would be tricky on some steep hills I have. As it is, I have a small, battery operated (stop laughing!) mower simply because I had to get one that folds up so I could put it in the storage closet (no garage). I don't want to put up a shed.
It does mulch well, but it spits the grass/mulch out the back, not the sides. I have a bag for it, but I was shocked at how little there was in the bag when I was done cutting, so I haven't used the bag since. (I haven't mulched much, as I got it after the fall...I did blow the leaves into the tree line prior to getting the mower. Those leaves are DEEP...I want to undo that someday).
I'm still learning about my new property and my new mower. Mulching burns up the battery quickly, and frankly, I was shocked to see the &^%$#! price of a spare battery set (takes two 20V). Costs almost as much as the lawn mower! Wish I had checked that before I bought. I do have to admit that that, and the small width (so many passes!) are a real PITA. But it does a real good job, it mulches really well, and it's light enough that I can maneuver it well on angles (because holding the weed wacker for very long is also a back problem - but I'm retired and I just can't see paying someone to do my landscaping...just screams "lazy" to me while I'm still able to do it). And I fold it and put it on a shelf in a large closet.
I'm just going to have to keep figuring this all out, and the mower checks many "wants". But I dread Autumn. I have never, ever had so many leaves, acorns and sticks. It's unbelievable.
Last edited by crusinsusan; 05-23-2020 at 10:59 PM..
ive looked at those and definitely would like to try a powerful one out. the best thing for me is for you to get it and come back and let us know if it was a good purchase.
one issue is that it has limited use. i ended up getting a lawn tractor and a lawn sweeper trailer thing. its pretty good and also can be used for a variety of functions where the lawn vacuum would be more limited.
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