He Mulches And Loads Leaves Together

2024 - Volume #48, Issue #1, Page #38

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Dan Sanders loads his leaves while he mulches them. A simple addition to the mouth and exhaust of the mulcher does the trick.
“We’ve got four old maple trees on our property, and they produce a lot of leaves,” says Sanders. “Last year, a friend of mine gave me a leaf mulcher, which works great. However, it came with a small bag that was a hassle to unhook and empty.”
Sanders took care of the problem by turning the mulcher into a self-feeder and chopped leaf loader. He removed the old leaf snorkel and fabricated a larger mouth using galvanized sheet metal. He left a flange on one end that fit the old mouth. For a final touch, he epoxied an old saw guard to the edge of the new scoop to prevent cutting himself on the sharp metal.
“It’s amazing how fast it pulls the leaves in,” says Sanders. “I just rake them up to the mouth, and it sucks them in.”
Sanders eliminated the time-consuming leaf bag at the mulcher as well. In its place, he fabricated an adapter that went from the oval bag throat to an 8 ft. length of 7-in. round duct pipe. Once he bolted the two together, he had a leaf thrower. All he needed was a catcher for the other end.
“I have an old pickup with a rack on it that I covered with a tarp,” says Sanders. “I cut a hole in the rack’s rear gate for the pipe, and the leaves blow right in.”
Sanders says the mulcher has so much blowing power that he can only run it at an idle. “If I throttle it up, it will blow the tarp off,” he says.
The mulched leaves find a ready home among local garden club members, adds Sanders. “I delivered two loads this fall and charged them $20 to cover gas,” he says. “The mulcher and pipe have been a godsend for me. My wife started inviting her friends to a leaf-raking party. They think that’s fun, so now all I have to do is push the leaves toward the mulcher’s mouth until the pickup box is full.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Daniel Sanders, P.O. Box 368, Dufur, Ore. 97021 (ph 541-980-6950; falcondan@gorge.net).

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He Mulches And Loads Leaves Together MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Dan Sanders loads his leaves while he mulches them A simple addition to the mouth and exhaust of the mulcher does the trick “We’ve got four old maple trees on our property and they produce a lot of leaves ” says Sanders “Last year a friend of mine gave me a leaf mulcher which works great However it came with a small bag that was a hassle to unhook and empty ” Sanders took care of the problem by turning the mulcher into a self-feeder and chopped leaf loader He removed the old leaf snorkel and fabricated a larger mouth using galvanized sheet metal He left a flange on one end that fit the old mouth For a final touch he epoxied an old saw guard to the edge of the new scoop to prevent cutting himself on the sharp metal “It’s amazing how fast it pulls the leaves in ” says Sanders “I just rake them up to the mouth and it sucks them in ” Sanders eliminated the time-consuming leaf bag at the mulcher as well In its place he fabricated an adapter that went from the oval bag throat to an 8 ft length of 7-in round duct pipe Once he bolted the two together he had a leaf thrower All he needed was a catcher for the other end “I have an old pickup with a rack on it that I covered with a tarp ” says Sanders “I cut a hole in the rack’s rear gate for the pipe and the leaves blow right in ” Sanders says the mulcher has so much blowing power that he can only run it at an idle “If I throttle it up it will blow the tarp off ” he says The mulched leaves find a ready home among local garden club members adds Sanders “I delivered two loads this fall and charged them $20 to cover gas ” he says “The mulcher and pipe have been a godsend for me My wife started inviting her friends to a leaf-raking party They think that’s fun so now all I have to do is push the leaves toward the mulcher’s mouth until the pickup box is full ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Daniel Sanders P O Box 368 Dufur Ore 97021 ph 541-980-6950; falcondan@gorge net

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