Customer Reviews

Agri-Fab 45-0218 26-Inch Push Lawn Sweeper

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I have a 1/2 acre lot with a flat front yard and a hilly backyard, with heavy woods along the entire back and one whole side plus several large 30ft+ trees on my lot. So yes I have a lot of leaves every year.

This sweeper works pretty good on flat ground, uneven ground can give you uneven results. On hilly areas, try to pick a path where the ground is flat with respect to the area between the two wheels.

The height adjustment is key. If the brushes are too low, you'll be jamming them on the ground and making the sweeper very hard to push. It should take little effort to push, less than a gas powered lawnmower. If the brushes are too high, you'll skim over some stuff. I think a couple of the previous reviewers didn't adjust the brush height properly. In very, very heavy leaves the sweeper works but fills so fast, in 15 feet for me in some places, that a rake is actually faster.

Things to remember:
1. Proper height adjustment is key. Changing height is very easy and quick.
2. Keep your rake. You'll still need it for fence lines, gardens, flower beds, etc...
3. Keep a good pace and get those brushes spinning. It really tosses the stuff back in the catcher that way.
4. Works best on dry or slightly damp leaves. Not so good on wet leaves.

Things that would make this sweeper better:
1. The brush housing should throw leaves farther back in catcher. The catcher fills quickly in the front while there is still room in the rear. I just reach down and pull all the leaves back so I can get more in the catcher between dumps but the housing could be modified to throw the leaves better.
2. A deeper catcher, more volume. I want to change this thing as little as possible. I have fairly long legs and I don't kick the catcher, so another 2-3 inches deeper would be nice.

Things I don't have to worry about that you might think about:
1. Bagging. If you bag your leaves, dumping leaves from the catcher to a bag might be a pain. You need two hands to empty the catcher and 1-2 hands to hold the bag, so.... Since I have woods on two sides, where most of the leave came from in the first place, I just return to sender. If I had to bag I would probably sweep and dump all the leaves in one big pile in the driveway and then bag all leaves at the end.

I grew up pushing a large metal and canvass sweeper across my parents lawn. It swept about a 3 foot swath meticulously and is still working at 100% for my dad after 25 years. This device does not. However, what I wanted just isn't available to purchase anymore. This model is the largest push-powered leaf sweeper I could find and it just doesn't even come close to measuring up. The build quality is suspect and the bag is essentially heavy plastic. It does work, but not all that well. And forget using it if the lawn isn't trimmed. Which brings about another issue. It doesn't like picking up anything small. You know, like chopped leaves since you have to mow first. I think this is just the sad state of the transition from solid, more expensive American-made products that do what you need, to much cheaper, flimsier, more frequently replaced products that come close enough.

If the thought of raking leaves on a cool fall Sunday when you should be watching your favorite football team in action turns your stomach, then my friend, you should should invest in the best kept lawn and garden secret, the Lawnsweeper. Recently while shopping for an updated model(i use one my grandfather passed down) I was told by a salesperson at a national hardware store that "Lawnsweepers won't be in stock until the Fall when the leaves start falling." I could not believe this comment only because i have used my lawnsweeper for not only picking up leaves, but grass clippings as well. I have approximately a 1/2 acre and dread the thought of raking all of it, especially when i can't cut the lawn on time and it grows like crazy. The lawnsweeper also picks up any other debris on the lawn at the time. The lawnsweeper also lets me carry my tools and bags of grass clippings around. This is a multifaceted piece of lawn equipment that should be in every garage or shed.

The sweeper is definetly much faster and easier than raking. The first time I used it I thought the sweeper was crap. But after using it a few times, I now appreciate that it is an effective product. It will take some time to figure out how to use it most efficiently.

Pros.
1. Faster than raking and bagging.
2. Light.
3. Does what it advertises, that is, sweeps up leaves.
4. No cords or gas/oil mixtures to worry about.
5. The bag is easy to remove and reattach (which you will have to do a lot of if you're picking up a large amount of leaves).
6. Can even be used on pavement (has to be relatively level).

Things to look out for:
1. The sweeper will not work well on hills or lawns with chunks or divets.
2. It took me a few tries to figure out the best height to use for my front and back yard. Luckily, the height adjustment is pretty easy to change (just don't tighten it too much).
3. The sweeper works better when not pushed like a mower (tip it forward and up as you push it).
4. Relatively easy to put together (in spite of the confusing instructions).

Cons:
1. The bag doesn't hold a lot of leaves and requires frequent changes. However, I guess a larger bag would make the sweeper heavier to push around.
2. The attached bag doesn't empty easily into paper recycling bags.
3. Does not work on edges (think where a mower is not effective). You will still need your rake.

Bottom line: I am glad I bought it. Now my neighbors want one.

I bought this as a Father's Day present for my Dad and was a little insulted 6 weeks later when he went and bought a bigger, pull behind his mower, sweeper. THEN I went over to his house and tried them both out. The 26" push Lawn Sweeper from Agri-Fab throws more of the yard debris back out onto the ground than it picks up. It was horrible. I would have been better off to just give him nothing. It was a complete waste of my money.

Ok, so you want a earth-friendly, effective and fun way to keep your lawn tidy? This is the answer! I really didn't know such device existed, but I knew someone somewhere had invented an alternative to ear-deafening, gas guzzling, and heavy leaf-blowers.

To be frank, I was a bit skeptical as to how well the Lawn Sweeper might work--would it jam at the first hurdle? would it fall apart (it looked a little flimsy on the photos) as it made it's way up and down my 20 degree sloped yard? would it actually gather the leaves or simply throw them all over the place only to do the job again with a rake? Well, none of this happened.

It is truly an elegant design. If you set the height of the brush right, you should be able to effortlessly cover about 2,000 sq feet in 20 minutes (assuming your yard is fairly even)---that's about 100 sq feet per minute at a moderatly brisk pace (i.e. about 2 normal steps per second). It's also a good exercise and the leaves fall rather aimfully into the basket.

The first time I used it I had already mowed my lawn, so many hand-sized leaves were reduced to about finger-sized leaves. While one might suspect the task to be more difficult, it actually reduced the number of trips I had to make to empty the basket (I guess the pre-mowing actually reduced the volume of space a larger leaf occupies vs. a shredded one). For this reason, I would recommend waiting a few days after the leaves fall and let them shrink a bit.

Some of the other reviewers complained that the basket could have been bigger or deeper so they wouldn't have to empty so often. I sort of agree, yet in paying attention to this and thinking about how the design could be improved, I came up short. I guess the designers really had to wrestle among trade-offs in: basket size, clearance of shooting range, weight and cost. Oh well. However, the long metal rod that holds the bottom of the bag to the device could use some improvements. The rubber stoppers are not very helpful (they keep coming off when I take off the bag), but other than that it's a nice, light and inexpensive piece of equipment that belongs in every garage in America.

Finally, don't expect your post-labor lawn to be leaf-free. It will miss a few spots, much in the way a vacuum cleaner never does a great job on the first passing. But if you're not much of a perfectionist, it should make your yard the envy of the block in half the time it took "Larry the leaf-blower" do his.

Oh, the assembly is a piece of cake. If you've assembled IKEA furniture, it's more or less the same degree of difficulty.

Happy Sweepin'.

We use the lawn sweeper every week to keep up with the falling leaves. It really does a super job! It picks up about 90% of the leaves with minimal effort. It took me a little getting used to pushing the sweeper. You kind of have to push it in an upright position rather than head on like a lawn mower. Once I figured this out, it was much easier to push and picks up great once you find the right level to set it on. I tend to dump it while the bag is attached while my husband finds it easier to remove the bag and dump it that way. All in all, I think it's a great product that does what it says it will. I highly recommend it. We have the cleanest lawn on the block because we sweep every week rather than wait to rake a ton.

This lawn sweeper overall is a good product. It will pickup 80-85% of fallen leaves off concrete or grass.

PROS: -Reasonable price
-Lightweight
-Will work on multiple surfaces

CONS: -Feels flimsy at times
-No on the fly height adjustment

The Agri-Fab sweeper is easy to assemble and ideal for a lawn that isn't too large or hasn't many leaf-producing trees. However, if the lawn has a lot of trees and a lot of leaves, the catcher bag has to be emptied often, a slight inconvenience. Once the user has determined the correct height for the brushes, the lawn sweeper does its job really well--the shorter the grass, the better it performs.

Terrible product. Rediculously hard to push through the grass. Would be better attatched to a motor of some sort or pulled behind a mower.