Maybe you are convinced that a lawn sweeper is exactly what you need, but don’t know how to choose the right one.
Well, you’re in the right place. The Lawn Sweeper Reviews Buyer’s Guide will help you choose the right type of lawn sweeper for you and your lawn.
First, a reminder of some truths…
Lawn Sweeper vs The Big Bad Rake
At certain times of the year, maybe even throughout, your lawn gets cluttered with a lot of debris. The only solution, if you want your lawn to look clean and clear of any debris, is to collect it up somehow and dispose of it.
One option is a rake. The villain of this story.
Raking takes hours.
It can break your back.
Even when you are done, you know it’s only a matter of time before you have to rake again. More hours spent. More aches and pains maybe more hurt than before. And then again. And again. Season after season.
Before you know it, in a matter of just a few months, you’ve spent so many hours raking your lawn that sometimes you wonder if all the trouble is worth it. You’ve put your body through the mill during those hours.
And all for what? The desire to have a clean and beautiful lawn. A worthwhile desire of any proud homeowner.
If the above sounds like you, then a lawn sweeper will change your life. It will replace the rake, and get your lawn cleared in a few hours instead of days. It will save your back from the constant bending and aching.
You will be able to spend your time doing things you love on the weekends. such as being with family, watching sports, reading a book, or anything else you like to do. Instead of raking and raking and raking.
Time is precious. Your body is precious. One simple garden tool beginning with “L” will preserve both.
Despite the daunting prospect of using a rake, we recommend that you do not dispose of it completely. Raking is still useful when done in small bursts. In some instances, it can even complement your lawn sweeper by using it to pull debris away from the edges and borders of your lawn, thereby bringing debris into an area that is more easily covered by your sweeper or tractor.
Lawn Sweeper vs Leaf Blower and Lawn Vacuum
There are three main alternatives to using a lawn sweeper to clear debris faster from your lawn.
They are:
Leaf Blowers: These tools pump out air that literally blows away leaves and other debris on your lawn. They can be electric powered or gasoline powered, and they are strapped to the user. Leaf blowers are a bit more versatile than lawn sweepers, as they can handle various types of debris on pretty much any surface. They’re also more compact and can get into tight areas that a lawn sweeper cannot. However, there are several reasons as to why lawn sweepers are better.
Firstly, you don’t have to strap one to yourself so there’s no need to be weighed down, especially if you’re covering a large area.If you have a large lawn to cover, carrying around a leaf blower will be cumbersome time-wise, because you have to cover the area to be swept by foot, which is not the case if you’re riding a tractor with a tow behind sweeper. The biggest advantage of using a lawn sweeper over a leaf blower is that you’re instantly gathering the leaves into the hopper, whereas a leaf blower simply blows the leaves from one part of the lawn to another, making it relatively difficult to gather leaves into one area for dumping.
Lawn Vacuums: These work exactly like the name suggests, and operate like a push lawn sweeper. Rather than sweeping up debris with brushes, they suck it up in the way a vacuum does. They are effective, just like lawn sweepers are. The biggest difference is price. Lawn vacuums are far more expensive, often costing five times compared to lawn sweeper.
To Tow Or Push: That Is The Question
There are two kinds of lawn sweepers: push and tow behind. Push lawn sweepers work mostly the same way as tow behind lawn sweepers do. The big difference is in the way they are powered. Push sweepers work the same as push lawn mowers, requiring human effort to push them across the lawn. Tow behind lawn sweepers are attached to the back of lawn tractors or riding mowers.
The simplest factor behind your decision to buy a push or tow behind lawn sweeper is: do you own a tractor or riding mower? If yes, then it probably means you have a large lawn and therefore it makes sense to buy a tow behind sweeper as an attachment.
If you do not have a tractor or riding mower, you first need to assess whether the size of your lawn is big enough warrant one. If not, then a push lawn sweeper should be good enough to handle the debris in your garden.
Below is a table of comparisons between the two types of lawn sweepers:
What To Look Out For When Choosing A Lawn Sweeper
Here are some key features to look out for and assess when selecting which lawn sweeper to buy (unless specifically stated, this list applies to both push and tow behind lawn sweepers):
● Hopper size: To maximise efficiency, the larger the hopper, the less frequently you’ll have to empty it. Just because a hopper is large, however, doesn’t necessarily dictate how much debris it will be able to carry. This is because each hopper is differently built from model to model. For example, some hoppers may be large, and yet are easily weighed down by the debris even when they’re not completely full. Weighing down the hopper may cause damage to the hopper bag fabric, maybe even the sweeper itself. Read the reviews on this site to get an idea on the durability and build of a hopper. Note that sweepers with larger sized hoppers cost more.
● Brushes: It is the brushes of a lawn sweeper that actually carry out the action of sweeping. Brushes made from a strong, durable material will ensure that your sweeper picks up all kinds and all amounts of debris. Another metric to look out for is the brush to wheel ratio which states how many rotations your brushes make in relation to one turn of the wheel. A high brush to wheel ratio, for example 5:1 and above, ensures that the brushes of the sweeper are making maximum contact with the ground and are revolving quickly enough to sweep up everything in their path. Also, if stated, note the number of brushes a sweeper has on its axle. The higher the number, the more sweeping coverage you’ll get.
● Tow Hitch (tow behind sweepers only): Before purchasing a tow behind lawn sweeper, ensure its compatibility with your existing tractor/riding mower. As said earlier in the report, most lawn sweepers come with tow hitches that will fit with most riding machines but double check by reading our review of the product you’re interested in. Some users mentioned making simple modifications to their town hitch to ensure both the attachment to their riding machine was solid, and that the height and angle of the sweeper from the ground was not adversely affected. Again, you’ll be able to read about such issues in our reviews section.
● Height Adjustment: How easy is it to change a sweepers height? The ‘height’ actually refers to the height of the brushes from the ground. If changing the height is easy, then that’s a big plus point for any lawn sweeper. You’ll notice that once you start using your sweeper, you might have to change the height of your brushes regularly to discover which brush height is best for certain types of debris, grass length and tractor speed. Being able to adjust the height simply and quickly will ensure your sweeper is performing to its potential no matter what the conditions.
● Ease of Storage: This is one of the specific features we assess in our reviews. Lawn sweepers, especially tow behinds, are large and bulky. You may wish to store your sweeper away over the winter, or store it in between sweeping sessions. A lawn sweeper that can collapse in size and be stored away compactly, in a quick and easy manner has a big advantage over other models, since you can be sure it’ll fit neatly in your shed without too much trouble. How well a sweeper can be stored will largely depend on how easily its hopper can be removed or collapsed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are our responses to three frequently asked questions from people looking to buy a lawn sweeper:
1. How much do lawn sweepers cost?
Lawn sweepers vary quite a bit when it comes to price. The first distinction to make is whether you’re buying a push lawn sweeper or a tow behind lawn sweeper. Push lawn sweepers range from about $50 to $150. They’re cheaper than tow behind sweepers because they tend to have a smaller capacity hopper and their build tends to be lightweight since they are operated by manpower. Tow behind lawn sweepers are more expensive, ranging from about $200 $400 for most models. They cost more because they have larger capacity hoppers and have a heavy duty build, made of metal, to withstand being towed by a tractor. Then there are the other usual factors that will influence price, such as brand and obviously the retailer you buy from. Take a look at out our *comparison chart* with all current lawn sweepers on the market and price options at various retail stores.
2. Do I need a tractor or riding lawn mower to use a lawn sweeper?
The answer to this is no, but it helps if you have a large lawn area that is affected by debris, say from half an acre upwards. If the affected lawn area is smaller than that, then a push lawn sweeper, which is operated exactly like a push lawn mower (i.e. by manpower), should be able to do the job. Where the debris falls over a large area, then it’s of course useful to have a tractor or riding mower to cover more ground quickly and with less effort. If you don’t already have one, then you can still take advantage of a lawn sweeper by purchasing a push sweeper. If you do have one, then a tow behind lawn sweeper is a perfect attachment for clearing debris such as leaves and grass clippings. Also, it should be noted that most modern tow behind lawn sweepers tend to have universal attachment hitches which can connect to a wide variety of tractor models. We recommend you make absolutely sure beforehand, but you should be able to choose from several lawn sweeper models that fit with your particular tractor or riding mower.
3. How do I choose the best lawn sweeper for me?
To choose the right lawn sweeper, you need to assess the state of your lawn. How large is it or rather how large is the area affected by debris? If you have a lot of trees in your yard, then the chances are most of your lawn could be covered in leaves and other debris. Do you already own a tractor/riding mower? If not, then you should focus on push sweepers. How thick is the layer of debris on your lawn? If it’s quite thick, it is best to get a sweeper that has a larger sized hopper (44 inches and above). We recommend that you take some time to go through the reviews section on our site and pick the lawn sweeper that best suits your particular needs. If you need buyer support, get in touch with us and we will provide you with suggestions on models.
Here are some more frequently asked questions.
What To Expect When Your Lawn Sweeper Arrives
One of the biggest problems that can occur with a lawn sweeper is the assembly.
It seems that for about half of lawn sweeper users, assembly is a breeze and can often be completed in an hour sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more.
However for the other half of lawn sweeper buyers, assembly can be a bit of a nightmare. Common complaints include missing or damaged parts or poor assembly instructions or support.
Either of these issues could cause a lot of frustration. Here is a short checklist to make your life easier once you’ve purchased your lawn sweeper:
● You may decide to purchase your lawn sweeper online or from a retail outlet. If you’ve read the review on this site and there are a lot of negative comments about the difficulty of its assembly, consider picking your purchase up from the store itself and asking the staff to assemble the sweeper for you. They may charge you a small amount for this service, or they might even do it for free. It’s worth asking. The only downside is that you may find it difficult to transport the assembled sweeper back from the store to your home, but since most lawn sweepers fold away easily, this shouldn’t be a problem.
● If you decide to give assembly a go yourself and find that the instruction manual is poor, don’t stop there. We have come across many examples of poor assembly guides that are difficult to follow, and yet people have found solutions by going online and finding instructional videos that are far more helpful. In some cases it will be the manufacturers themselves who have provided such videos on their own site to aid the assembly process. Otherwise, you may be able to find videos on YouTube. Where possible, we have provided links to such videos so that you don’t have to search for them.
● Check the packaging for clues as to what you might or rather, might not find inside. Another common complaint on receiving a lawn sweeper can be that the packaging is sometimes frayed or ripped or damaged in some other way. In this scenario, it’s quite likely that small parts may fall out of the box in transit, or that even larger parts become damaged from being loose in the box. If this happens to you, make absolutely sure before you start assembling that all the parts are present and intact. They should not be bent or broken. If they are, call
your vendor immediately, or you may even wish to go directly to the manufacturer to save time. To make sure there is a minimal risk of packaging issues, request that your item is ‘double-boxed’ when shipped, as this will ensure that your lawn sweeper has maximum protection in transit. Assembling the lawn sweeper correctly is vital since it could otherwise affect its performance. There have been examples of people struggling with the performance of their lawn sweeper and getting frustrated, when it was just a matter of fixing errors made in the assembly process.
Lawn Sweeper Brands
Some of the most popular brands of lawn sweepers are (in no particular order):
● AgriFab
● Brinly
● Craftsman
● John Deere
● Ohio Steele
For more information on these brands, visit our lawn sweeper manufacturers page.
Best 3 Lawn Sweepers
Visit the Best 3 Lawn Sweepers page on Lawn Sweeper Reviews for our recommendation of the best 3 lawn sweepers on the market today. Our picks are based on the reviews of verified purchasers and owner comments on the products, which makes the ratings objective and highly relevant. Who better to ask about a product than those who have already bought it?
Looking After Your Lawn Sweeper
A lawn sweeper can make a wonderful impact on your life.
As with any heavy duty machine, it will require some maintenance. Our recommendation is to check your sweeper periodically. Say once every couple of months to begin with. Look out for any loose connections of parts, damage or wear and tear of parts, and the general cleanliness of the sweeper. Most lawn sweeper manufacturers have a good part reordering system so you can be confident that replacing a part need not be difficult.
Final Thoughts
We always hear the phrase, “time is precious”. Yet people spend hours and hours raking leaves when there is a far quicker solution. We always hear about how some gardening tasks, especially raking, are taxing on the body.
Especially the back.
The health of your back is vital as the years roll on. And yet, despite all of this, people are unwilling to make an investment in a lawn sweeper, or are not even aware of what a lawn sweeper is or does.
We’ve taken it upon ourselves to spread the message about lawn sweepers.
They will save you massive amounts of time. That time could instead be spent with your family, or enjoying your garden rather than working†on it. Spending time on other things you want to do whatever it is: a sport, hobby or pastime. And as for the aches and pains sometimes lasting days that raking can cause: give your body a rest.
Keep it healthy. Ache and pain-free.
A lawn sweeper will be one of the best gifts you could ever give your back.
Tap Into Support
We at Lawn Sweeper Reviews have thoroughly researched lawn sweepers, and the views and experiences of those who have spent their money on them, in order to bring you a helpful, unbiased, and informative resource on lawn sweepers.
We’ve literally studied hundreds of reports from lawn owners about lawn sweepers. We have gone through every review for every major lawn sweeper on Amazon, Home Depot, Sears and sites like them with an exclusive focus on reviews that are based on verified purchases.
That means you don’t have to go through all the tons of reviews out there. All you need to do is explore Lawn Sweeper Reviews and find the answers you’re looking for.
Time your time and avoid information overload?
Check out the best lawn sweepers we’ve already selected.
Image Credits:
All images are owned by us, except in the following instances:
- We have had express permission to use certain images from David Diffenderfer (you can read his inspiring story here). These images are within the sections “What To Look Out For When Choosing A Lawn Sweeper”; “What To Expect When Your Lawn Sweeper Arrives” and “Tap Into Support”.
- “What A Lawn” by Heipei. Image: https://flic.kr/p/3gPcy License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
- “O jogador” by Felipe Sasso. Image: https://flic.kr/p/95422x License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/