reviewer
tooshort
Central Alabama

Almost no more raking

4 star rating


AUG
8
2008
First off it does not weigh 1000 pounds but it does weigh close to 300 pounds. It is shipped in two cartons although the larger carton is extremely heavy. It was all the Sears employee and I could do to load it into my truck. The bottom of the box was close to coming apart. At home I just unloaded it one piece at a time. Yes assembly is required of almost everything. The only thing you don't have to assemble is the motor and blower - they come all bolted together which makes for a heavy assembly- you might need help to get this bolted up to the cart's tongue. It will go a lot faster with a fully charged battery or two for your cordless drill with a socket adapter. To Sears/AgriFab's credit almost all bolts are fastened with locknuts which makes assembly go slower and will require you to have help when installing the roof and front panel. Take your time and make sure you look closely at the diagrams and instructions. It is easy to mix up the different lengths of the 1/4" bolts. For my Troy-bilt mower I had to rework the bracket that bolts to the mower deck and relocate the gauge wheel on the discharge side because there is no way the boot would clear the wheel. Make sure you have a grease gun available as the wheels just have an iron bushing with a grease zerk - no bearings! Get used to not getting close to trees, house, deck, etc. I don't plan on using this when I mow, but I had not been able to mow for several weeks and the grass was extremely tall so I figured I would give it a work out. Where I used to empty the bagger bags at least three times on a normal mowing I could have mowed the entire lawn and had room to spare with this. A garden rake or a silage fork is needed to empty it when done. The ads you see where they tilt the cart and drive off just ain't true especially when you have fresh grass. The weight of the motor/blower on the back of mower tends to increase the turning radius. With less weight on the front of the tractor the front wheels will slide when trying to make a sharp corner. Make sure you have a shed or garage or shed to store this in or it would probably turn into a rust pile quickly. Order the hose kit but be warned it is NOT 12 feet long like the ad says - the box is clearly marked 10'. I did not have to wait very long for the hose kit to come in - it shipped direct to the house and was here in less than a week. Have the vacuum shipped direct to the store and save on the shipping. I bought this model and got it cheaper than the AgriFab model without the chipper because the AgriFab you have to pay a hefty freight bill and this machine is clearly built by AgriFab although the AgriFab Chipper Vac has a higher HP motor - Don't get confused with the torque raiting. First impressions are this will be a good investment when the leaves start to fall.



I_thumb_up Craftsman 8.75 Torque Rating (206cc) Hard Top Chipper Vac is recommended by tooshort

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