Latest reviews about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

SnappyHome says "This monster pick up everything!" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

SnappyHome — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:57:40 GMT

I chose the Pro version of the carftsman sweeper because my yard is craggy and uneven. I drive a lawn tractor ithe a 54" deck on 2 acres of lawn sprinkled with mature trees. I have a lot of sticks and small rocks so I wanted something really sturdy that I didn't have to baby. I'm not good at maintenance or neccessarily following directions so I worried that it would be hard to put togethere and difficult to set up to work with my mower....it WASN'T. It only took me about 20 minutes to put together and hitch up and I was soon sweeping like a demon! This sweeper picked up EVERYTHING - small rocks, sticks and lots of leaves. Even when I hit areas of my lawn that were a bit damp...it pulled up wet leaves and clumps just as well. I am really happy with it. The only diffisulty I had was the 2 flimsy rod supports that are in the back of the bag support frame - they kept falling out. I used it all day without them and then made my own out of wooden dowel rods, slightly longer, but they......

sphillip says "Craftsman Proffessional 44" High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

sphillip — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:09:55 GMT

We've owned our sweeper for a few years now. You need to know how to use and adjust the sweeper in order for it to work well. When my husband first put it together, I noticed it not working quite right so I took a closer look and noticed a problem with his assembly. Once fixed, it worked like a champ. We have lost a few parts along the way but we're pretty hard on it as well. One thing nice about any craftsman product is the ease of getting parts. We have a large yard (2 acres) and use it basically to sweep up acorns in the fall prior to the trees losing all their leaves and to clean the yard in the spring. It's too small for picking up all our leaves because we have a lot of trees (over 15) and are next to the woods but it does a great job of cleaning the lawn....

jadams976 says "Highly recommend the Craftsman 44" Sweeper. Lives up to the name" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

jadams976 — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 01:40:51 GMT

This sweeper does a great job. It takes a bit of trial and error to find the correct height to use. Being very mechanically inclined I was supprised when a a couple of times I had back up a step or two because of very unclear insturctions. It still only took me 20 to 30 minutes to assemble and hook to my tractor. I highly recommend this sweeper....

FJRitz says "Not anywhere near as good as my Grandfather's International." about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

FJRitz — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:14:43 GMT

It is ok, much better than the lower priced "Craftsman" I had to return because I couldn't even make one full pass around the yard before it fell apart again...It is no where even close to being as good as the International one I inherited from my Grandfather years ago....

Trevex says "44" tow sweeper" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

Trevex — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:40:40 GMT

I am happy with my purchase but have a couple of items for improvement / use. The sweeper is pretty sensitive to the height setting of the brushes, so you might have to play with it a little to get the optimal performance. If the brushes are too low, it will drag- too high and it doesn't pick much up. Since the brushes are run by the drive wheels if the grass has a little bit of dew or moisture on it, it won't turn the brushes, it will just drag. I think the wheels need to have a little more "bite" to them. One thing to keep in mind is because the sweeper is so wide, be careful driving over un-even terrain. I got mine "high centered" the first time I used it. I have seen a couple of reviews complaining about un-loading it. I found it extremely easy to unload- you don't even have to get off the tractor- just make sure you are pulling the "basket" all the way open and it dumps fine- no problem.

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mississippiboy says "Works great and has a huge capacity" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

mississippiboy — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:58:21 GMT

I have never owned any other sweeper to compare this one to, but judging from the looks/ construction of the others, this one has them beat. It picks up green grass no problem and huge windrows of dry grass require only two passess. When i say huge windrows, i mean blowing about 4 rows of grass into one row using the lawnmower. i use a full blown commercial bad boy outlaw and cut 5+ acres of grass. this thing is WAY less cheaper than the models that go on the back of my mower. It takes less than 10 seconds to dump the load and you can do it without ever getting off the mower. The bag stays off the ground no matter the load. The only con i have is that you cant disengage the gears to stop the brushes from spinning. you can only raise them off the ground a little. this is like pulling teeth, having to go no more than 6 mph when i am driving it to my neighbors yard or my parents. if they could disengage the gears, and transport 10-12mph, it would be the perfect sweeper.

*****I AM MECHANICALY...

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ONEWITHNATURE says "The Craftsman Proffessional 44 " Tow Sweeper" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

ONEWITHNATURE — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 22:01:22 GMT

This sweeper is a great product, and I do like how it does make picking up the grass clippings much easier than raking, especially with 2 plus acres. The problem I have with this unit is no matter how you much adjust the sweeper up, or how slow you go (to the point where it does'nt sweep. The bolts that secure the right side sweeper continually break. I have bought a full set of new brushes because the first set was ruined the 1st year I used it. And I have bought and keep on hand nuts and bolts ( the kind required) to replace them as them break, usually 3 or 4 times per use. Like I say it's a great machine and I keep using it, but it would be so much better if the brush system was set up in a way where the bolts wouldn't keep breaking. So would I recomment it, only if you don't mind fixing it while your using it, and listen for when the bolt breaks, you can tell.

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Eric-from-Illinois says "Used Twice and failed in 10 Days" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

Eric-from-Illinois — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:50:52 GMT

I normally do not have time to write reviews on products; however my experience with this product was very frustrating. I purchased the product June 10, mowed my lawn twice with it and by end of the second time, the hopper bag was tearing, the sweeper was banging and making all sorts of noise and it was failing to sweep cleanly. I returned the product June 20th. I had previously purchased the older version of the 42" sweeper and that unit lasted 5 years. With my return, I just re-purchased the newer version of the 42" unit. I hope to have better experience. I would advise everyone to steer clear of this unit. I will add that the return process was quick easy and completely hassle free, which only confirmed why I still love Sears....

PondMaster says "CRAFTSMAN PROFESSIONAL 44 INCH HIGH SPEED SWEEPER IS GREAT!" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

PondMaster — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:59:55 GMT

I bought this to help with picking up leaves and grass clippings. I mulch my grass and when I can't cut it every 5 days because of the weather, it leaves clumps of grass all over my lawn. This sweeper when adjusted right sweeps up the clumps and save my having to push the wheel barrow all over 1 acre of grass picking up those clumps of grass. It was taking me 2 hrs with the wheel barrow and with this sweeper it takes 20 minuets. My Craftsman 19 1/2 horse riding mower will barely pull this sweeper. The transmission slips under the load and I am thinking of upgrading to more horsepower and a better transmission. The sweeper is heavy and the sweeping bristles put a lot of drag on the mower. It is heavy duty and the weight helps to keep the wheels from skidding when it contacts higher ground. I love it!! The only drawback is that I can't reach the dump handle from the tractor seat and have to get off to trip the hopper. I wish they had made the handle with the bend higher up and longer....

bigt420 says "I love my Lawn Sweeper." about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

bigt420 — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:32:38 GMT

This is a great product. I wish I had always owned one. It saves me hours of break breaking work and I would recommend any homeowner with a large yard to make sure they purchase one immediately.

It performs much better than expected. I am able to sweep my entire lawn in uner 1 hour and it leaves my yard looking like a professional came in and did all the work.

We use the sweeper to pick clippings, debris and leaves. It makes what would take hours a small job done in minutes.

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whitebread0723 says "Craftsman Professional 44" Lawn Sweeper Sears# 24229" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

whitebread0723 — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:50:34 GMT

I do not own this sweeper, but let's just say I assemble them for a company who sells them. Out of the box it seems very heavy duty and durable, but it has a few quality problems.

The 3 good things I found were that the bag attachment design to the hopper is pretty clever, and seems durable-basically a spring loaded lock bar. The hopper itself is wide, and appears to be of durable construction.

There are 4 quality problems I found while assembling, and they all were associated with the bag assembly. First, installing the stability bar (the one across the front), the holes weren't even big enough for the bar. I had to bore them out with a drill so the rod went through. Second, the webbing that the bar goes through started to tear. If this happens just in assembly, I can't see it lasting too long out there on the lawn. Third, the bag support design is in my opinion very "lazy". The 2 rods are to be bent to fit in the holes in the top and bottom support tubes. The problem is that they are...

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NHgardner says "Basket system is a joke and renders the sweeper nearly useless" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

NHgardner — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 14:59:58 GMT

I have a 22 year old sears garden tractor that is epic. It is near criminal that this sweeper is sold as "professional." The metal sweeper piece actually works well. The bag system is absolutely useless. Mine was poorly made, with holes not lining up properly. The bag started to tear in the first use. The bags pulls off the frame on the slightest provocation.

Too bad, because the sweeper itself does a reasonable job. I intend to build a plywood box--a good bit larger than the bag that came with it...to salvage my purchase. Mostly I'm back to rake and blower. Poor design, Sears.

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doctor1013 says "Easy to assemble, pretty good construction" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

doctor1013 — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:20:55 GMT

Not sure where the other reviewers got hung up on assembly. The unit comes half assembled out of the box and the remaining assembly took about 45 minutes with basic hand tools. Plan on having a second person around if possible to make maneuvering the bag supports into place a little easier.

I have only assembled the unit so far, I haven't gotten a chance to use it. However, the build materials seem fairly substantial. The bag support rods are a bit flimsy as is the dump handle setup. But the main box and drag bar are very solid heavy gauge metal.

Will update my review once I have had a chance to use it, but so far I would say this sweeper seems better constructed than some of the other Brinley / AgriFab models that were available.

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gfroebe says "This lawn sweeper is a great product for homeowner use" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

gfroebe — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:21:09 GMT

Overall, we have been very pleased with the Craftsman Professional lawn sweeper. We have about an acre and it picks up grass, leaves, walnuts & hickory nuts very well. The unit seems to have solid construction when compared to some of the other sweepers out there (esp. Brinly).

Assembly is about what you'd expect for this type of device. The instructions were decent, but could definitely be improved with some additional detail/clarification. I didn't really pay attention, but would estimate it took about an hour and a half to assemble.

We actually purchased a Brinly 42" sweeper from ********** orginally (a little less $), but ended up returning it because the rear of the hopper drug the ground and was beginning to rip, after only a couple hours of usage - it was not possible to adjust the hopper to be higher off the ground. The Craftsman Professional did not have this problem and does not drag, even when the hopper is full. The construction of this sweeper seems much heavier than...

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luckylg says "Good product, assembly not that bad, works well" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

luckylg — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:57:59 GMT

I was a little concerned about buying this after reading some of the reviews. If you have advanced college degrees and can't put this together it's probably you, not the sweeper. Okay, so the directions could be better, but a little thinking worked out the few issues that arose. The assembly took my wife and I about 40-45 minutes and I was sweeping five minutes after that. The sweeper adjustment is a snap and our two acres is now clear of clippings. The mount for the dump handle is poorly engineered and I expect to have to create another solution rather than the two cotter pins. Whoever designed this should be ashamed. Other than that it's a pretty good product.

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OillieMonster says "This sweeper is not built up to professional strength." about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

OillieMonster — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:18:08 GMT

This sweeper works well when it isn't broken. The weakest part is the broom rotor. I have replaced screws and locknuts various times, each incident requiring bending the brooms back straight because they get wrapped around the axle. Today, one of the flimsy sheet-metal brackets that hold the broom to the broom axle broke, and the broom will probably have to be replaced because it has been bent so badly.

I will admit that my 10 acres is a lot to sweep, but it is flat land and shouldn't have caused this much trouble. I got this sweeper last summer and it has been broken for more time than it has been usable. To me, the term, "Professional" means that the product is virtually bulletproof, and will provide years of operation prior to a metal fatigue failure. "CRAFTSMAN" used to mean something in the 1970's and '80's. Sears is ruining their reputation by putting this flimsy **** out under that brand name.

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leoragen says "Very hard to assemble. Works amazingly well once on the lawn." about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

leoragen — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:59:08 GMT

The assembly process was so difficult I considered returning it. Perserverence and many hours of work, however, eventually overcame this formidable obstacle. At one point I had to purchase a file to widen two holes in which a rod was supposed to fit. This was the only time I deviated from the instructions which were pretty explicit, as long as I read each step three or four times becore attempting it.

Unless you are very mechanically gifted or skilled, ask Sears to assemble it for you. Believe me, it's worth the expense.

The sweeper is amazingly effective on the lawn. I took it over a fairly clean lawn and it still picked up a lot of thatch. Most surprising was its ability to pick up heavier objects like sticks that were 18" long and about 1/2 to 1" thick. The capacity is excellent and unloading is easy. And it does it all almost silently and without any power source of its own to worry about.

All in all, I'm happy with this purchase though I would have given it an outstanding rating...

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Searsis1ststop says "assembly of 44" sweeper" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

Searsis1ststop — Fri, 28 May 2010 05:50:03 GMT

Agree with previous reviews re assembly ... it took two high-IQ people with backgrounds in assembly to make sense of the line drawings -- even then had to come to website to see final pix to make sure correct !! The "holes" that need to be face-up should be so identified in the manual -- with words and not just a dot on the drawing !! Step 9 had to be re-done several times to get other steps ( such as 13 ) completed. Very grateful to learn not crazy re the extremely flimsy inside poles -- they constantly popped out during remaining steps ... appreciate suggestion about buying stronger ones and will do so before we even use !! Can NOT comment on use since first had to do "the some assembly required" as this website states !!! Hoping that past great experiences with Craftsman will hold and thus make the frustrations of over 2 hours a past memory.

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zipity51 says "The inside poles suck" about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

zipity51 — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 01:53:37 GMT

Assembly took three of us to figure out directions and then still got it wrong. The inside poles are good for nothing flimsy and weak keep falling out. Did not get all of the parts so rather than drive the 30 miles one way and 45 minutes to the nearest Sears we had to take the time to go find parts at a harware store

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Joe9999 says "Good...but could be better. Still does a great job." about Craftsman Professional 44&#34 High Speed Universal Tow Sweeper

Joe9999 — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:09:48 GMT

Assembly directions for this Craftsman sweeper could be a better. A couple of the steps just did not make since on the first pass. But I got it after a bit. It took me about 1-1/2 hours to assemble. A good bit of that time was trying to figure out the particular step. In one step I turned the holes the wrong way on one section and had to take it back apart. The bendable rods to support the rear of the bag are too flimsy. I bought 2 thicker ones from the hardware store. The pivot rod that holds the basket kept vibrating out the of the holes they were in and would knock the drive on caps off. I just drilled a hole in each end and put a washer and pin in it. The last problem is that the brushes frequently throw debris (especially leaves) clear over the top of the bag. The top of the bag should have been made higher. I am going to put a strip of plastic netting above and behind the brush shields to deflect the stray leaves back into the hopper.

Other than these small issues it does...

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