Has anyone ever used one of these? Does it truly work?
I have one, a maxi vac and yes they really do work and well. Easy to start and tow behind a riding mower, 4 wheeler etc. However, I wish they would have developed a bracket to hold the hose and allow you to push a lever to lower and raise it. The hose is 10’ long and somewhat heavy, I find having to hold it and lift it up and down kills my arthritic shoulders. Hence, my maxi vac has been a dust collector for a few years now. If you were closer I’d give you a good deal on it! They are great to have and do an excellent job.
I’ve always been interested in one but found the “new” price painful.
This year we sprung for the stall sifter. Maybe the vacuum next year.
I’m interested in it as well. Has anyone used it on stalls indoors? I would be concerned with the gasoline fumes.
[QUOTE=js;8942862]
I have one, a maxi vac and yes they really do work and well. Easy to start and tow behind a riding mower, 4 wheeler etc. However, I wish they would have developed a bracket to hold the hose and allow you to push a lever to lower and raise it. The hose is 10’ long and somewhat heavy, I find having to hold it and lift it up and down kills my arthritic shoulders. Hence, my maxi vac has been a dust collector for a few years now. If you were closer I’d give you a good deal on it! They are great to have and do an excellent job.[/QUOTE]
http://towandfarm.com/us/shop/tow-and-collect/
Would something like that be worth the splurge to save physical labor? I am not very strong and hadn’t thought of the hose weight. Regarding the original link, do you think I would need a maxi vac for 7 paddocks all around 1 acre in size or could the paddock vac work? Horses out quite a bit. Thanks!
[QUOTE=keepthelegend;8944489]
http://towandfarm.com/us/shop/tow-and-collect/
Would something like that be worth the splurge to save physical labor? I am not very strong and hadn’t thought of the hose weight. Regarding the original link, do you think I would need a maxi vac for 7 paddocks all around 1 acre in size or could the paddock vac work? Horses out quite a bit. Thanks![/QUOTE]
The maxi vac is just bigger in size, means you don’t have to dump it as often, but yes, for 7 paddocks, each and acre, would probably be better to dump less. The Tow and collect is cool but wow, expensive! I’d rather have one of those, wonder what kind of suction it has. The maxi vac has a huge amount of suction, it will suck everything up.
We are going to bite the bullet and get a tow and collect. Not sure which one, but I will report back once I put it to use!
So I finally used the Tow and Collect! It really did work and I would definitely recommend the 1500 size as we had to empty it quite a few times. That should get better after this first time - the paddocks have used pretty much 24/7 in addition to all the dead winter grass and leftover hay. But picked up dry old manure and fresh piles and in general cleaned up the whole paddock quickly and thoroughly.
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how much is a 1500? do you think it would work in a dry lot situation or remove all the sand with it?
It will definitely pick up the sand and a lot of it if you aren’t careful with the hose.
The website says this: Will it work on sand? If the sand is like beach-sand, the Tow and Collect will pick up a lot of sand. A common fix is to drill holes in the catcher/hopper to release the sand particles as they are picked up. Sand will increase the wear on all moving parts.
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Curious - why not rotate paddocks, and drag and rest the ones not in use? It’s always been my understanding that this is the least labor intensive, least expensive and best practice for pasture maintenance. There is someone here with small acreage who does this and did a photo blog - I just can’t remember who, but it looked great.
What happens if it picks up a thrown shoe?
Is it easy to empty, could 1 person do that ?
Please let us know how you like it after using it for a few days.
TIA
I guess I just like getting rid of the manure vs spreading it when we have a small acreage and a lot of horses - resting a paddock would be very difficult. It’s also really useful as a leaf vacuum in paddocks and around the farm and picks up dog poop, nuts, dead grass, etc.
Makes sense. The poster who did the thread with photos of the rotation only had 2 or 3 horses.
