Open Association of Landscape Industries
Billy Goat Leaf Suckers
Good afternoon all.
We are thinking about getting a Billy Goat leaf sucker for this years fall, we had just been using blowers, sheets, mowers etc but as we now do larger gardens instead of the small domestics we used to I was wondering how useful these were?
I like the idea but is it as good as the marketing says? What models do the owners recommend?
Thanks in advance.
Replies to This Discussion
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Dan Frazer Gardening on -
Bag volume is much less than a small ride-on so I don't see any benefit in buying a billy goat over my hydro 80.
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Permalink Reply by Lawn lover on -
Paul, when do we get to see a photo of this magic carpet you use for hedge trimming leaf clearing hollow tine clearing etc.
Cheers (a Blue Peter how to make would be useful as-well).
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Gary RK on -
We had a VQ800 version self propelled with gears and wander- hose. Had it for two years and disposed of it on eBay.
The idea sounds good but the practicalities meant it was a royal pain in backside to make use of it.
Found that the front jockey wheels take a hammering and can leave tracks on lawns once bag gets heavy.
However, Maybe good for fixed sites or very open/ easily accessible sites....
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Permalink Reply by Andy Thorne on -
I don't see much advantage either, over a backpack blower with rakes and bulk bags.
I had a MV model for a year or two - I flogged it off on ebay too! I lost £1000 on it.
The only situation I think they may excel in is if they are owned and kept somewhere - like a school etc, where they are wheeled out to deal with litter and leaves on a regular basis.
In our line of work, as said previously, they are REALLY bulky and not actually that efficient. Intelligent use of a backpack blower is much faster - I used this and left the Billy Goat at home for a year before I sold it :(
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Permalink Reply by andrew magill on -
i have one along with a wonder hose ahd to be honest by the time you get it of the trailer and get it set up your probably better of using the blower and lifting
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Permalink Reply by Busy Bee Garden Services Limited on -
Thanks for the input, very useful in making our decision.
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Permalink Reply by Jez Wardman on -
I have a Billy Goat and do find it useful in some circumstances.
It hardly ever gets used for collecting leaves unless there is a large area to clear with a relatively low level of leaves. It is not very good with a high volume of leaves to pick up as the bag fills to quickly and is slow to empty, much quicker to blow and rake then pick up by hand but can be useful to tidy up after this. Problem is not brilliant at picking up wet leaves off grass as need to go very low to get them up and so often sticks itself to the turf and awkward to push along. Much better on hard surfaces.
The one thing it is really useful for is tidying up after hedge trimming, especially on hard surfaces, we use a tarp to collect the bulk of the clippings as they fall then just blow everything onto the path or road and pick it all up with the goat in seconds. Especially useful on windy days when everything gets blow down the street as we just run down with the goat as far as needed and soon pick it all up. much quicker than blowing raking sweeping etc
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