Agri-Fab 26-Inch Push Lawn Sweeper #45-0218

This thing is great.......... much better then raking........ it's just like mowing the yard. Very light weight, to empty it you just pick it up and dump it. That seams easier then taking the bag off all the time.

I really like this product.

I live on a half acre, so raking can be a chore. I bought this item hoping my son and I could catch a break on the yard work. I received the package and noticed that it was stapled close instead of taped close, so I was concerned from the get-go. After a little bit of trouble getting it together, I decided to give it a try only to notice one of the wheels was falling off. The wheels come already assembled, so I was a bit aggrivated by this point. The person who put the wheels on obviously rushed through what they were doing, because one of the 'E rings' wasn't all of the way on. It must have fallen off in the box and then slipped right out, because the box was stapled and not taped. I have been able to test it out a bit even with the wheel not secure and it does pick up leaves, but you do have to keep adjusting the height level. I am worried that the bag material will not be very durable, but I guess only time will tell. I now have to order a new 'E ring' for the tire. Overall, I don't think this product is worth the money. It should only cost $50 in my opinion.

The sweeper arrived quickly enough, but missing the upper rod insert for the bag. It took about a week to get one from the company. In the meantime, I purchased a substitute from Home Depot. The Quality Control needs improvement as there are not that many parts to this mostly pre-assembled product that any parts should be missing. By the time I had it up and running, most of the heavy leaf work had already been done with rakes, but it was very good a cleaning up "light" leaf falls. The real test, however, will come next fall.

This leaf-sweeper has saved me a lot of time. It works well on a flat lawn, and it's easier to adjust the height at which I hold the handle, so that the brushes sweep the leaves well, than to adjust the mechanism all the time.
The mechanism is simple, but the bolts are not easy to make tight, and we have needed to replace some already.

In another lifetime we had a wide lawn-leaf sweeper with a huge bristle brush, that didn't care how long the leaves had been on the ground. We used it for years. When it fell apart, we switched to grinding with the lawn mower and giving it back to Mother Nature.
Things have changed, the lawn guys didn't show up and rain-snow was in the forecast.
I hate leaf blowers and can't figure out where my husband put ours (I have the attachments in the box where they belong, just not the actual blower)I knew it was time to have backup.
Ordered the Agri Fab 26" Push Sweeper which arrived rapidly. Then came assembly. I got our the wrenches, the philips head screwdriver and set all out on the deck. Some of the nuts and bolts for the handle assemply were a bit sticky but the real problem came when I had to attach the bag holder brackets.
Those rounded head bolts-curved to fit the curved plastic bracket on the handle should have had a molded space for a philips head or a star or something...but there were only some chicken scratch lines not even indentations. Needed the basic pliers which I couldn't find (you know, the ones my hubby has been removing from my tool drawer for our entire marriage)needle nose didn't work on the last one. So I never did get that nut on completely but I also couldn't get it off.
The cap for the metal rod which holds the upper part of the bag - one was already on and the other was actually too small and didn't expand with hammer pounding-just didn't fit...no way. But I have duct tape so I hockey stick wrapped it and voila.
The bottom rod was tricky because I didn't see the slots - by then it was dark and I was ill-tempered.
The instructions should show a larger version so that one can get a better idea of direction - I'm left-right dyslexic and need that guidance.
Took it off the deck and out to the yard. It cut a lovely fairly clear swath. and another and another until the bag was full. Pushed fairly well over some uneven terrain with height adjustment.
Next day leaf mold allergies kept me from completing the back yard and on the following day the lawn guys showed up.
The brush is a nylon bristle (different from the cheaper plastic bristles)and the nylon bristles works almost as well as my bamboo rake or the old bristle sweeper.
Complaint is the machining error on the bolts.

Not perfect, but gets most of the leaves. Body is sturdy plastic, so it probably won't last forever, but for now it's pretty good. Height adjustment is easy, and one can fine tune height by raising or lowering handle while pushing. Basket is somewhat flimsy, and that is probably the first part that will fail, but it is small enough that it isn't stressed badly. On the contrary, it would be nice to have a little more volume and not have to empty it so often, but it is still better than picking up loose leaves by hand.

I have not yet purchased this item, but am investigating cost. In most cases, Amazon is the least expensive way to go. In this case, Target online has the item less expensively ($149.99) also with free shipping. It does pay to shop around.

Replaced an older sweeper with this one. Very well built,easy to push and
much easier to use than my older rickety model. Very satisfied with product. Tightening bolts was a little tough, but otherwise easy to put
together.

Pros:

Assembly fairly easy

Works acceptably well with correct height adjustment for terrain

Easier than raking

Cons:

Nuts supplied for assembly did not match bolts - they wouldn't screw on, necessitating an extra trip to the hardware store

Local home improvement store had competing model with heavier gauge metal frame for 50% less - Price too high for quality of sweeper

Just feels cheap - I wouldn't bet on longevity, especially with heavy use

Bag relatively small - needs to be emptied frequently

Height adjustment has to be changed whenever lawn terrain changes

For the price a good buy. Not hard to assemble. Have to adjust sweeper setting depending on height of lawn but once it is at the right height, it does a good job.

The brushes sweep leaves forward where they are then deflected to the catcher. I found that the gap between the lawn and the deflector was to large and a significant amount of leaves would get swept ahead of the sweeper and not into the catcher. I added a piece of plastic to extend about 2 1/2 inches lower. Problem solved. With my addition it does a great job of picking up even the smallest leaves. Ground must be flat. Does not work well on uneven ground, misses a lot.

Got my sweeper quickly but I don't think it was really worth the price. I put it together easily and not real heavy, went out to try it. It did pick up the leaves but I had to go over and over the same area to get the leaves up. I could have just mowed and gotten better results. Worked on the small area beside the driveway lots better that the higher thicker grass in the front yard. Maybe I wanted too much from this product. Will still use it but more often and before too many leaves.

I purchased this product in conjunction with a manual, push-type reel mower with the intent of using it to clear debris (small sticks and leaves) from the lawn that a power mower would normally suck-up. The unit is relatively light, but stiff enough to work in relatively deep (2 to 3 inch) grass and on some sloping ground. I would not catagorize the unit as robust, but it has proved adequate in service. The attribute I like most about the unit is that it has wide working width, so it only takes a few minutes to run over the lawn pre-or-post cut. The attribute that I like least is the plastic construction of many of the parts, but, it has held up so far. This unit is working for me and I have not run the power mower yet this season. I guess another good reason to purchase the unit is... no power-motor noise!!! Just the pleasant whirring sound of some brushes!

This is a great product, it easier to use than the thatching attachment on your lawn mower. My yard looks great. It takes a little muscle but the results are worth it. It picks up everything in the yard. Assembly was simple, too.

I purchased the lawn sweeper primarily to clean up a putting green beneath a pine tree over a very well manacured lawn.

Our grass is very short (putting green) and with the low setting on the lawn sweeper unfortunately it will fling the pine needles and debre out in front instead of in the basket, so it does not work very well for what we got it for.

For taller grass it works better.

R. Riehn

My only regret may be not having bought the larger model. I have a small lawn (about 1/4-acre) but a long trip to the curb. I don't know how this could have been designed with a larger bag, but if it was possible, it would be fantastic. I suppose the deeper the bag, the longer the arms and thus the harder to push and the more difficult it is to store.

Anyway, I've used this for one fall season on my lawn and loved it. I'm sure it cut some time out from my raking. My trick is to lay out a tarp on the driveway and just sweep right to the tarp, dump it out, and go right back to the next row. I can then drag the tarp of leaves to the curb. This can sweep the lawn so clean that you can literally see the rows you have already swept.

One disadvantage is that it won't ever get as deep as a rake can. There may be additional benefits with a rake such as automatic thatching of the lawn. However, this took much less energy than raking and left me able to do my other fall chores on the same day without feeling beat. The kids were slightly able to use this on thicker piles of leaves but the trick I have found is that not only does the forward motion help, but a slight downward pressure will really ensure that the best performance is gained. It is also best to play with the brush height setting, and clean it every few rows, especially if you have vines or lengthy stems you pick up that wrap around the sweeper bar. It's best to avoid ivy because it can really get wrapped around the bar.

Agri-Fab 26-Inch Push Lawn Sweeper #45-0218
I was mostly satisfied with this product but I made 2 changes.
1. I didn't like the way those bent pipe supports dragged especially scoring the driveway when I went over it so I added sets of double small wheels.
2. There was too much space between the brush supports and the axle which caused pine straw to wrap around the axle making it impossible to push.
I added 3x3" plates on both brushes to solve this problem.
Everything is fine now.

After spending an hour assembling this item (because the tolerances on the lock nuts are too tight for easy assembly) I discovered that the wheels didn't freewheel in reverse and jammed at the end of every run. This is a problem with the main unit, which is assembled at the factory. The manual says to re-align the pins inside the ratchet gears. Not sure it's worth the extra time, or if that will do it. Would prefer a refund.

Ok, so you want a earth-friendly, effective and fun way to keep your lawn tidy? This is the answer! I really didn't know such device existed, but I knew someone somewhere had invented an alternative to ear-deafening, gas guzzling, and heavy leaf-blowers.

To be frank, I was a bit skeptical as to how well the Lawn Sweeper might work--would it jam at the first hurdle? would it fall apart (it looked a little flimsy on the photos) as it made it's way up and down my 20 degree sloped yard? would it actually gather the leaves or simply throw them all over the place only to do the job again with a rake? Well, none of this happened.

It is truly an elegant design. If you set the height of the brush right, you should be able to effortlessly cover about 2,000 sq feet in 20 minutes (assuming your yard is fairly even)---that's about 100 sq feet per minute at a moderatly brisk pace (i.e. about 2 normal steps per second). It's also a good exercise and the leaves fall rather aimfully into the basket.

The first time I used it I had already mowed my lawn, so many hand-sized leaves were reduced to about finger-sized leaves. While one might suspect the task to be more difficult, it actually reduced the number of trips I had to make to empty the basket (I guess the pre-mowing actually reduced the volume of space a larger leaf occupies vs. a shredded one). For this reason, I would recommend waiting a few days after the leaves fall and let them shrink a bit.

Some of the other reviewers complained that the basket could have been bigger or deeper so they wouldn't have to empty so often. I sort of agree, yet in paying attention to this and thinking about how the design could be improved, I came up short. I guess the designers really had to wrestle among trade-offs in: basket size, clearance of shooting range, weight and cost. Oh well. However, the long metal rod that holds the bottom of the bag to the device could use some improvements. The rubber stoppers are not very helpful (they keep coming off when I take off the bag), but other than that it's a nice, light and inexpensive piece of equipment that belongs in every garage in America.

Finally, don't expect your post-labor lawn to be leaf-free. It will miss a few spots, much in the way a vacuum cleaner never does a great job on the first passing. But if you're not much of a perfectionist, it should make your yard the envy of the block in half the time it took "Larry the leaf-blower" do his.

Oh, the assembly is a piece of cake. If you've assembled IKEA furniture, it's more or less the same degree of difficulty.

Happy Sweepin'.

This product is well worth the money. Although the leaf catcher tends to fill-up quickly, it beats using a rake!

I should have heeded the warnings from other review's.
1st clue: box had been opened and taped.
2nd clue: parts missing.

Had my husband READ the directions AND compared parts to the parts list, BEFORE assembling the unit he would have known not to proceed. Not that I would have read the directions:)

Eight nuts included with the sweeper were the wrong size. I purchased the correct size and have used it for about one hour. It will pick-up acorns if adjusted close to the ground. This requires cutting the grass short and holding the handle up high to prevent shooting the acorns ahead of the sweeper. 9/29/07

The Agri-Fab 26" Push Lawn Sweeper works extremely well in removing leaves and debris from the lawn. It is compact and stores easily.

I found that I was able to pickup about 75-80% of the leaves on my lawn, but had to use to blower for the rest.
The biggest problem was that the hopper, while big, was low in the front, so it never filled up. Because of that, I had to empty it often, which was annoying.

We live in Chicago and have lots of trees etc and were looking locally for such a product. Had to special order at Menards and Home Despot didn't even carry one! Voila! Got this one with Amazon's Prime overnight! It works great and assembled easily. Love it.

Works very well,I only wish the base was made of a stronger material that would be more pliable.

It arrived broken and I have tried to send it back but the way Amazon works makes it almost impossible to send it back. The UPS web site is impossible to navigate to print a return lable and there is no way to call amazon for customer support

I grew up pushing a large metal and canvass sweeper across my parents lawn. It swept about a 3 foot swath meticulously and is still working at 100% for my dad after 25 years. This device does not. However, what I wanted just isn't available to purchase anymore. This model is the largest push-powered leaf sweeper I could find and it just doesn't even come close to measuring up. The build quality is suspect and the bag is essentially heavy plastic. It does work, but not all that well. And forget using it if the lawn isn't trimmed. Which brings about another issue. It doesn't like picking up anything small. You know, like chopped leaves since you have to mow first. I think this is just the sad state of the transition from solid, more expensive American-made products that do what you need, to much cheaper, flimsier, more frequently replaced products that come close enough.

The lawn broom is very easy to operate and the adjustments for the height of surface it's being used on are very simple. The only problem I had with the lawn broom was it would throw leaves ahead of the brushes and in some cases, I had to go over the same area a couple of times to pick up all the leaves. When it comes to thick layers of leaves, the lawn broom was very efficient.

The bag is a real cheap plastic woven bag.The stitches fell out after the first use. The sweeper itself works as long as you are on level ground. I will never ever buy a AGRI-Fab Product agin. To cheaply made, They fall apart after first use. I am 47 years old and live in Kettle Falls WA.

Perfect for anyone age 8 to 88! Easy to assemble and easier to use. Purchased this sweeper in early fall as an alternative to my husband's power blower. The blower requires gas, oil, and an arm-wrenching jerk to get it started - all of which caused me to delay leaf pickup until weekends when he was home to get it going. When it arrived, I put it together and was outside gathering leaves within 20 minutes! It's a breeze to use once the bag height is adjusted to your lawn. This is the first year in 20 that we haven't spent one weekend gathering leaves from our 1-acre yard! 30 minutes twice a week and our weekends were free! My mother, age 80, lives with us and several times I'd catch her out walking with the sweeper. Neither cumbersome nor heavy, this sweeper is a fantastic addition to anyone's lawn maintenance tools. It also does a good job gathering acorns and small sticks from the 100-year old live oaks we have scattered around our property.

I have a 1/2 acre lot with a flat front yard and a hilly backyard, with heavy woods along the entire back and one whole side plus several large 30ft+ trees on my lot. So yes I have a lot of leaves every year.

This sweeper works pretty good on flat ground, uneven ground can give you uneven results. On hilly areas, try to pick a path where the ground is flat with respect to the area between the two wheels.

The height adjustment is key. If the brushes are too low, you'll be jamming them on the ground and making the sweeper very hard to push. It should take little effort to push, less than a gas powered lawnmower. If the brushes are too high, you'll skim over some stuff. I think a couple of the previous reviewers didn't adjust the brush height properly. In very, very heavy leaves the sweeper works but fills so fast, in 15 feet for me in some places, that a rake is actually faster.

Things to remember:
1. Proper height adjustment is key. Changing height is very easy and quick.
2. Keep your rake. You'll still need it for fence lines, gardens, flower beds, etc...
3. Keep a good pace and get those brushes spinning. It really tosses the stuff back in the catcher that way.
4. Works best on dry or slightly damp leaves. Not so good on wet leaves.

Things that would make this sweeper better:
1. The brush housing should throw leaves farther back in catcher. The catcher fills quickly in the front while there is still room in the rear. I just reach down and pull all the leaves back so I can get more in the catcher between dumps but the housing could be modified to throw the leaves better.
2. A deeper catcher, more volume. I want to change this thing as little as possible. I have fairly long legs and I don't kick the catcher, so another 2-3 inches deeper would be nice.

Things I don't have to worry about that you might think about:
1. Bagging. If you bag your leaves, dumping leaves from the catcher to a bag might be a pain. You need two hands to empty the catcher and 1-2 hands to hold the bag, so.... Since I have woods on two sides, where most of the leave came from in the first place, I just return to sender. If I had to bag I would probably sweep and dump all the leaves in one big pile in the driveway and then bag all leaves at the end.

The sweeper is definetly much faster and easier than raking. The first time I used it I thought the sweeper was crap. But after using it a few times, I now appreciate that it is an effective product. It will take some time to figure out how to use it most efficiently.

Pros.
1. Faster than raking and bagging.
2. Light.
3. Does what it advertises, that is, sweeps up leaves.
4. No cords or gas/oil mixtures to worry about.
5. The bag is easy to remove and reattach (which you will have to do a lot of if you're picking up a large amount of leaves).
6. Can even be used on pavement (has to be relatively level).

Things to look out for:
1. The sweeper will not work well on hills or lawns with chunks or divets.
2. It took me a few tries to figure out the best height to use for my front and back yard. Luckily, the height adjustment is pretty easy to change (just don't tighten it too much).
3. The sweeper works better when not pushed like a mower (tip it forward and up as you push it).
4. Relatively easy to put together (in spite of the confusing instructions).

Cons:
1. The bag doesn't hold a lot of leaves and requires frequent changes. However, I guess a larger bag would make the sweeper heavier to push around.
2. The attached bag doesn't empty easily into paper recycling bags.
3. Does not work on edges (think where a mower is not effective). You will still need your rake.

Bottom line: I am glad I bought it. Now my neighbors want one.

I thought the lawn sweeper would be great, but for my yard it wasn't.
I have sod/zoysia grass, it did not do as well as I had hoped. My neighbor
has a different grass and it worked very well. I would recommend this
lawn sweeper for large open areas not quarter acre or half acre lots.
I would like to re-sale this item if anyone is interested.

It's definitely faster than raking. It's not the easiest thing in the world, but its not too difficult either. There is some resistance when pushing it, so be aware that you'll be tired after using it. My only other complaint is that the bag is relatively small, so its necessary to do frequent dumps. Dumping also should be easier. Because the bag is on hinges, you kind of have to put the thing back together after you dump. So it sounds like I'm being pretty critical, but for the most part it works really well. I would buy it again and would recommend it.

I bought this as a Father's Day present for my Dad and was a little insulted 6 weeks later when he went and bought a bigger, pull behind his mower, sweeper. THEN I went over to his house and tried them both out. The 26" push Lawn Sweeper from Agri-Fab throws more of the yard debris back out onto the ground than it picks up. It was horrible. I would have been better off to just give him nothing. It was a complete waste of my money.

Terrible product. Rediculously hard to push through the grass. Would be better attatched to a motor of some sort or pulled behind a mower.

Works great for its purpose, much better than raking. I would prefer a screen over the top to reduce dust flying up.

The Lawn Sweeper appears to perform as advertised. Have only used it twice so far, but my son loves it...no more raking!

The Agri-Fab sweeper is easy to assemble and ideal for a lawn that isn't too large or hasn't many leaf-producing trees. However, if the lawn has a lot of trees and a lot of leaves, the catcher bag has to be emptied often, a slight inconvenience. Once the user has determined the correct height for the brushes, the lawn sweeper does its job really well--the shorter the grass, the better it performs.

We use the lawn sweeper every week to keep up with the falling leaves. It really does a super job! It picks up about 90% of the leaves with minimal effort. It took me a little getting used to pushing the sweeper. You kind of have to push it in an upright position rather than head on like a lawn mower. Once I figured this out, it was much easier to push and picks up great once you find the right level to set it on. I tend to dump it while the bag is attached while my husband finds it easier to remove the bag and dump it that way. All in all, I think it's a great product that does what it says it will. I highly recommend it. We have the cleanest lawn on the block because we sweep every week rather than wait to rake a ton.

This lawn sweeper overall is a good product. It will pickup 80-85% of fallen leaves off concrete or grass.

PROS: -Reasonable price
-Lightweight
-Will work on multiple surfaces

CONS: -Feels flimsy at times
-No on the fly height adjustment