Swisher LV5537 Lawn Vacuum (37-Cubic-Foot Capacity)
Swisher LV5537 Lawn Vacuum (37-Cubic-Foot Capacity)
Review by Donald C. Gray II (Pittsburgh, PA USA) :
I received the unit very promptly as another reviewer mentioned. It was mostly assembled and took me another 2 hrs to finish at a fairly leisurely pace.
The worst part of the assembly was the instructions. For a machine of this type, 2 1 page instructions sheets without a lot of illustrations isn’t enough. This actually led to a failure of the vacuum hose in the first ten minutes.
The instructions were quite unclear as to how to secure the vacuum hose to the swiveling “boom” that holds it from dragging on the ground. You get a couple of “S” hooks, two tie downs and no guidance whatsoever… I fastened it as best as I could imagine it should be fastened and embarked on my first use. On the second trip back up the yard I noticed that the hose was severed and I had no vacuum. I think that the tie down was too tight and the corner of the “S” hook dug into the hose causing it to split. The hose is very sturdy but the neoprene ribbing will tear quite easily once a hole is started.
After making some hasty repairs to the hose (lots of duct tape for the hose and plastic pipe hanging strap with lots of slack to hold the hose to the boom–a mod I will keep even with a new hose) I was able to continue using the product for my yard, my neighbor’s yard, and my friend’s yard. I haven’t contacted swisher yet regarding a replacement hose so I can’t comment on the customer service.
The device works very well once you get used to monitoring it’s operation. There is a very specific “vacuum” sound that is present when all systems are a go. This sound, and the effectiveness of the device diminishes when a blockage has ocurred. For my two acre yard with 2 dozen trees I got about a dozen blockages the first time I used it. The first 3 or 4 were due to trying to go to fast and the others were due to an enormous amount of leaves.
The blockages typically happened at the “boot” attachment to the mower deck. The debris has to make a 90 degree turn and on my John Deere at least it would get blocked at the back of the boot just before the hose.
There are hose clamps at either end of the vacuum hose, and I quickly removed the one that attaches to the mower deck boot. It fits great with just friction and this allows you to quickly check for blockages.
The basic procedure is:
1) Turn blades off 2) Set brake 3) Pull hose from boot 4) Stick arm in hose to check for blockages in hose 5) Stick hand in boot to check for blockages 6) Remove blockages 7) Continue
I don’t want to make the product sound worse than it is. I am very satisfied with its efficiency and capabilities. If you’re trying to vacuum a lot of leaves and they are the slightest bit wet they will block the boot. If your realistic in your expectations you will be very satisfied. Continue…
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