What can i build to solve my leaf problem

admin

I have 3/4 of an acre with old growth hardwoods. I have a huge leaf problem. to the tune of 40+ cubic yards of leaves. As that was what size roll of dumpster i had to get last year, and this year it seems the leaf fall is even WORSE!I would like to turn them into dirt but nobody around rents a leaf mulcher and im not sure any of the COTS stuff will handle what i want to do.So i come to the best engineering crowd i know of.I have a spare 13 Horse Horizontal Shaft gas engine i can use, Other than that i have welder and Cutting torch etc...The best idea will win something cool.
Reply:Bandsaw mill Honestly, 13 HP would make a dandy chipper/mulcher. I posted a link to a 24" inch unit. A few weeks ago.... let me find it.This is the chipper Steve bedair built a while back:http://www.bedair.org/Projects/chipper1.htmlLast edited by forhire; 12-03-2010 at 04:07 PM.Reason: added url
Reply:I've seen the pros use riding lawn mowers with a trailer to carry a giant collection bag.
Reply:Supersize something like this?http://www.vintageprojects.com/home-...lch-maker.html
Reply:Originally Posted by towelI've seen the pros use riding lawn mowers with a trailer to carry a giant collection bag.
Reply:I wonder what the conversion factor for yards of leaves to yards of ground up material is as far as bulk? I knew a guy years ago that had a small mulcher that he ran all small material through. Leaves, sticks and even garden stalks & vines. He'd always till that into the garden in the fall and always had one heck of a nice garden next year every year. If a guy had too much volume of dried mulch I suppose you'd have to composte it 1st."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:mulch them with a standard mulch-er attachment, e.g. anything that will block the exit on your mower deck, best thing i ever did, environmentally friendly and easy, just drive your mower over the layer of leaves over and over again til they are all ground up, they return to the soil faster and add to the fertility of the soil. start before they are all on the ground! about three passes every fall! sooooo easy and obvious once you try it! had a bad lead problem at my house, not anymore.HH187Hobart 500i plasma cutterClark 4.5" GrinderDewalt 14" chop saw30 gallom 1.6 hp compressor10 gallon pressure pot sand blasterlots of hand tools
Reply:How about a flash fire? Seriously, my neighbor burns his every fall. They burn kinda slow. I burn my feilds every spring and it keeps the weeds down and lends to a healthy new growth every season.
Reply:Originally Posted by jimcoHow about a flash fire? Seriously, my neighbor burns his every fall. They burn kinda slow. I burn my feilds every spring and it keeps the weeds down and lends to a healthy new growth every season.
Reply:Originally Posted by socoj2I have 3/4 of an acre with old growth hardwoods. I have a huge leaf problem. to the tune of 40+ cubic yards of leaves. As that was what size roll of dumpster i had to get last year, and this year it seems the leaf fall is even WORSE!
Reply:I don't understand it, WHY do people fell they have to rake the leaves up.....It is not natural, there is no benefit to it. It kills me to see people rake for hours, put the things in plastic bags and then bury em in land fills, plastic does not degrade very fast.....Just mow the things up with your lawn mower, Believe it or not, there going to be there next year to...Next thing ya know, people will be out there sponging up rain water after a storm......
Reply:I've been trying to think of a way to sell them to all the suburbanites as "decorative foliage". You wouldn't believe what these people pay for 1/4 sized bales of straw and 3 cornstalks tied together. They pay even more if the stalks have a couple of wimpy ears still attached! Friend who's a local farmer gets more for the darn stalks than he does for the sweet corn he grows on them! All this so they can sit then in the yard for a week or two then toss them out..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I have 1 acre and 26 trees I simply mulch it all with my riding mower and and when Im done you can barely see it. So you can try that although its not much of a welding project.Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:Sounds like you need to build a homebrew version of one of these:http://drpower.com/StandardContent.a...v_tow_featuresFor something rot/rust proof to make the box out of, you could use some of this stuff:http://www.lowes.com/pd_8566-293-FTS...%3Dfrp%2BpanelObviously would need some supporting framework since it's only 0.090".
Reply:Originally Posted by socoj2I have 3/4 of an acre with old growth hardwoods. I have a huge leaf problem. to the tune of 40+ cubic yards of leaves. As that was what size roll of dumpster i had to get last year, and this year it seems the leaf fall is even WORSE!
Reply:I would turn as much of it as i could into a "natural" area, mulch and leave it alone...except an occasional refresh of the mulch until it builds up.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:My leaves, twigs, banana peals, whatnot...make really good compost.  Also, mulching them with the mower feeds the grass.Grass and leafy trees don't live well together, since leaves cover and then kill the grass.
Reply:I have several pecan trees so get plenty of leaves and small limbs.  I put a mulching kit on my lawn tractor and a couple of years ago and will never go back to the old ways.  It's like a riding leaf eraser!!  I do sweep up a good portion of the mulch once  a year for my wife's vegetable garden.  Mulching leaves with a rider is the way to go, it leaves one hand free to hold the beer................Larry "I feel for the man who cannot spell a word more than one way."  by Mark TwainLincoln AC225-SLincoln Weldpac 100 Miller Matic 180 (auto set)Miller Spectrum 375 ExtremeMiller Spoolmate 100Victor Super Range II