Monstrous Vacuum Cleaners

[broomvac]

Any of you have a massive vacuum in your collection? I mean, MASSIVE, like the ones below. Several companies have produced walk-behind leaf and litter vacuums for years now, such as Billy Goat, Parker, and Elgee.

When I was a kid, I loved these things. I still do!

 

[broomvac]

I forgot to share mine. I have the self-propelled version of the Craftsman in the link below. It has a frighteningly large impeller and can also mulch branches up to something like 2” in diameter!

 

[vacuumdevil]

I have wanted to get one for some time . I love gas motors on things .

 

[justjunque]

We borrowed a Craftsman one from my parents, who were no longer using it, and somehow, we've never given it back.
It's smaller than the one in your picture, and it's green as opposed to red.
It's always been incredibly difficult, if not flat out impossible to start.
It does have the chute to feed in small sticks/branches.

Barry

 

[broomvac]

I hope I didn’t mislead anyone. The machines in my first post are not mine. Only the one in my second post is.

@justjunque Are you using the choke? I find that mine is nearly impossible to start without using the choke.

When you slide the speed control lever to the “STOP” position, the throttle plate closes completely, essentially starving the engine of fuel. This means there is no fuel/air mixture remaining in the intake manifold for the engine’s next start and makes the engine virtually impossible to start with the choke. Lawn mowers kill the engine by eliminating the spark, so they don’t need the choke for a hot start.

With the choke, my machine always starts on the first pull. You do have to give it a pretty hard tug, though. The massive impeller has a very high moment of inertia.

 

[justjunque]

I haven't even bothered to try using it for several years now, but I believe I was using the choke.
I don't see it coming out of the shed this year, since we have a significant snow cover on the ground now, and probably won't see bare ground until next May or so.

Barry

 

[huskyvacs]

Unfortunately janitorial equipment tends to be rare and expensive as they are run until broken then binned by the company. I'd love to have one of those huge casino vacuums.

Could get one of these, it even comes with a hose attachment!

 

[huskyvacs]

JustJunque

Also for your problem, JustJunque, the most common things to happen when a mower won't start is: 1)the starter cord has gotten too slack, 2)the spark plug is fouled or worn out, 3) the carburetor is gummed up, or 4)there is too much grass clump buildup on the underside of the deck.

I have a carb-less Troy Built mower I bought brand new in 2008, it's never given me any troubles at all and I have done no service to it other than 1 oil change and right now the wheels are worn out. I also do not thread the starter rope through the handle, I leave it at the base of the engine. It keeps it from getting in the way and preventing it from being damaged or frayed.

 

[panasonicvac]

I have one of those Craftsmans

Had it new since 2008. Used it alot for a long time but this year it hasn't got touched since we are redoing my parent's yards.

 

[mike811]

This monster is what we have in work: