Rototiller Sweeper

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

Has anybody converted a rototiller to a road sweeper?

 

I see a similar thread for the snow blower and wondered if it was possible. I have a few jobs for a tiller, but even more if it could be a sweeper as have nearly a mile of tarmac drive, however I don't own one so can't look to see if it's possible.

 

Thanks in advance for any cool ideas.

[ebinmaine 70,815]

I really can't offer anything useful but this could be interesting...

 

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

10 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

I really can't offer anything useful but this could be interesting...

 

That's what I was thinking, and there are a lot of clever people on here.

 

There is also a tiller for sale, and these things don't often turn up in the UK.

[SylvanLakeWH 27,601]

Me too...

[Stepney 2,351]

Seen it done on an old Bolens tube frame. Had to idle pretty slow or else the brush would run way too fast, and you reversed while in operation.

The machine belonged to a small local airport many years ago, the seat had a Lazy Susan rigged under it. Start the PTO, let out the clutch and drive with your hands to your back. 

If it's not been scrapped yet, I'll see if I can get some photos. 

[Darb1964 1,093]

I have been thanking of trying the same thing, I have a friend who is good at fabricating. I ran it by him and he said he thought he could do it, but has a old walk behind sweeper with a a bad motor so we are going to rig that up soon, hopefully.

[wallfish 17,519]

Years back I converted a walk behind broom into a WH attachment. Worked great

Photobucket hijacked everyone's pics but you'll get the idea

 

[Pullstart 64,645]

15 hours ago, Stepney said:

Seen it done on an old Bolens tube frame. Had to idle pretty slow or else the brush would run way too fast, and you reversed while in operation.

The machine belonged to a small local airport many years ago, the seat had a Lazy Susan rigged under it. Start the PTO, let out the clutch and drive with your hands to your back. 

If it's not been scrapped yet, I'll see if I can get some photos. 

 

Could one twist the belt to re-Reverse the pulley... or was the sweeper mounted on the back still?

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

7 hours ago, pullstart said:

 

Could one twist the belt to re-Reverse the pulley... or was the sweeper mounted on the back still?

Would it still work on the back if you were going forwards?  I can't see why not other than the wheels getting in the way of debris being flicked forward.

 

Twisting the belt is such a simple solution!

[Pullstart 64,645]

44 minutes ago, Dan.gerous said:

Would it still work on the back if you were going forwards?  I can't see why not other than the wheels getting in the way of debris being flicked forward.

 

Twisting the belt is such a simple solution!

 

I can only imagine Pigpen from Peanuts...  Wheel Horse style 

 

 

[wallfish 17,519]

Just a normal rotary broom on the front can be a dusty dirty job as dust flies everywhere. Direction of the wind was very important when it was used to sweep the driveway other than using it for snow. Worked great for dethaching the lawn too.

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

On 3/24/2020 at 1:38 AM, Darb1964 said:

I have been thanking of trying the same thing, I have a friend who is good at fabricating. I ran it by him and he said he thought he could do it, but has a old walk behind sweeper with a a bad motor so we are going to rig that up soon, hopefully.

I'm keeping my eyes open for an old walk behind to see what's about. Are they usually belt or gear driven? Never had a close look at one.

[Darb1964 1,093]

The one I have,and plan to use is like the wheel horse snow blower, belt to chain.

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

I was wondering if adding a hydraulic pump and finding a hydraulic one would be easier? No messing about with belts and pulleys + easy to release.

[wallfish 17,519]

Messing with hydraulics isn't much easier and definitely more expensive but you can convert a less expensive chain driven one using a hydraulic motor and a sprocket to fit the shaft. Hydraulics can also provide the necessary gear reduction.

The walk behind sweepers will have an engine with a 6:1 reduction gear on the engine. You can't just take it off and use it without modifications. So converting it to be belt driven off your WH is a little bit of a challenge but I used the majority of the parts from the sweeper itself and added a large sprocket to achieve the speed reduction. Oh, and a magic wand (welder) with some brackets

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westwood-rotary-sweeper-and-grass-box-attachments-for-ride-on-mower/333553839198?pageci=fc7416bf-5e8b-400a-986f-98ce26230376

 

What about a lawn sweeper, convert it to run on the front and maybe uprate the bristles? There are lots of Westwood ones around, but the second hand powered broom market is pretty rubbish in the UK it seems.

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

Found this odd looking sweeper online, they want too much money for it to be a viable donor but the idea is good and I wouldnt mind getting that hydraulic pump.

[wallfish 17,519]

It's the hydraulics which make it expensive. That is an interesting machine, a high end walk behind with a sulkie to ride on. Though it seems they went cheap on the sulkie wheels.

 

How about something like this to convert a snow blower? The rotation direction in the blower can be changed by rerouting the drive chain. It will need to be geared down through some sprockets and or pulleys to slow the rotation speed.

https://www.zoro.com/nobles-cylindrical-brush-32-in-machine-374042/i/G1921796/?recommended=true

 

Or, back to your original idea of converting a tiller and using these to replace the tines then some fab work to move the tiller to the front of the tractor

https://www.zoro.com/sweepex-rotary-broom-replacement-brush-set-32-smp-320/i/G3489643/?recommended=true

[Mickwhitt 5,028]

I have the same sweeper at here in Yorkshire. It's a beast and does a great job. Also takes a plow blade in place of the sweeper head.

I was thinking of mounting it on the WH but I dont really need it as the walk behind is no problem.

It is dusty when sweeping  dry and no collector box on, but otherwise its amazing.

One went through our local auction for 350 but I didnt bid on it, wish I had now.

Mick 

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

2 hours ago, Mickwhitt said:

I have the same sweeper at here in Yorkshire. It's a beast and does a great job. Also takes a plow blade in place of the sweeper head.

I was thinking of mounting it on the WH but I dont really need it as the walk behind is no problem.

It is dusty when sweeping  dry and no collector box on, but otherwise its amazing.

One went through our local auction for 350 but I didnt bid on it, wish I had now.

Mick 

I hadnt noticed that it was actually a walk behind - but its obvious now. Its on Ebay for £800, I can get a bigger on with a three point linkage for the tractor at that price but really want to use the wheelhorse

[Mickwhitt 5,028]

There are a couple of countax sweepers that fit behind a tractor on the bay  but I dont know much about them.

Look more like for sweeping leaves than heavy duty work.

 

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

25 minutes ago, Mickwhitt said:

There are a couple of countax sweepers that fit behind a tractor on the bay  but I dont know much about them.

Look more like for sweeping leaves than heavy duty work.

 

I did wonder about the towed ones, but our drive gets a lot of dirt on it with tractors coming in from feilds etc

A countax powered sweeper might do it, but like you say they are really designed for lawns and light work - probably just bounce off the stuff stuck to the drive!

[Mickwhitt 5,028]

The GS one you saw is very powerful, the brushes are available in different filament thicknesses for different cleaning.

If you Google the firm contact them as the owner is a nice guy who may be able to help you out.

Mick 

[Skipper 1,789]

We have plenty of front mounted belt driven sweepers that are converted into "wheel horse" here in Denmark. Also have a few in stock. They are actually made by a company here in DK named horsch. They are not that expensive, and they work good. Parts are readily available too, and they come in different sizes. They hook up to the front bracket, where your mule drive for the deck goes.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Skipper

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

15 hours ago, Skipper said:

We have plenty of front mounted belt driven sweepers that are converted into "wheel horse" here in Denmark. Also have a few in stock. They are actually made by a company here in DK named horsch. They are not that expensive, and they work good. Parts are readily available too, and they come in different sizes. They hook up to the front bracket, where your mule drive for the deck goes.

 

This sounds like the answer!