Sweepers...Please educate me!

[DGODGR]

With as much construction that is happening in the gated, high-end golf coarse community (that I am currently working in), there is a lot of mud tracking happening with the spring snow melt. As you can imagine, most folks who choose to live in such a community don't really appreciate this. Since that is the case my customer has been requesting that I get a sweeper attachment for my skid steers. I have never owned, nor operated one so I don't know much about them. I have talked to my Bobcat and Cat dealers so any knowledge that I may have has come from them. So far I am thinking about a pick-up sweeper instead of the angle broom. I imagine that the angle broom would kick up more dust, and simply pushing the dirt/mud to the gravel shoulder will not be ideal in this situation. We are simply going to have to pick the material up so we can place it somewhere on a job site.
My skid steers are both Bobcats (A300 & A770). From what I understand brand will not mater with a pick-up sweeper since the attachment will not need electronic control. Just hydraulic power from the carrier. Let me know if you need anything else to offer up your opinions.

 

[KSSS]

I have both a pickup sweeper and an angle broom. Both have their place. You are right, for that application, the pickup broom would be much better. The angle brooms are great for cleaning roadways off where there is nothing in the way. Those brooms can throw material a long way and you have to be careful using them. Both of my brooms are made by Quick Attach. You can get different broom material compositions, some with steel bristles and some that are straight poly. You can get them with water tanks on them, they get pretty dusty using them when the material is dry. I don't have one on mine. I would make sure that you have a replaceable cutting edge on the bucket, they wear down quickly. I am not sure there is much difference in brands. The Quick Attach brands do a good job, probably like most of them.

 

[DGODGR]

Than

I have both a pickup sweeper and an angle broom. Both have their place. You are right, for that application, the pickup broom would be much better. The angle brooms are great for cleaning roadways off where there is nothing in the way. Those brooms can throw material a long way and you have to be careful using them. Both of my brooms are made by Quick Attach. You can get different broom material compositions, some with steel bristles and some that are straight poly. You can get them with water tanks on them, they get pretty dusty using them when the material is dry. I don't have one on mine. I would make sure that you have a replaceable cutting edge on the bucket, they wear down quickly. I am not sure there is much difference in brands. The Quick Attach brands do a good job, probably like most of them.

Thanks for the reply!
I'll check out QuikAttach. They used to send me all kinds of sales literature but I guess they gave up on me since I never purchased.
Can you make any suggestions for broom type (bristles) based on primary use on asphalt?
Do these things have any adjustment for bristle/broom height (within the housing)?
How much do replacement bristles cost, and how long should they last if used correctly?
My CAT dealer has a couple used units on the ground. They are available now and have the least cost for admission. What should I be looking for when assessing a used unit?
The CAT "pick-up" broom (vs the "utility" broom and "angle" broom) has a wheel on the front....What are the pros and cons of this?

 

[CM1995]

We have an old Bobcat pickup broom which works pretty well. It has a reversible cutting edge on the bucket part to help keep the wear down.

It cleans up fines really well with the machine in reverse and the broom rotating forward. You can also use it kinda like a utility/angle broom by reversing the broom rotation and throwing material off the road.

Ours have the plastic brushes that we've replace a few times. As the brushes wear you can adjust the angle of the broom to get all the good out of a set of brushes.

If a used unit is in good shape I wouldn't be scared of buying one. Check the normal wear items especially the bottom of the "bucket" and the cutting edge/corners. Other than the bucket, the bearings on the brush roller and the hydro motor are really the only maintenance items.

Don't know about the pickup brooms with the wheels on the front, never ran one.

 

[KSSS]

Than


Thanks for the reply!
I'll check out QuikAttach. They used to send me all kinds of sales literature but I guess they gave up on me since I never purchased.
Can you make any suggestions for broom type (bristles) based on primary use on asphalt?
Do these things have any adjustment for bristle/broom height (within the housing)?
How much do replacement bristles cost, and how long should they last if used correctly?
My CAT dealer has a couple used units on the ground. They are available now and have the least cost for admission. What should I be looking for when assessing a used unit?
The CAT "pick-up" broom (vs the "utility" broom and "angle" broom) has a wheel on the front....What are the pros and cons of this?

As I recall, the straight poly did a better job as I was told. The steel was more aggressive, but not as clean. You may want that explained by Quik Attach for better clarity.
I am not sure what the current costs are for replacement brooms.
They adjust for the wear of the broom.
Mine has a wheel on the front. I think it helps keep the broom from wearing excessively. I have never had one that did not have a wheel on the front, so I cant compare.

If you call Quik Attach, ask for Corey Putnam. Tell him that we know each other (Kaiser from Idaho), I have spent a lot of money with him, maybe it will help.

 

[NepeanGC]

I've got a bobcat pickup broom we use. Super simple and works on pretty much any carrier with a skidsteer coupler and hydraulics. It does kick up a lot of dust when things are dry. We don't have a water kit on the broom, but we have a 225 gallon water tote and a fire pump on our truck that we use to spray things down before running the sweeper.