Here we explain the different types of paddock vacs on the market with their advantages and disadvantages

 

'Sweeper' paddock cleaners »

There are numerous makes of paddock brush sweepers on the market today.

The appeal of the brush sweeper style of paddock cleaner is that you can hitch the sweeper to a quad bike or tractor, sit on and drive all over the field quickly with no need to get off.

These machines are brilliant for leaf collecting on large lawns, drives etc but not on gravel drives as the gravel will be swept up as well.

Brush sweepers work relatively well - the bristles sweep poo into a bin. They do only work well in dry conditions however and on level ground where grass is short. This is highlighted as generally companies only like to demo paddock sweepers on dry days.

The bristles on the sweeper do wear which means the sweeper doesn't work as well as when they are new and at full length.

 

Sweeper » Field contamination risks

The main reason you should poo pick is for contamination control over your land.

Horse and Hound magazine published an article on paddock cleaners and referred to the sweeper style of cleaner saying if you were unfortunate enough to pick up contaminated manure in the bristles of your sweeper you are likely to spread the contamination all over that field and any subsequent fields you clean, this also includes any grass diseases.

 

Sweeper » Secondhand paddock sweepers

People who buy a paddock sweeper are often disappointed at how much the brush actually collects in comparison with other methods of poo picking. This is evident in the secondhand paddock sweeper market as there are always sweepers available that have done very little work.

 

Reasons we DO NOT sell sweeper paddock cleaners

• Paddock sweepers are expensive
• High maintenance costs - particularly brush replacements
• Contamination is easily spread all over the field
• They don't work well in wet conditions
• They don't work in long grass
• They are not good at picking up alpaca poo which is sticky

If you are still interested in purchasing a sweeper style of paddock cleaner we would recommend you consider purchasing a chain harrow instead - www.chainharrows.co.uk.

 

 

'Dirty Fan' paddock vacuum cleaners »

The fan in these paddock cleaners actually chop the manure as it is sucked through the fan.

We class these 'dirty fan' paddock vacuum cleaners as yesterday's technology.

These machines work by the engine rotating the fan which is attached to the bin via a hose. The fan creates a vacuum in the hose which draws the poo up through the fan to the bin so dirty poo is hitting the fan.

 

Dirty Fan » High maintenance costs

This type of 'Dirty Fan' paddock vacuums are more expensive because of the cost of the fans and that they have larger engines.

Manufacturer's selling points are that because the poo is chopped up through the fan you get more in the bin - we don't believe there is any advantage to chopped muck.

 

Dirty Fan » Ideal for vacuuming leaves not poo

We do agree with this if you are vacuuming up leaves but with wet poo we don't feel you will fit significantly more in the bin.

'Dirty Fan' paddock cleaners often block when sucking wet or sticky poo and if you suck up stones by accident you can cause £100s of damage to the fan because of they way they work.

Manufacturers sometimes state that the occasional stone won't do any damage but are reluctant to demonstrate this.

 

Reasons we DO NOT sell 'Dirty Fan' paddock vacs

• They are more expensive to buy and run
• Higher maintenance costs - particularly replacing the fan
• Do not work well in all conditions
• They struggle with alpaca poo - it's sticky
• Can cause damage if stones are vacuumed
• Need regular cleaning which takes up more of your time

 

 

'Clean Fan' paddock vacuum cleaners »

These are the only paddock vacuum cleaners we sell. With 'Clean Fan' paddock cleaners the poo doesn't exist.

 

Clean Fan » How it works

The way these paddock vacuum cleaners work is the engine is attached to a fan which creates a vacuum directly in the bin so no poo goes through any working parts and it is simply sucked up through the hose directly into the bin.

 

Clean Fan » Vacuum up anything

The main advantage of 'Clean Fan' paddock cleaners if that you can suck up any material without the risk of damaging the fan as with 'Dirty Fan' vacuums.

This type works on every animal poo we have tried - we've even sold our 'Clean Fan' paddock cleaners to zoos - and they also work in all weather conditions.

You can also vacuum up conkers, clean water troughs and clean out stables. They are ideal to clean the wet gunge underneath stable mats and are highly regarded within the alpaca industry.

 

Clean Fan » Other applications

Clean Fan' paddock vacuums can be used for hoovering up paintballs and vacuuming up the debris after shot blasting for recycling.

We have sold these cleaners to a bus company where the bin was mounted on to the back of a pickup truck and used to clear up glass following bus shelter vandalism.

They are also superb at lifting leaves from a gravel drive leaving the gravel behind.

 

Our 'Clean Fan' paddock vacuum cleaners are extremely economical to run, a gallon of petrol can run a paddock cleaner nearly all day.

 

Reasons we DO sell 'Clean Fan' paddock vacs

• No muck goes through the fan
• Affordable and great value for money
• 2 year warranty and 5 years on the bin
• A range of different models available
• Economical to run
• Easy home servicing, minimal maintenance
• Works on all types of poo in all weather conditions
• Easily cleans out water troughs and picks up water
• Sucks leaves from gravel drives leaving the gravel

An all round outside paddock vacuum cleaner