Patriot Lawn Vacuum

2.            The Versatile Lawn Vacuum. We may be a little biased here at Patriot Products, but we happen to think that our lawn vacuums are among the most versatile gas-powered gardening tools on the market today. After all, they're more than just vacuums: both the CBV-2455H and the CBV-2465B can double and triple as power blowers and mobile wood chippers/leaf shredders as well. That 145-mph airstream will clear hard surfaces with ease, and if you come across a branch less than two inches in diameter, just run it through the chipper cone and it's gone!

We also have customers who use Patriot lawn vacs to clean up large parking lots, because they're so much more effective than traditional hand blowers and make short work of picking up dirt, paper, cigarette butts, and other trash.

Our vacs are great for picking up grass clippings from that lawn you just mowed, too. Not only does this leave the lawn neater, it helps you avoid the nasty lawn condition called thatch, in which a layer of organic debris builds up between the soil and the lawn, blocking air, water, and nutrient transfer.  

Whatever you run through our vacuums, it's shredded by the special Y-flail blades in seconds, reducing the volume significantly. While you'll want to discard any parking lot debris, any clean organic material from leaves, branches, grass clippings, nuts, pine cones, dead garden plants, and similar sources makes an excellent addition to your compost pile, and can often be used as-is for mulch.

Chipper Knife maintenance

The single best thing you can do to ensure a long life for your Patriot Chipper is to keep your chipping knives sharp.  A sharp knife slices the material and a dull knife chops the material.  The chopping of the material with a dull knife creates vibration.  Vibration is the enemy of all mechanical equipment.  Excessive vibration can cause metal fatigue.   This fatigue normally shows up at a bent in the metal or a weld.

The knives should be sharpened every six to eight hours of "chipping time".  Processing old dried branches may require you to sharpen the knives more frequently.  Another signe that the knives are getting dull is when the chipper loses its self feeding action.

The model CSV-2515 electric chipper, CSV-2540H and the new CSV-2450B all have one knife.  All of our other current and past gas model chippers as well as all CBV lawn vac models have two chipping knives.

The chipping knives can be removed from your machine without disassembling the housing.  You can find instruction in your owners manual.  You can down load a manual for free in the Product Support section of our web page. http://www.patriot-products-inc.com/support.htm  Simply remove the chipping cone to expose the rotor.  Gently spin the rotor until the knife aligns with the opening.  Each knife can be removed by  using a 3/16 Allen wrench to remove the screws.  For damaged or hard to remove screws you can get tips for removal in the product support section of our web page.  http://www.patriot-products-inc.com/downloads/chipperknifescrewremoval.pdf

Hot Tip:  If you have trouble removing the screw with a 3/16 Allen wrench, purchase a 3/16 Allen head socket for your socket set.  The socket set wrench will allow you to get much better leverage.

The knife can be sharpened using a wet stone, file or grinding wheel. Sharpen the knives evenly at a 30 degree angle.  A homeowners bench grinder with a fine grit stone will work, but because the knives are specially treated, too much heat will make them brittle.  Grind only a little bit at a time and allow them to cool.  Slow-speed, water cooled grinding is preferred.  For best results, see your local machine shop specialist or lawn mower repair outlet.

Sharp chipping knives allow you to chip smoother with greater efficiently.  You can purchase replacement knives on our web page in the accessories section of our web page. http://www.patriot-products-inc.com/access.htm

Shredding and Chipping for Mulch

2.        Shredding and Chipping for Mulch. The coin-sized wood chips and shredded leaves that all Patriot chipper shredders and lawn vacs produce don't just make yard clean-up and waste disposal a lot easier, they're ideal for mulching.

Mulch has to be one of nature's most perfect garden products. In fact, it's been called the "gardener's greatest ally." Mulch is 100% organic, and it's the nearest thing you'll find to the natural humus layer in a deep forest. When spread around your garden plants, shrubs, and trees, mulch can: 

·         Cool the soil in warm weather.

·         Warm the soil in cool weather.

·         Limit evaporation, helping the soil retain moisture.

·         Act as a weed barrier.

·         Reduce erosion, especially when spread between garden rows.

·         Add nutrients to the soil as it decomposes.

·         Deter insects, in some cases (depending on the material used).

·         Provide a protective border around your plants, so you're less likely to damage them with your lawnmower and other garden tools.

As with just about anything, there's a right way and a wrong way to use mulch. First of all, you should only use mulch made from plants that you know for sure aren't diseased so you don’t accidentally spread the disease to other plants.

Second, don't spread the mulch too thick. A layer more than four inches deep may block water from reaching your plants, provide a place for fungi to take hold, and interfere with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.