Side by Side Comparison of: Ohio Steel Industries

This lawn sweeper works great and easy to use. I have heard a lot about these, but had no clue how well they really work. My yard looks great....

I have used Craftsman sweepers for years and after tiring of their poor performance, I decided to spend a little more money and try one of these. To say I am impressed is an understatement. Arrived quick, assembly was simple, and the performance is out of this world. This thing picks up stuff my other sweeper would never be able to. The height level never slips like other brands, and the adjustability makes it easier to use. It picks up leaves, pine straw, pine cones, and anything else in its path. I am thoroughly satisfied and hope to get years of service from my sweeper.

works great...

Received the sweeper, studied the instructions, assembled it, and went and swept my BIG yard. Neighbor came over to see what I was doing and asked if I had time, would I come over and do her little yard. She said that was the best her yard ever looked! Sweeper works GREAT !

Prompt arrival, fairly easy to put together, does the job.

This sweeper works great, it will pick up just about everything as long as your yard is somewhat level. Saved me from a lot of raking. I should have bought one of these years ago.

It's a very good tool, does a great job brushing the lawn so I don't have to rake up the grass clippings. Nice thing is when I swap out the riding mower I don't have to get the bagger for the new one. It is heavy but I'm guessing that's one reason its effective and an indication it's made from solid material.

Seems very well built and tough. Speedy delivery! Thanks for the great service. Would recommend this item. We were very satisfied

May have to change my comments later on, but from what I know at this point is it was easy to assemble and the times we've gotten to use it, it does exactly want it says it will do. I'm happy with it.

Works great. Bought this to replace a sweeper I had used for 10 years. Assembly instructions leave something to be desired...but can be done with a little thought. Would definitely buy this again.

best investment I have made in a long time. Saves hours and more importantly, my back - no more hours of raking!!

Good product made well priced good. Used for three months now does real good on pine cones and straw. In can clean up about an acre in less than half the time it used to take.

Very well built, sturdy and does good picking up leaves and twigs. Only one small issue is the dumping of the hopper. Hope to get the hang of it as I use it more. I do like the machine very much.

very happy with this I have a huge yard

Works great. Some dents and scratches due to packaging.

the sweeper works fine Really cleans a yard. Very hard to dump with a full load. That also depends who is operating it.

Bought this for my husband, to replace a worn out one. He is happy with it, says it is much better made than his old one.

It would have been nice to have had instructions but thank goodness for the internet and Google. It works great when it's adjusted right and the material including pine needles are dry enough to pick up I would have given it a 5 star rating if the instructions would have been with it

We have so many leaves. Does a good job.

Not exactly easy to put together but it works well once it's on the back of the tractor. Happy to have it!!

My lawn sweeper is replacing a 20-year old 38" Agri-Fab Lawnsweep with a bunch of broken parts. The Ohio Steel (OS) sweeper arrived undamaged, but the manufacturer does not put straps around the box and it was really close to having the bottom fall out by the time it got to my house.The instructions were generally quite clear, leading the installer through just one small step at a time, except as noted regarding the top and bottom hopper tubes and the installation of the tensioning rods.Although OS uses more clips and pins than Agri-Fab, I find it slightly more difficult to remove the hopper, but not unduly so; the Agri-Fab used little parts that allowed for 5-second removal of the hopper, whereas the OS uses snap pins that are likely to require a screwdriver when removing the pins. One improvement is that they use a multi-hitch to accommodate more tractors, but the leading edge of the OS is steel right down to the bottom, whereas the Agri-Fab was metal to a point and then the bottom 1-2" was a rubber gasket; this exposes the OS to potential damaging hits from tree roots. I've added some pictures to show some time-saving and safety tips. Amazon only allowed six pictures from my collection.The most dangerous and difficult part of assembly were the tensioning rods. If possible, wear safety glasses or goggles. First, lay the hopper on its back and step inside. It is helpful to have grippy gloves or a pair of disposable nitrile gloves for this step, so that the tensioning rod doesn't slip in your hands. Put the rod in the top tube and then hold the other end with one hand and the center of the rod with your other hand, guiding it into position; it may take a few trial runs to get the hang of it.When assembling the bottom and top tubes into the hopper, make sure that the two tensioning rod holes face each other, else you'll have to waste about 15 minutes undoing the assemblies.I'm impressed with the overall quality of the sweeper compared with the Agri-Fab; some aspects of one are better than the other, but I do prefer the OS over the Agri-Fab for width, and disassembly for minimal storage space. I think the material used for the Agri-Fab hopper was of higher quality, however; I'm a little concerned of the thinner bottom of the OS hopper, because that is what takes the most wear, however when the sweeper is properly attached to the tractor, the bottom of the hopper should be a couple of inches, at least, off the ground. If the hopper were more rugged, I would have rated this sweeper a 5.

Works good, good sweeper.

Very heavy duty lawn sweeper. But, this is extremely hard to lift if full of leaves. Holds a large capacity of debris. Had to dump more frequently in order to be able to pick it up by the rope lever.The con was also that it is difficult to put together and took a lot of time. Instructions could have been much better!

Love it so far. It does as advertised. Picks up grass clippings no problem. Easy dumping as well. I pull with a toro zero turn. It is kind of cumbersome to store and hook up but that comes with the territory.

does a good job but after 3 hrs of use- in 2 days the catch bag had a worn hole in the fabric at the bottom of one of the support tubes. called ohio steel and they sent a new catch bag . it needs some type of strip or a plastic cover attached to the bottom of the support runners to keep it from wear from contact with the ground otherwise well made

Works great but the bag ripped right below the seem the very first time I used it, it wont last had to patch it on my first day I used it.

I purchased this product from a local distributer, not here on Amazon.So I had to assemble it from the box, which was no big deal.This is a nice and have piece of equipment, it is a solid product and collection bag is high quality, durable and thick. From time to time I will sweep up branches or bang into my trees with the collection bag, but the product seems to hold up rather well.The product works as intended, it will sweep up grass and leaves if they are not too close to the ground.My only complaint is the poor fit for my John Deere riding mower. The hitch is too high for my riding mower, despite the multiple level combination of the adjustable hitch on teh sweeper. I don't know if my riding mower hitch is just too low to accomodate the hitch height of the sweeper, or if the sweeper's hitch should be angled lower.I would recommend this product, but warn the buyer to check the level of their mower's hitch first.

Bought this unit assembled by dealer Deere Country. Sloppy wheel fit allowed soft fiberglass wheels to "squat" wearing gears on one wheel and cracking other in less than 25 hrs use. Of course, wheels are not warranted. Wheels must be shimmed for proper fit. Shims not listed on Ohio Steel parts list and not installed by dealer. Neither Dealer nor distributor stock parts. Down for more than a week waiting. Seems like a good product but soft wheel material and sloppy design of wheel fit are a problem that will cause rapid gear wear if not corrected by installing shims in assembly. Dealer was apparently aware because Deere Country warned against jacknifing or sharp turns, but didn't say why. Calls to Ohio Steel get you into a voice mail arabesque. Is a shame that an otherwise good product fails prematurely due to sloppy design, workmanship, or both.

This is a nice and heavy duty product. But the manufacturer did not include 2 clevis pins so I bought them at a home improvement store. Also after 1 use the canopy is ripping , I'm not sure how long this will hold up

Bought this last year Oct. 13th 2015 to sweep leaves off lawn and asphalt drive way. It worked great. I must have put 30 hrs on this sweeper last year (I live in the woods). This year, I got about 8 hrs in and the bottom of the hopper (made of plastic) is developing holes in it and is detaching itself from the mesh fabric that encases the hopper (stitches falling apart). I will say that I have beat the heck out of this thing in the 38 hours I got out of it, but still, for the cost, I'd expect this to hold up a littler while longer. The big design flaw is that the hopper physically sits on the ground/grass/asphalt. So overtime, when running this sweeper across all these elements, it's no wonder the bottom of the hopper will give out first. I'll be buying a new one, but I'm going to look for a brand that has the hopper sitting off the ground. If going to buy this product, I'd recommend screwing some sort of reinforcement to the very bottom of the hopper to take the beating instead of the plastic hopper itself.

first time I used it, worked fine until the third trip brushes quit rolling for some reason have not looked at it to find out why yet!

I just assembled this and used for the first time yesterday. Assembly was very easy except for the tension rods...I think my unit had the holes on the top bar drilled in the wrong place because it was impossible for me to get them in. I was bending them so hard that I lost control and it ripped the bag and almost hit me in the face. After many swear words I gave up and used the sweeper without them.I bought this to pick up grass clippings as here in the PNW the spring is so rainy the grass grows like crazy and if you don't have time to mow twice a week it is like cutting hay. The sweeper did a pretty good job of picking up the clippings.I would have given 4 stars if not for difficult and dangerous assembly.

I am having issues with wearing under the bag. I only use this product on grass and do not drag across cement, dirt or any hard surfaces. The first sweeper I received the brushes were creased very badly. Amazon sent another one promptly.

The rubber around the wheel fell off the second time we used it.

canopy is showing wear with limited use.......

It overloaded the very first time I used it and consequently wore holes in the bag on each corner. Just because the bag is big obviously doesn't mean it can handle a big load. The bag edges under the tube frame need a hard nylon glide bar on the bag to prevent wear. Where are the operating instructions? Some good instructions with illustrated diagrams showing how the bar adjustments on the sweeper and the different heights of the tow bar combine to get the desired grass collection would have been nice. I couldn't see what was happening in the sweeper bag as I was cutting when I readjusted after the bad wear experience and now can't seem to find any combination at all to get a decent pickup. Very frustrating! I was definitely ripped off the first time I used it. Pun intended.

It's average at best and cumbersome

Tension rods pop out, almost got injured! It seems the holes are in the wrong place, so we don't use the tension rods, bad design?

Picks up grass clippings well but fabric bag is worthless. The first bag ripped and fell apart after just two weeks. Ohio Steel sent me a new bag, which was great. The new bag ripped after one hour. Now Ohio Steel won't respond to me.

Horrible product. Assembly was easy, aside from the missing pin which I had to supply. The canvas collection bag was torn within a couple of hours and the support bar in the collection bag broke on the first day of using it. The collection bag drags on the ground, which is part of the issue. If the design of the bag were to be tilted and have better support on the back collection bag support arm, it would be able to withstand the use, but as is it is for light use only and even then will wear out quickly. I'd never have paid 300+ for a product which would last me only two uses. Ridiculous.

Sweeper was damaged from factory as there was no damage to shipping carton. Also sweeper brushes seemed to have melted and were bent on fourty-five degree angle halfway up the brush, no way it would sweep up grass. Not happy at all and I was not taking chance on another one. The company wanted me to pay return shipping , no way I didn't damage unit. I would have kept it if not damaged. Housing was bent so unit would not even work.

I called Ohio Steel and spoke with Customer Service about the quality of this sweeper and the warranty before making the purchase. We talked about my yard size and the application in depth before I made a decision. I've only had the sweeper for a year and 5 months and with light use the plastic gear on the wheel that makes contact with the steel gear that drives the brush are stripped on both wheels. Now the brush will not turn at all and the sweeper is useless. A "Proffesional" Sweeper with plastic gears? Even though Ohio Steel knows that the sweeper's drive system was poorly engineered and designed, they will not warranty the wheels. My smaller Craftsman Sweeper (made by Agri-Fab) that I use to sweep close to trees and hard to reach areas, has steel gears and a chain drive system housed in an enclosure and has never given me any trouble. The only problem with the Craftsman (Agri-Fab) Sweeper is the cheap and poorly made frame and bag system. I'm going to take a look at the Brinly Sweeper next time around. 2 new wheels for this sweeper are about $55.00 with tax at Tractor Supply, so get ready to put more money into this sweeper on a regular basis if you purchase it. If I could have given it 0 stars I would have. Big Fail Ohio Steel!

I have a model 50SWP26 sweeper. It lasted about six months before one of the wheels, which drive the brush via internal gears, failed. The fit was so sloppy that the plastic gear inside the wheel stripped against the metal gear on the rod that drives the brush. Now, I can't find parts anywhere but the manufacturer, and they aren't returning my calls. This sweeper is total junk.

I recently purchased this sweeper. Does a great job. After 3 hours of use one of the wheels is making a squeaking sound. Possible bearing or bushing. Called Ohiosteel three days straight and left message to call me. You cannot talk to a person. Lousy customer service. If I don't hear from them I am taking sweeper back to Tractor Supply. No excuse not to be able to talk to someone for assistance. No matter how good a product may be, without good customer service it is not worth the risk. Simply rude not to return one's call.