When it comes to choosing the best skid steer brooms and sweepers for your business, it can be tough to decide which one is right for you. With so many options on the market, how can you be sure you're making the right decision? Check out this article, we'll take a closer look at the different types of skid steer brooms and sweepers available and help you decide which is the best option for your needs.
Skid Steer Brooms | Angle Brooms
Skid steer angle brooms (also commonly referred to as a rotary broom) is a popular skid steer attachment used to clear dirt and debris from parking lots, driveways, side walks and job sites.
Angle broom attachments use your skid steers auxiliary hydraulic system to turn a large drum with a mix of poly and steel bristles.
Looking for information on a Push Broom Attachment? Click Here!
Manual and Hydraulic Angle Brooms
Angle broom attachments are best when used on an angle. This allows your skid steer to sweep debris to the side, allowing you to work from one side of the job site to the other.
When deciding on the right size of angle broom for your skid steer, you should ensure that the angled width of your broom will cover your wheel base.
Manual Angle
With a manual angle broom, you set the angle of your rotary broom with a locking pin before you begin sweeping. If the angle must be changed, you have to stop sweeping and manually remove the pin and reset the angle.
The main advantage of a manual angle skid steer broom is a lower pricing. If you have repetitive jobs that don't require constant adjustments this may be the perfect choice for your application.
Hydraulic Angle
Angle broom attachments can also be purchased with the ability to change angles hydraulically. This is a popular option, removing manual labour and giving you the most versatility at your job site.
Hydraulic angle brooms require an additional electrical connection in order to actuate the hydraulics. This requires your skid steer to have an external electrical connection as well.
Water Kits
Optional water kits are available for most broom attachments. The water kits helps to keep dust, dirt, and other debris wetted down so it doesn't become airborne.
Blue Diamond offers an optional 25 Gallon water kit that mounts on top of the sweeper. It can be used with both the manual and hydraulic skid steer broom attachments.
Pick Up Broom | Skid Steer Attachment
A pick up broom is another style of sweeping skid steer attachment. The pick up broom sweeps dirt and debris into a bucket that can later be dumped. This works great when you need to clean up job sites without simply sweeping dirt to the side.
Blue Diamond offers pick up broom attachments in 60" to 96" wide models. Unlike the angle broom, the pick up broom is designed to be used without any angling, therefore, you don't need to decide between manual and hydraulic angles.
Water Kits For Pick Up Brooms
Optional water kits are available from some manufacturers and are highly recommended for pick up broom attachments. Blue Diamond offers a low profile 37 gallon water kit, which is a great help keeping dust and dirt down, and helps attain a high quality sweep.
Many municipalities have regulations requiring clean up work have dust suppression in place using tools such as water kits for pick up brooms.
Water kits use an electrical pump to send water to several nozzles that fan the spray out in front of the broom.
Gutter Brush Option
If you are looking to add an additional gutter brush for your pick up broom, both Blue Diamond and Haugen attachments are a great option.
The gutter brush is used to sweep debris from along side curbs and other structures so that it can be picked up by the pick up broom.
Gutter brushes are hydraulically operated and the height is adjusted manually with a chain. On many models of pick up brooms, the gutter brush can be moved to either side of the skid steer.
General Operating | Pick Up Brooms
Pick up brooms will come with a direct drive hydraulic motor that can be used in forward or reverse.
Most manufacturers recommend that you sweep debris in a forward direction, as the skid steer moves forward. This sends the debris upwards around the hood of the sweeper and then down into the bucket.
For heavier debris, it may be necessary to reverse the direction of the sweeper and slowly sweep it backwards into the bucket for the first pass as the skid steer moves forward. After the heavy debris has been picked up, the sweeper can be reversed again to sweep forward while the skid steer moves forward.
The curtain around the bottom of the sweeper contains the dirt and debris, and creates a small vacuum area that helps keep the debris moving into the bucket.
