10 Steps to Effectively Sweep Leaves with a Crosswind Street Sweeper

10 Steps to Effectively Sweep Leaves with a Crosswind Street Sweeper

Published on October, 27 2022

Elgin Sweeper Company prides itself on providing the best street sweepers in the market. These are the necessary steps to ensure the best outcome for handling leaf season with a Crosswind1® or Crosswind® Tier 4.

FOLLOW OPERATOR & SAFETY MANUALS

It’s recommended to follow the Elgin Operator & Safety Manuals associated with the exact model for guidelines to ensure the safe operation of your sweeper.

STEP ONE – VACUUM ENHANCER

The most important step, the first step, is to ensure that you’re operating a Crosswind with the vacuum enhancer 100% open – completely open – while in a leaf sweeping application.

Step One - Vacuum Enhancer Step One - Vacuum Enhancer

STEP TWO – PICKUP HEAD

Check to ensure the top of the pickup head is parallel to the ground. Adjustments should be made prior to arriving at your site. Do a visual inspection of the blast orifice to ensure the opening is a uniform ½ inch width and height is 1.5 inches off the ground (2” x 4” should pass under it). Lastly, visually inspect the front and rear curtains to be certain they’re capable of making a good seal with the ground.

Step Two - Pickup Head Step Two - Pickup Head

STEP THREE – ADJUSTING THE CENTERBOARD

Adjust the centerboard to the left-hand side of the pickup head. Don’t forget to adjust the chains so it does not drag on the ground.

Step Three -Adjust Centerboard Step Three -Adjust Centerboard

STEP FOUR – FREIGHTLINER CAB PANELS

If you’re operating a Freightliner chassis, please remove the lower cab corners on both sides for the duration of all leaf sweeping. This allows easy access for thorough cleaning of the sweeper.

Step Four - Freightliner Cab Panel Removal

STEP FIVE – FAN/ENGINE SPEED

  • Single Engine Units:It’s recommended that you set the fan speed between 2,800 to 3,000 RPM – this is the tachometer located on the sweeper console.Or you can focus on the chassis engine tachometer; adjusting it to 1,700 to 1,900 RPM – this is located on the dash gauge cluster
  • Auxiliary Engine Units:It’s recommended that you set the auxiliary engine speed between 2,000 to 2,300 RPM – this tool is the tachometer located on the sweeper console
  • Step Five - Engine Speed

STEP SIX – VEHICLE SPEED

  • Single Engine Units: It’s recommended that you sweep as slowly as possible, even allowing the chassis to only creep. This can range between 2 to 3 MPH. This is to minimize the buildup of leaves in front of the pickup head.
  • Auxiliary Units:It’s recommended that you sweep as slowly as possible, even allowing the chassis to only creep. This can range between 2 to 3 MPH. This is to minimize the buildup of leaves in front of the pickup head.Step Six - Speed

STEP SEVEN – PICKUP HEAD CAMERA

Monitor the pickup head camera to ensure leaves don’t build up in front of the pickup head – this means your vehicle speed is appropriate per the application. All units ordered after June 15, 2020 will have this as a standard feature.

STEP SEVEN – PICKUP HEAD CAMERA

STEP EIGHT – BUILD-UP OF LEAVES

Always make manageable passes at leaf piles. In the event there’s a buildup of leaves in front of the pickup head follow these steps:

  1. Stop
  2. Idle the fan down
  3. Safely reverse until you see the pile of leaves
  4. Stop
  5. Increase throttle to sweep RPM
  6. Resume sweeping

Step Eight - Leaf Buildup

STEP NINE – FLOW Blocker

Any unit ordered after June 15, 2020 will have the flow blocker enhancement as standard. The main benefits of this feature are:

  1. Minimizes blow-out of debris during instances of raising the pickup head
  2. The flow blocker is fully automatic and blocks airflow to the pickup head whenever the head raises

Therefore, adjust the step eight procedure(s) to eliminate instances of idling the fan.

Step Nine - Flow Blocker Enhancement

STEP TEN – CLEAN THE UNIT

Please remember to clean the unit regularly after sweeping leaves. Leaves can quickly build up inside the hopper. Also, monitor the space below the Freightliner cab to ensure it’s clean.

Step Ten - Clean the unit

 

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL ELGIN DEALER WITH ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.

SALES@ELGINSWEEPER.COM

 

Supplemental Reference Videos:

Crosswind1

Leaf Sweeping with the Crosswind1

Crosswind

Leaf Sweeping with the Shared Power Crosswind