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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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:
- Stop
- Idle the fan down
- Safely reverse until you see the pile of leaves
- Stop
- Increase throttle to sweep RPM
- Resume sweeping
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:
- Minimizes blow-out of debris during instances of raising the pickup head
- 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 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.
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL ELGIN DEALER WITH ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
Supplemental Reference Videos:
Crosswind1
Leaf Sweeping with the Crosswind1
Crosswind