The Best Magnetic Sweeper For Grass – Product Review
THE BEST MAGNETIC SWEEPER FOR GRASS
We hear so many complaints about magnetic sweepers that people have purchased elsewhere that won’t work in grass, and in talking to these people we also find that people are making some mistakes when trying to pick up debris in grass. So we decided it was time to write this article.
THE BEST MAGNETIC SWEEPER DESIGN FOR GRASS
We’re starting our discussion with a talk about WRAP AROUND DESIGN, because if you’re planning on picking up roofing nails or anything else in grass, this is the number one design feature you need to have. We talk about it all over our website www.bluestreakequipment.com . We identify which of our magnetic sweepers have it and which ones don’t. However, “wrap around” is never mentioned out there in the general marketplace. You’ve got to have this feature for your magnet to function well in grass.
So step one, make sure your magnet has the “WRAP AROUND DESIGN” feature.
Simply put, this design feature prevents grass from wiping debris off the bottom of your magnet. Without this feature you probably hear your magnet picking up the debris, but the grass simply wipes it back off and the debris or nails fall off again into the grass. It’s hard to see it happening in a lot of cases if you’re moving at walking speed because the nails are falling off the bottom of the magnet and it’s hard to see what is happening on the bottom of your magnet at grass level, but people who use their magnet a lot like roofers eventually clue into what’s happening and it’s the most frustrating thing to know your magnet really isn’t working.
We describe this feature in more detail on our website at this link HERE
THE BEST MAGETIC SWEEPER SETUP FOR USE IN GRASS
Now that you’re going to be using a magnetic sweeper with the wrap around design feature, let’s talk about the next most important thing. That is, how you setup your magnetic sweeper to work best in grass.
For your magnet to work best in grass the bottom of the magnet should be just touching the tips of the grass. You don’t want any more than the last quarter inch of the grass tips touching the bottom of the magnet.
Why is this? Because if the bottom of the magnet is lower than this, the magnetic sweeper bends the grass over too much as you push the magnet forward. If there is debris down in the grass, and the grass gets bent over, this can have the effect of trapping the debris in the grass making it harder to pick up.
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Wouldn’t the magnet work better the lower it is? Yes, that’s correct, magnets work better the closer they are to the debris they are trying to pick up. But in this case, if the grass traps the debris, the magnet can’t pull it through the grass. So both factors have to be considered. We always say you want the grass tips just touching the bottom of the magnet. No more than about one quarter of an inch of the grass tips touching the bottom of the magnet is best. Yes, the magnet may be a bit higher off the ground by doing this, but by allowing the grass to stand straight up, the magnet can pull the nails or debris out of the grass.
Now all of what I just said means that you have to have a magnet that you can adjust the sweeping height on, so let’s discuss that next.
THE SECOND BEST MAGNETIC SWEEPER DESIGN FEATURE FOR USE IN GRASS
You need to adjust the sweeping height so that the bottom of the magnet is just touching the tips of the grass. Therefore you need a magnetic sweeper with adjustable height. At Bluestreak any magnet designed for grass has at least 2 different height settings by changing the wheel position which in turn changes the magnet height off the ground. Some of our high end magnets have as many as seven different settings and some even have continuous adjustment meaning you can set the sweeping height anywhere you want in very fine increment adjustments. Design and setup are sometimes far more important than magnet power, so you’ll find the best magnets have certain features. The more wheel height settings there are, the more setup options you’ll have and the more you can fine tune the setup to ensure your magnet performs well.
Grass on a normal lawn is usually somewhere in the range of 2 inches to 2 ½ inches long, so look for a magnet that can accommodate this sweeping height. If a magnet can only be adjusted so that the sweeping height is 2 inches maximum, then you probably want to steer clear of purchasing that magnet for use in grass.
THE BEST MAGNET POWER FOR USE IN GRASS
Finally, let’s talk about what everyone usually wants to talk about first…. MAGNET POWER. However, note that it is my last point. Yes, magnet power is a real factor in how well the magnet performs but in my opinion it’s not as important as the other factors above in ensuring your magnet performs well in grass.
However, once you’ve covered off the other factors, then this factor is easy to address….. bigger is just simply better when it comes to magnet performance in grass. But wait, hold on, let me clarify. When I say bigger, I mean a bigger magnet, not just a bigger magnet housing. Be very, very careful, there are a lot of magnets on the market that are quite small but they are put in a very big housing of some kind to make it look big. These magnets are small and are spaced out between each other in order to use less magnet and reduce costs. So when you’re looking at a big rectangular tube, the magnet inside may be very small individual blocks that have spaces between the blocks to cover the width by using less magnet.
To see how to select an appropriately sized magnet for your debris type and terrain: Click Here
Therefore, look at the product specifications or ask about the volume of magnetic material used in the magnetic sweeper. What you’re looking for are the cubic inches of magnetic material that are in the magnet. As long as the magnets are not spaced out, this is calculated as;
Length of magnet in inches x width of magnet in inches x height of magnet in inches = cubic inches of magnet material.
In addition to the volume of magnet (cubic inches of magnet material), you also need to be concerned about the quality or grade of magnetic material. It’s going to be really hard for you as a consumer to judge the technical details of whether the magnetic material is of high quality or not. Therefore, just make sure you know whether it’s a ceramic magnet or rare earth magnet, and the grade of magnet. If it’s a ceramic magnet make sure it’s Ceramic 8. And it’s also just enough for you to know that rare earth magnets are stronger than ceramic magnets. But you can’t make your decision on what magnet is best based on the grade of magnet, or the magnet’s Gauss strength, because the volume of magnet is also very important. Read a more lengthy description about this in this previous post HERE.
Follow all these recommendations when buying and using a magnetic sweeper, and you’ll have the best magnetic sweeper for use in grass.
Trying to Clean up After a Roofing Job?
To see Bluestreak’s recommendations for how and why to clean up after a roof or siding is installed: Click Here
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