Karcher 1.766-303.0 S650 Cleaner, Yellow/Black

I live in North Florida on a property filled with and surrounded by live oaks. My concrete driveway is 2000 square feet, and at the end of it is a 500 square foot garage/workshop. It's March and the oaks are showering their spent leaves everywhere. They pile up on the driveway and blow into the garage. I live on a dirt road and my vehicles track a lot of sand onto the driveway. It's a big job to sweep up the leaves and sand, shovel them into a cart and haul them away.I was hoping there was a better way to do this job and in my search, I stumbled onto the Karcher S650. I read the reviews and was skeptical that it could handle my driveway, but after considering it for about a month, I ordered it. I bought one of the Warehouse deals, which meant it arrived without its original packaging, and with the parts tossed randomly into a large box. Fortunately, all the parts were there and it took me about 10 minutes to assemble it. In spite of the fact that it was listed as 'used', there was no visible wear or damage to any of the components. I'm pretty sure it had never been assembled before I did it.Once I had it put together, I ran it right around the garage/shop and was impressed with how good a job it did and how easy and quick it was to push. Then it was out to the driveway, and there I learned some of the limitations of the S650. In the areas where there density of the leaves and sand was relatively low, it worked like a champ, gobbling up everything in its path. When I got to the section of the driveway where damp leaves were stacked up 2" deep, it took no time at all to fill the bin and bring the sweeper to a halt. I was able to clean up everything, but it took multiple passes and frequent emptying of the bin to get it done. Altogether, it probably took me about 45 minutes to accomplish a task that usually takes me more than 2 hours. And I have to say that the final results were much better than I can do with a push broom and shovel, and the amount of effort was far, far less.One thing I learned is that it's probably better to empty the bin before it completely fills and clogs up the brushes and undercarriage. If you're cleaning up major leaves, the bin is probably on the small side, but I just keep my garden cart nearby and empty it frequently. I was also impressed with the way that the side brushes move leaves and dirt away from vertical walls, leaving the space squeaky clean. One of the things I was concerned about was the ability of the Karcher to pick up damp sand, but it did amazingly well with it. In places where the sand was 1/4" deep, it took multiple passes to get it all, but I didn't have an issue with that.This sweeper is way better than I thought it would be.

didn't know a product like this existed until i stumbled onto it on amazon. we have a fair amount of pavered and concrete surfaces (driveway, motor court, patio, sidewalks), which are constantly littered with debris (leaves, catkins, little branches) from our oak trees. the Karcher sweeper is very effective at cleaning large open areas and along hardscape/foundations. it's also quicker than using a cordless blower after mowing/edging to tidy up grass clippings that end up on hard surfaces.the sweeper is NOT effective in tight spaces where you need to make frequent turns or that contain obstacles like patio furniture. we also do not expect that it will be effective in the fall when the oak trees dump large volumes of leaves. for us, these limitations do not detract from the sweeper's utility at regular light maintenance.i think it's a significant attribute that this is made of mostly plastics and powered by human effort. that means i can collapse the handle and leave it outside, tucked away in a convenient location but exposed to the elements. we don't have to worry about keeping batteries charged or an engine fueled/maintained, sensitive machinery being damaged by rain or sun, or dangerous moving parts snagging a playful dog. instead, when i see a messy area, i pop the handle, walk the sweeper around at my preferred pace, dump the collections into the trash, and then place the sweeper back against the wall. simple and effective.

I have now used the sweeper(s) many times. The more I use them, the more impressed I am at just how well they perform. First, I must say I live in the country and have a fairly long asphalt driveway that meets a concrete apron and concrete garage floor. We get a lot of gravel tracked onto the driveway and into the garage. The sweeper takes care of picking up the loose gravel. (gravel stuck to the floor needs to be loosened as it does with any broom). It does pick up dirt and small debris easily, and most leaves (large leaves are the most stubborn and one needs to be moving at a constant speed in a straight line to pick up leaves).Some have complained about the size of the hopper, for leaves, it is a bit small, for dirt it is perfect.Next, my second sweeper is used at our wedding venue. Even those that help us clean love the sweeper and end up competing for the job of sweeping! I have used it quite extensively in the past two weeks as I have been building projects and it works great on sawdust!Lastly, I love having the rotating brush on both sides, It actually gives me a wider swath when doing general sweeping and the two rotating brushes really clean the edges and bring the dirt to the middle easily. Additionally, the amount of dust in the air is far less than using a push broom.My advice, Buy One or two...

I have a small shop where I set up all the wiring and electronics in squad cars, fire trucks, and other customer vehicles. I'm constantly cutting off tie wraps, wire splices, connectors, and pieces of wire that I just throw onto the floor to be swept up when I'm done. Along with all the wire and tie wraps on the floor, we have lots of salt and sand on the roads during the winter time that comes off the vehicles as they thaw out.This sweeper seems a little spendy, but it is amazing how well it picks up the sand and tie wraps. It will pick up tiny pieces of wire, but if the pieces are too long, I have to pick them up ahead of time to keep them from wrapping around the main brush under the unit. I have swept up smaller screws, nuts, washers, and bolts, but it starts to have problems when they get too big and heavy.I can sweep my floor in less then half the time it would take when using a push broom, and there is no dust floating around while using it. This sweeper is a time saver and well worth the money.