A sweeper turns your skid steer or loader into a yard and road cleaner, but the three main types do different jobs. A sweeper collector picks the debris up, a sweeper with a waste collector suits roads, car parks and courts, and an angle brush pushes material aside. Here's how to choose between them.
The Three Types
| Sweeper | What it does | Widths | Collector | Oil flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweeper collector | Sweeps, collects and dumps dirt and debris in one operation | 1400mm to 2400mm | 0.28 to 0.52m³ | 50 to 90 l/min |
| Sweeper with hydraulic waste collector | Cleans roads, footpaths, car parks and sports courts. The collector comes off so it works as an angle brush too | 1250mm to 1800mm | 0.10 to 0.16m³, opens hydraulically | 40 to 80 l/min |
| Angle brush | Sweeps dirt, dried mud, sand and snow aside | 1500mm to 2600mm | None | 50 to 90 l/min |
Collect It or Push It Aside?
Start with where the debris needs to end up.
- If it has to go, choose a sweeper that collects. The sweeper collector has the biggest collector, up to 0.52m³, and you empty it where you need it, so there's no separate shovelling or loading.
- If you sweep roads, car parks or courts, the sweeper with hydraulic waste collector gathers rubbish and dust straight into a collector that opens hydraulically. Its head floats to follow the ground and tilts by hand up to 15° either way, and with the collector removed it works as an angle brush.
- If it can be pushed to one side, such as snow, sand or dried mud on a long road or yard, an angle brush clears a wide strip in each pass. The 84 series tilts up to 30°, by hand or hydraulically, and the larger 60 and 63 series tilt 15° hydraulically.
Choosing the Width
A wider sweeper clears more with each pass, but it's heavier, and it has to suit your loader's rated operating capacity and hydraulics. The weights vary a lot across the range:
- Sweeper collector: 375kg at 1400mm up to 950kg at 2400mm
- Sweeper with waste collector: 320kg at 1250mm up to 400kg at 1800mm
- Angle brush: 275kg at 1500mm up to 850kg at 2600mm
Brushes and Options
All three come with a choice of brush material: plastic, steel or a steel and plastic mix. The sweeper collector can have support wheels, sprinklers with a water tank and a side brush. The waste collector sweeper can have a sprinkler and a side brush, and the angle brush can have a sprinkler and has support legs for parking. Tell us what you'll be sweeping and we'll help you choose the brush.
Keep the Dust Down
Sweeping dry raises dust. HSE advises avoiding dry sweeping where possible, because it can push large amounts of dust into the air, and recommends damping down with a water spray for regular site cleaning. The sprinkler options do the same job, wetting the surface as you sweep to keep the dust down. See HSE's guidance on sweeping and cleaning up dust.
Hydraulics and Mounting
Each sweeper runs from your loader's auxiliary hydraulics. Check the flow in the table against your machine's spec sheet. Kovaco makes each one to order to suit the machine it goes on, so tell us your loader make and model, how attachments mount on it, and its auxiliary flow and pressure, and we'll confirm the right model with your quote.
Sweeping with a Telehandler or Forklift?
See our guide to which telehandler sweeper you need and our forklift sweepers.
Skid Steer Sweeper FAQs
What's the difference between an angle brush and a sweeper collector?
An angle brush pushes material to one side as you drive. A sweeper collector picks it up into a collector you empty later.
Can a skid steer sweeper clear snow?
Yes. An angle brush sweeps snow aside, and the waste collector sweeper works as an angle brush with its collector removed.
How do I stop a sweeper raising dust?
Damp the surface down first, as HSE recommends for regular site cleaning, or choose the sprinkler option so the sweeper wets the surface as it goes.
Browse everything for compact loaders on our skid steer attachments page, including the Kovaco 4 in 1 bucket. Request a quote with your loader details.
