Over the past 10 years, new large-scale shops have sprung up on farms across the nation. The new shops are grand in scale and often boast 6,000 to 10,000 square feet. While the square footage is ideal for working on and storing equipment, it’s also a lot of floor to keep clean. To make the job easier, Team FIN tested Tennant’s S10 Industrial Floor Sweeper, and rated it on a scale of 1 to 5.

Tennant’s S10 is a self-propelled, walk-behind sweeper driven by a 1 hp motor with a 24v industrial battery. The mechanical sweeper has a large main brush and side sweeper that bring debris in toward the machine where vacuum assist contains the dust. Tennant claims the machine is built heavy duty to take on harsh industrial environments, and Team FIN said it translated well on the shop floor.

Team FIN was impressed by the machine’s ability to pick up a variety of debris from fine dust and floor dry to leaves and chunks of dirt. The floor sweeper has a sweeping path of 34 in. and leaves the floor spotless.

The machine can be set to clean smooth, even floors or uneven floors, and Team FIN found the machine does an excellent job on all surfaces. While the main brush picks up a majority of the mess, the side brush also does a great job. Team FIN said the side brush cleans edges and corners well and pulls debris out of cracks in the concrete.

Team FIN was impressed by how little dust the floor sweeper kicks up while it cleans and by how quiet it runs.

Simple to run

The machine is also easy to operate. The operator simply turns the key, adjusts a lever to lower the main brush, then presses the propel handle to move the machine forward. If the propel handle is released, the machine immediately slows to a stop. To move the machine backwards, the operator simply squeezes the reverse propel handle. Team FIN said the forward and reverse felt natural and is very responsive. The sweeper is smooth running and turns effortlessly.

The S10 includes a dry dust control panel filter that captures dust particles as small as 3 microns, according to Tennant. The machine is equipped with an automatic filter shaker motor that shakes the filter dust into the hopper after each use. The sweeper’s hopper holds up to 150 lbs. of debris. To empty the hopper, the operator simply drives the machine up to the dump site, lifts the filter cover, and dumps the hopper. Once the machine is backed away from the dump site, the debris can be disposed of. Team FIN said this is a great back-saving feature, especially when compared to low-end floor sweepers that have hoppers that manually need to be lifted out of the machine and dumped.

The S10 has a battery charge indicator that shows the level of battery charge, and the onboard charger plugs into a standard 110v outlet. Team FIN found all the components of the machine, from brushes to the batteries, easily accessible. The machine is easy to operate, heavy-duty, and effective at cleaning loose debris. For a farmer with a lot of floor to keep clean, the Tennant S10 sweeper would be a fantastic, time-saving machine and a real asset to a large farm shop.

Rated: 5 out of 5

The Tennant S10 walk-behind sweeper costs $8,000 to $9,550. For more about Tennant, visit www.tennantco.com

Tennant T5 walk-behind floor scrubber

Team FIN also tested a Tennant T5 floor scrubber. The machine features disk or cylindrical scrubbing, with cleaning paths ranging from 24 in to 32 in. It has 4 industrial batteries and large clean water and wastewater tanks. It has a squeegee design that recovers all the water and solution from the floor. Team FIN found the machine easy to operate and very user-friendly. It does a fantastic job cleaning concrete floors. The Tennant T5 walk-behind floor scrubber costs $11,500 to $14,000.