I have the same problem only with hickory nuts. Switched to a lawn sweeper, works fine.

Kdish I'm thinking this is a question that should be asked directly to DR and Cyclone. They know what the blades are made from and how well they will stand up to something as hard as a walnut shell. I'd also find out about cost of replacements and whether they can be replaced by yourself.

Well, if my Sears sweeper can pick up hundreds of sweetgum balls, it should do alright with your stuff.

The Dr will suck nuts if the deck is lowered very low, but then you have to worry about medium sized stones,the impellar does have a limited life time warrnty, but a P.I.TA to change. The cyclone rake has a rubber impellar which will flex a bit if a stone is picked up with no damage to the impellar. Get the video/DVD package from them.hope this helps.