Recommendation for Leaf Blower

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angelescrest
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue May 27, 2008 10:48 am
Location: West Coast

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by angelescrest »

dukeblue219 wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 7:45 am Admittedly I forget not everyone lives in an urban environment sometimes. I've never spent more than 30 minutes raking a yard in my life, yet we have some neighbors who still insist on blowing their yards twice a week. Good lord it's irritating to have that sound going right outside the window during a Teams/Zoom meeting.

I suppose if you have a huge yard, like a half acre or more, that it might make sense to have a gas blower.
I remember that noise all to well, it was an unfortunate part of my childhood. One of my early jobs, it took a couple years to realize that it was someone using an industrial gas blower somewhere outside the office building, the fumes would get sucked into the building and blown into my office. Every time the same week I’d get dizzy and lightheaded, and overall ill. But since I didn’t work with any windows, I didn’t realize what was going on. They couldn’t fix the issue, so I just didn’t work in my office that time of the week.
Crimsonandclover
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:05 pm

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by Crimsonandclover »

I am not a big fan for the lawn blowers but as others have noted, sometimes you just need a blower. I use a blower about once a month after edging the lawn and weed trimming and in the fall for leaf removal.
My main focus for a blower purchase was based on power source, gas - battery - or corded electric.
All have drawbacks, with gas you have the maintenance issues, mixing gas and or storing gas, maintenance and tune up. With battery, you need to make sure your battery(s) are charged up prior to use and replace batteries as needed. With corded electric you have to hassle with cords.
My decision was to buy a corded blower as it needed no maintenance other than string replacement and was always ready to go. After that it was just a matter of brand and features.
If I needed to use the blower more frequently, gas would have been my first choice because of power and long run time.
Battery powered would be my last choice as replacement batteries are expensive and they will eventually need to be replaced.
livelovelaugh00
Posts: 243
Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2016 7:15 pm

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by livelovelaugh00 »

retiredjg wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 4:29 pm I have the EGO battery powered leaf blower. Love it. Would buy another in a minute if I needed to. Very quiet compared to gas powered. It is one of several EGO products I own.

I don't use it a great deal. It lasts several weeks on a charge for my use. I'll edit that. I use it a lot but usually for just a few minutes at at time.
The best. Love it. I have their lawn mower too. It makes mowing a fun thing to do.
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ClevrChico
Posts: 3259
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:24 pm

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by ClevrChico »

None.

Mow over the leaves. Use your trimmer to clear grass over walks.
carolinaman
Posts: 5463
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:56 am
Location: North Carolina

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by carolinaman »

I have a 2 acre lot but my house and yard cover about 1/2 acre with lots and lots of hardwood trees. Leaf raking/blowing is a weekly event from October through December. I have a small Echo gas powered blower that is good for clearing sidewalks and decks. I finally bought an Echo backpack gas powered blower (it cost about $250 I think) a few years ago. It makes quick work of blowing leaves. This saves me a huge amount of time and I should have bought one many years ago.

I think electric blowers are probably adequate for small yards with minimal trees. I seriously doubt there are any electrical blowers that can match my backpack.
mtwhmemn
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:07 pm
Location: NC

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by mtwhmemn »

Fairly easy way to decide if you need something very powerful is just look at what the pros use in your area. I'd bet money most use Stihl. I have a 600 and it is a real workhorse. I bought it from the guy I bought my house from. He was a nice guy and knew I'd need it, sold it at a very fair price. 7 years later I have done minimal periodic maintenance to it, never had to take it to a repair shop and it is probably well over 15 years old now. I have a wooded backyard and the leaves that come down every year are beyond belief.
zlandar
Posts: 597
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 8:51 am

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by zlandar »

Need to specify what your use is for. Any decent blower can blow leaves off a dry driveway. If you want enough power to do it in grass/semi wet conditions then you need a gas,corded, or very powerful battery blower.

If you are buying a battery blower try to buy one that uses the same batteries as your other outdoor equipment.

I use an Ego battery blower and it's plenty powerful IMO. Also have the Ego edger and they share the same batteries.
scifilover
Posts: 545
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 12:56 pm

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by scifilover »

You cannot rake Douglas Fir needles. They laugh at electric blowers. You have to get them off your roof or watch the moss grow. Ditto your driveway and sidewalks. I have a small Stihl gas blower that I have used for the last 10 years. Except for buying gas and oil to mix with the gas there has been no other maintenance......I no longer get up on the roof, but my handyman uses my blower to get the needles off the roof
Scooter17
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:53 pm

Re: Recommendation for Leaf Blower

Post by Scooter17 »

Electric blowers are not there yet, too weak. Trimmers, etc are good. I would recommend Stihl gas
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