blower backpack or push?

[farmerjim]

i'm in the market for a blower. i'm looking to get something that would be powerful enough to blow leaves that were damp or a bit wet but not soaked. since i have a large area i was looking into either a backpack or push variety. i've been looking at the husqvarna and stihl backpacks, but i have not looked at any of the push type yet. just looking for some feed back on what to look for.

 

[PhilNH5]

Jim.
I just got a Stihl backpack blower last fall. I am disappointed with how well it works. The machine it's self is fine. It is just my idea of what it would accomplish doesn't match with what it actually can do.
It has plenty of power. But moving leaves any distance is very time consuming. I thought I could clear large areas with it but it doesn't work that way. I wind up back tracking over and over trying to keep the leaves moving in a direction I want. Took lots and lots of time. Turns out I could do the job faster with a rake and a tarp to haul the leaves away.
Maybe my technique just blows ( /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif pun intended) but I would not buy another backback blower.
Phil

 

[hobbyfarm]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( But moving leaves any distance is very time consuming. )</font>
Pushing any machine around really gets old quick. Backpack blowers are kind of handy, but moving large volumes of leaves, the push has more power, and <font color="brown">these</font> are even better. All you need is a blank check. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I agree with PhilNH45, raking is almost as fast, but quite a bit more tiresome.

 

[bczoom]

farmerjim,

A backpack blower is a valuable tool for blowing in tight spaces or smaller areas. For the large areas, they're not very good. There's lots of threads on leaf removal if you do a search. Lots of tools/ideas/techniques already discussed.

I use the backpack for cleaning off paved or stone areas, getting around buildings, garage/shop floors, around kids swingset, inside the sandbox... Basically areas you can't use a push or pull type. Once I'm in the open areas, I switch to other equipment.

Brian

 

[lhfarm]

I purchased a wheeled blower and made a tow bar out of an old mower handle. I tow it behind my old Cub Lo-Boy and it works great. The blower was a "returned" model (I suspect that after pushing across uneven ground once, the owner decided it was a bad idea). I can give you more details if that would help.

 

[1bush2hog]

Is mulching an option?

Mulching has many benefits for you and your yard /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[gav64]

farmer jim it depends, I have had the small hold in your hand blower (usless) and now have a dolmar back pack blower which as others have said is great for spot cleaning, blowing leaves out of flower beds, rough areas (my property is steep) basiscally doing the prep work for the other blower. I also have had a 8hp little wonder, used it when i lived on a smaller piece of property, the new place needed more hp, surrounded by oaks. I now have a 13 hp little wonder with a honda engine
it is amazing how much air it moves, well balanced and easy to push. I tried out a giant vac 16hp twin electric start hydro drive(i think ganos in colchester carries them) it was cool but a little slow and too top heavy for my property. this year i am making a caddy to put the 13hp in that will attach to the front of the ztr mower so i don't have to push anymore as someone said earlier pushing gets old especially when it is up hill. If you need any other specifics you can pm me. glenn

 

[TMcD_in_MI]

I think it just boils down to horsepower. The more leaves you have to move and the bigger area to move them, the more power you're gonna need. With your big area, I think you would need to wear at least an eight horse engine on your back in order for a backpack blower to do the job for you. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Decades ago I ran a Ford 9N on a golf course and we used a good-sized PTO-driven leaf blower behind it in the fall. That baby would blow leaves! We had never heard of an overrunning clutch on the PTO shaft, so you had to plan your stops ahead of time because the transmission driven PTO would keep the tractor moving until the leaf blower had stopped spinning. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif It seems to me that I could throw it in neutral if I timed it just right and then stop the tractor, but it wasn't a sure thing.

Tom

 

[farmerjim]

thanks for the info guys. mainly the blower will be used to just blow the leaves into a row or swath so i can just go w/ the leaf vac and suck them up, only thing is i share the vac w/ my family and it may be awhile b4 it comes my way, so the leaves will build up a bit. anyway i guess i'll have to do some shopping, an possibly some customizing to the jd 316 if i get a push type.

 

[Junkman]

The amount of leaves is in direct proportion to the amount of equipment that you will need. I find that it is best to pick up as much as you can with a bagger system attached to your mower deck and then blow the rest out of the cracks and crevices to be picked up on the last trip with the bagger. Just remember that the leaves that don't fall today, will be falling the day after you have cleaned up what fell yesterday. There is no end to the cycle until the first snow falls. Then the leaves that are left on the ground will be covered till the spring and you can pick them up then.
I purchase a Husqvarna back pack blower and it works well. I have also used the cyclone rake for mulching on my old Bolens tractor. This year, I have added the Kubota bagger to the arsenal to do even more. If I can get the wife on the Bolens, and me on the Kubota BX, there is a good chance that we don't have to spend as much time doing leaf collection. If you keep the lawn cut short, the leaves will all blow off to a central collection area and then all you have to do is pick them up. The only problem with this scenario is that you don't get to pick the central location. The wind does. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif