Leaf Blower Questions

[mx1alex]

I'm in the market for a leaf blower and I'm not sure which route I want to take. It will be used for normal leaf blowing activities (blow off drive way after mowing, blow out gutters, etc). One thing that's important is that my wife is able to use it so I've kind thought about getting one of those battery powered ones. Does anybody have any experience with those? I like the idea of not having another gas motor to take care of but I don't want to be buying new batteries for the thing once every couple of years either. I want to make sure it has the power to do what I need.

 

[mx1alex]

I've been seeing this one advertised a lot on tv lately and it seems like it has plenty of power but a replacement battery is $130.

EGO 480 CFM 3-Speed Turbo 56-Volt Lithium-ion Cordless Electric Blower-LB4801 - The Home Depot

 

[dusty3030]

This one is easy to start and balances well. My wife won't use many power tools but uses this Stihl BG86 one all the time.

Object moved

 

[bigtiller]

This one is easy to start and balances well. My wife won't use many power tools but uses this Stihl BG86 one all the time.

Object moved

dusty and I have the same one, I think it is the biggest hand held model that Stihl makes. I wouldn't want one with less power, and i definitely don't want a back pack model.

mx1... compare air volume and velocity when comparison shopping.

 

[4570Man]

My Grandma has a battery powered one she uses to to blow out her flower beds. It is really more suitable for blowing crumbs off the kitchen floor. The Sthil leaf blower attachment for a weed eater is probably the easiest blower to handle I have ever used. A regular leaf blower is hard to handle because they are really only good for one handed operation. I much prefer using my backpack blower to any of the above choices. Picking it up off the ground and getting it on your back is difficult, but if you set it up on a truck tailgate first it is much easier. Unless your wife is like 95 pounds I think she could handle a backpack blower.

 

[dodge man]

I've got the same one Dusty listed also. It starts pretty easy and I also bought an attachement thats a long tube with a bend on the end that lets me blow out my gutters.

 

[4570Man]

Volume is by far the most important measurement. A strong backpack blower can't post a MPH rating drastically better then a wimpy handheld blower, but their blowing performance is drastically better. A compressed air gun sucks at blowing leafs because they lack volume, but still have high air speed.

 

[mecan]

I have a craftsman 19.3volt blower and it is not powerful, it will blow some light stuff but anymore only time I use it is to blow out the gym bleachers at the school because we can't run the gas one with kids in the building. Maybe the 40+ volt ones are better but I wouldn't recomend what I have for your use. Heck only reason I got it was a combo pack with a weedeater with worked fine when all I had was a little city lot, but laughs at what I want it to do now

 

[KennyG]

I think any electric blower is going to be really light duty. It may sound like an odd choice, but the lighter weight backpack blowers are easy for anyone to use. The newer 2 stroke engines start very easily. I just got a Husky 350 which handles very nice but is relatively heavy. I think your wife might find a Husky 150 about right.

 

[JRobyn]

Gotta start by saying that we have LOTS of leaves and acorns. Numerous white oaks. Over two acres to deal with between our houses and the in-laws.

I was surprised when we went shopping that my wife liked this one best after considering price, weight, power, and ease of starting - Object moved. I am cheap, and very resistant to the notion of spending that much on "just a blower". But she REALLY likes that it: is easy to don and comfortable; is very powerful; is REALLY easy to start and is surprisingly quiet with its "4-Mix" 4-stroke engine; is a high quality piece of equipment worth working on and having repaired for many years (if needed) as opposed to cheap blowers we had previously had.

What momma REALLY likes, momma gets. I have had zero regrets now after about a year.

Did I mention that it is POWERFUL!!!!

- Jay

 

[4570Man]

I would rather carry a heavy backpack blower and finish in 1/10 of the time than struggling with a severely underpowered light weight blower.

 

[4570Man]

I have a Redmax ebz6500 blower that is super powerful. A friend has a Sthil 600 magnum. The Sthil is rated to move 60 cfm more air but 30 mph slower. I think my Redmax can move more leaves quicker. We have a $10 dollar bet on the matter, but we have yet to settle. I think the biggest difference is the Sthil blower tube is reduced down more at the end. The Sthil cost about $150 more. There is an even greater price difference if you use the local dealer prices.

 

[Wagtail]

A wee bit off topic but, if you're going to go with a hand-held model, pay attention to the vibration quotient. An un-insulated (anti-vibration foam/neoprene) handle can lead to some nasty aches in your hand.

I've wrapped the handle of my blower with foam pipe insulation Plus I wear a pair of neoprene 'wet-suit' gloves to vastly cut down on this debilitating side-effect.

 

[KennyG]

A wee bit off topic but, if you're going to go with a hand-held model, pay attention to the vibration quotient. An un-insulated (anti-vibration foam/neoprene) handle can lead to some nasty aches in your hand.

I've wrapped the handle of my blower with foam pipe insulation Plus I wear a pair of neoprene 'wet-suit' gloves to vastly cut down on this debilitating side-effect.

Another plus for backpack blowers. With the control mounted on the flexible discharge pipe, no vibration at all.

 

[Will_C]

I have a Stihl backpack model for 15 years. Very happy with it. I think I paid $300, the best handheld was $200. Tried them at the dealers, there was a huge difference.

Will

 

[Hill Farmer]

I got the cheapest Stihl gas powered hand held they had last month. Light, works great for blowing out garage, drive, and bush hog. No regrets.
Mom and Dad have the next model up with the easy start. Moms 70 and has shoulder issues, but can use/start it. I don't need the easy start, but it seemed to be a better machine.

 

[kenmac]

I've been seeing this one advertised a lot on tv lately and it seems like it has plenty of power but a replacement battery is $130.

EGO 480 CFM 3-Speed Turbo 56-Volt Lithium-ion Cordless Electric Blower-LB4801 - The Home Depot

Yeah,, The leaves are dry and have been placed on what appears to be a slick floor. I laugh when I watch that commerical

 

[kenmac]

I have a Redmax ebz6500 blower that is super powerful. A friend has a Sthil 600 magnum. The Sthil is rated to move 60 cfm more air but 30 mph slower. I think my Redmax can move more leaves quicker. We have a $10 dollar bet on the matter, but we have yet to settle. I think the biggest difference is the Sthil blower tube is reduced down more at the end. The Sthil cost about $150 more. There is an even greater price difference if you use the local dealer prices.

I have the EBZ8500... great machine.. 908 CFM's in the tube.. It will move some leaves..At 24.5 LBS..It's Probably a bit heavy for his wife to tote around on her back...

I also have this Redmax HB280 VK Commercial 28cc Handheld Leaf Yard Blower w Vacuum Kit | eBay mod with the bag to get leaves out of the rock garden.... My wife uses it as well

 

[mx1alex]

Anybody have experience with the Kombi system that Stihl has? I'm thinking about going that route now. Can get a trimmer, pole saw, and blower all with the same power head.

 

[4570Man]

Anybody have experience with the Kombi system that Stihl has? I'm thinking about going that route now. Can get a trimmer, pole saw, and blower all with the same power head.

I have one. I like the blower better than a handheld blower, but not as much as my backpack blower. It blows pretty hard, more than adequate for your described task. It is rated to blow 530 cfm at 140 mph on a KM90 motor.