Leaf blower recommendation

[kathy50]

I hate leaf blowers. I hate the idea, the hate the noise, I don't like them. That said, however, we and our neighbors have lots of deciduous trees and the leaves are already starting to fall. It's nearly impossible to rake them with a layer of mulch underneath and so a leaf blower has been recommended. I like the idea of a battery operated one but they don't seem to get very good reviews. The thought of dragging around a 100 foot cord for an electric one or keeping the gas mixture around for a gas powered one doesn't thrill me.

Any recommendations on what has worked best for you?

Thanks for any input!

 

[ZTMAN]

Depends on how big of an area you are talking about.

Personally, I have been purchasing the Husqvarna 125B for years. Good all around gas blower. If you use ethanol free fuel, the blower will last along time.
Main use for the blower is driveway and walk ways.

I use the ZT mower to wrangle leaves in the yard. Blow them into a pile with the mower, rake them onto a tarp and dump.

In the mulch beds, I use a steel tine leaf rake. If you use a blower frequently in the mulch beds you have to watch you don't blow all the mulch away. Rake is much quicker for me than a blower.

With that said , if I had a lot of area to do, I would get a back pack blower. Depending on your budget, the Redmax seems to be the go to for the pros.

 

[JohnBuffaloMN]

I've learned that CFM is the useful measurement on a blower and 120 foot cords suck to manage. I got a Poulan Pro gasoline model from big box store and it's been great.

 

[lightninboy]

Yeah, good advice, blowing leaves is something to get done as fast as possible, a Stihl might be competitive.

 

[4570Man]

I have a Stihl BR-400. Stihl BR-600 and a Redmax 8500. Forget about hand blowers for heavy work. My Stihl 600 blower is a more refined product that’s more comfortable to wear but is a far cry from the power of the 8500. I’ve used a dewalt 80 volt blower and a snapper cordless blower and they’re about the same power as my 400 blower. I bought the Stihl 400 for $75 and I use it to blow grass off driveways. I didn’t want to risk loosing a $500 blower to criminals when it wasn’t needed.

 

[BigBlue1]

I have a Stihl BR-600 that works really well. We get quite a lot of leaves in the fall from all our huge maple and oak trees. That said, it is fairly heavy. Not the most fun to load it onto your back and I wouldn't want to walk around with it for hours at a time. I have taken it up on the roof and used it to blow the leaves off the roof and out of the gutters and I'm comfortable with that.

I also have a blower attachment for my JD modular string trimmer. That works decently too, but now that I have the Stihl I don't use it much. Different class of capability.

Rob

 

[AchingBack]

I believe you can't beat the EGO brand of products. I'm very satisfied with mine. Power+ 53 CFM Blower


| EGO POWER+
The EGO POWER+ 530 CFM Blower is the next, big step up in power and convenience for cordless blowers. It is the MOST powerful cordless, blower in the industry. Equipped with turbine fan engineering, inspired by advanced aeronautics technology. The NEW compact, lightweight design weighs in at 7.4lbs with the included 2.5Ah battery. The advanced EGO POWER+ 56V ARC Lithium™ battery uses industry-leading technology to deliver Power Beyond Belief and is compatible with all EGO POWER+ products.

 

[4570Man]

I have a Stihl BR-600 that works really well. We get quite a lot of leaves in the fall from all our huge maple and oak trees. That said, it is fairly heavy. Not the most fun to load it onto your back and I wouldn't want to walk around with it for hours at a time. I have taken it up on the roof and used it to blow the leaves off the roof and out of the gutters and I'm comfortable with that.

I also have a blower attachment for my JD modular string trimmer. That works decently too, but now that I have the Stihl I don't use it much. Different class of capability.

Rob

I wouldn’t want to use mine for several hours at time either but an hour job for a big backpack blower would probably take 4 hours with a cordless blower.

 

[CADplans]

I wouldn稚 want to use mine for several hours at time either but an hour job for a big backpack blower would probably take 4 hours with a cordless blower.

The Stihl BR600 is my third blower from years of trying to move leaves.
In actuality, the lesser blowers simply can not do jobs the BR600 can do,,
the BR600 is the first blower that I have ever seen that can move matted-wet leaves from in front of my garage.

Prior to the BR600,, the leaves had to be moved with a garden tractor and snow blade,,,

 

[4570Man]

The Stihl BR600 is my third blower from years of trying to move leaves.
In actuality, the lesser blowers simply can not do jobs the BR600 can do,,
the BR600 is the first blower that I have ever seen that can move matted-wet leaves from in front of my garage.

Prior to the BR600,, the leaves had to be moved with a garden tractor and snow blade,,,

Yes, a good blower is a lifesaver. And my Redmax 8500 out blows my BR-600 by a lot.