School me on leaf Blowers

Cowboy

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I picked up a used Honda mower today at a good price. So now I need a trimmer and blower. School me on blowers, do I want back pack or hand held? Stihl or something else? My experience is stihl is almost always worth the extra cost but on this I'm not sure.
 
I picked up a used Honda mower today at a good price. So now I need a trimmer and blower. School me on blowers, do I want back pack or hand held? Stihl or something else? My experience is stihl is almost always worth the extra cost but on this I'm not sure.
Stihl backpack....you won't look back...

DS

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
 
Stihl backpack....you won't look back...

DS

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
Yup what he said. We have two hand held blowers sitting on the shelf. Haven’t been used since we got a backpack. It blows big green pine cones across the yard.
 
Depends how much you need to use one and your intented use. Backpacks are nice if you have a bunch to blow off at one time and with leaves they move more air. Hand helds are nice if you just need it a little bit or just want to quickly use it to blow mower off or gutters out.

Shindawa and stihl both make great blowers and compareable.

If you do not use one much dont rule out the battery ones they have come along way and work well with no motor to maintain.
 
I've been thinking about a Makita 4 cycle backpack.

Unfortunately, for the amount of area I need to keep clear of leaves, I'll likely end up with a push around one as well.
 
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If you are blowing piles of leaves in the fall, I’d definitely go backpack. If just blowing your sidewalks or small driveway, I’d go battery hand held. I have a stihl BR600 backpack for the big things and a dewalt handheld for blowing out the garage and sidewalks.
 
What will you be using it for? Blowing off a small concrete driveway/garage and grass clippings from mowing on a small .25 acre lot?

Or a 1+ acre wooded lot with lots of trees that will drop a bunch of leaves come fall time?

As another mentioned I am a huge fan of battery tools but I do own gas as well. They each have their place. I have a 40V handheld Ryobi blower that I will blow my garage and shop out/off daily as well as the driveway on occasion. That said come leaf season I use my Echo PB8010. It’s 1000 CFM and currently the most powerful back back blower on the market. It was $650 but its worth every penny. If I’m in a hurry I grab the 8010 and can knock the driveway out in just a few minutes. Keep in mind I’ve got 150+ feet of concrete from the road that’s pretty wide.

I’m a buy once cry once kind of guy and value my time. Good tools speed jobs up and make any task easier. Take a hard look at Echo straight shaft trimmers as well. I bought the SRM235 21CC from HD two years ago and have used it on 12-15 yards a week as a side hustle. For the $199 I paid it’s held up great. The speed feed head is the bomb as well. Can reload the trimmer head in less than a minute.


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Echo and never look back. Leap and bounds above the rest in respect of longevity and repair cost
 
Stihl or Echo. I have an Echo PB 580T blower and an Echo SRM 225 trimmer both have been great.
 
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This is my blower.
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There are many like it, but this one is mine.
 
The new house has several mature trees so I don't think a battery will get it done. It's not a huge space only .44 acre. I think back pack is really the best way to go.

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Let me first say my whole garage is bright orange with Stihl products. Having said that when you go to get a part or to a dealer for a repair it is unbelievably expensive and you will have to go back to the dealer unless you have friends with connections. Not sure I would do it again. I speak to a lot of commercial landscapers at jobs. They love Echo products especially blowers. You can get parts on your own at reasonable prices and many repair techs are much more reasonably priced.

With that out of the way you don’t need in my opinion to go commercial top end. Wasted money for too much power, actually velocity and CFM. Commercial guys need it to work more efficient. I would buy medium end which in Stihl is 400 series models. Anything above 140 mph is good for homeowners.

I suggest at least looking at the Stihl Kombi system in the KM111R or the KM131R. This a motor head system then you buy a blower to quick slip on the shaft. Then you can buy each individual heads at half the cost of the normal tool to go on the motor system. I have this with the blower, edger, trimmer, hedger, pole saw, tiller, and brush-cutter. Here is the link to attachments. https://www.stihlusa.com/products/multi-task-tools/kombisystem-attachments/

 
Backpack and a small light weight handheld.

We use the handheld 80% of the time for quick cleanups (5-10min). The backpack, once out, is running the longest (1-2hrs).
 
Forget all that crap above, get this one, NO get that one, it's all BS. Get yourself a "Dave". Dave is the best blower that I've ever had, reliable and dependable. Dave also cuts grass and edges the yard. Dave shows up every week, just like clockwork. Dave doesn't care if I watch and drink a beer or just stay inside and out of the way. Trust me, GET A DAVE"!!
 
Forget all that crap above, get this one, NO get that one, it's all BS. Get yourself a "Dave". Dave is the best blower that I've ever had, reliable and dependable. Dave also cuts grass and edges the yard. Dave shows up every week, just like clockwork. Dave doesn't care if I watch and drink a beer or just stay inside and out of the way. Trust me, GET A DAVE"!!

I had a Kelly model at the old house he did a great job. I'm sure it's easier said than done to find a good one at a great price.
 
You can also use your backpack blower to pre dry your car after washing it!
 
I stopped at both the stihl and echo dealers today. I'm going to go echo trimmer and blower. The specs for the price and warranty seems to be the best. They have a lifetime warranty on the ignition system.
 
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I stopped at both the stihl and echo dealers today. I'm going to go echo trimmer and blower. The specs for the price and warranty seems to be the best. They have a lifetime warranty on the ignition system.
If you use the premixed gas they should extend the warranty by 2 years as well
 
If you use the premixed gas they should extend the warranty by 2 years as well

Yeah I plan on doing that as well. The pictures posted above were from the realtor pictures so they look way bigger. I went to the inspection today and it looks great. The tree line has a tiny little "creek" ,more like drainage, and they have already been blowing leaves, storm debris into it.
 
If you use the premixed gas they should extend the warranty by 2 years as well
You don't have to use the premixed gas to get that. You can also get it by using the Echo 2 cycle oil. But definitely find a gas station near you that has non ethanol gas to mix with it.
 
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Whatever you get, always use non ethanol gas and Stihl or Echo 2 cycle oil.
I’d go one step further and use the pre-mix VP or Stihl stuff from places like Tractor Supply. Even non-ethanol with fuel stabilizer is garbage after a few months. That pre-mix fuel has a shelf life of 5-10 years and 2 years once you open the container. It’s a little more expensive but my god I’d pay $100 a year to never have to rebuild a small engine carb and deal with the fuel hoses.

That being said, I’m slowly replacing my yard tools with LI-ion tools and blower is next for me.
 
I got a push/walk behind leaf blower that you would have to fight me over. The only thing I dont like about it is that is 3 wheels instead of 4.
 
I wont ever use the premix. Let it evaporate and it leaves varnish same as gas. Imho its useless as it is to several other small engine shops I know and deal with as well.
 
One draw back for me on some Stihl products is the starting methods. Echo products are much simpler. I bought a use Stihl 14” cutoff saw in High Point. It cranked 4 times and ran before purchasing. Cranked one time at home. Attempted to crank it again over and over and it wouldn’t hit. Took it to Conover Hardware for service because I did not have time to research repairs. They quoted me $1100.00 for repair parts and labor. The in store new unit was $1150.00. Said it was the latest electronic brand and the computer showed crank attempts at over 1600 times. Paid the diagnostics and gave it to Lee Majors. He fixed it knowing someone who could get him parts. Bought a new Stihl 420 with no electronic board and ignition.
 
One draw back for me on some Stihl products is the starting methods. Echo products are much simpler. I bought a use Stihl 14” cutoff saw in High Point. It cranked 4 times and ran before purchasing. Cranked one time at home. Attempted to crank it again over and over and it wouldn’t hit. Took it to Conover Hardware for service because I did not have time to research repairs. They quoted me $1100.00 for repair parts and labor. The in store new unit was $1150.00. Said it was the latest electronic brand and the computer showed crank attempts at over 1600 times. Paid the diagnostics and gave it to Lee Majors. He fixed it knowing someone who could get him parts. Bought a new Stihl 420 with no electronic board and ignition.
I would never go there again. It needed a fuel injector, although I fixed it, should have cost at the most $315 at any dealer.

I'd bot give them a dine of my money for anything ever trying to scam you like that
 
I would never go there again. It needed a fuel injector, although I fixed it, should have cost at the most $315 at any dealer.

I'd bot give them a dine of my money for anything ever trying to scam you like that
I did go back once more. Took in a mower for a blade sharpen and oil change because I lost my drill sharpen attachment and the blade would not come off. He said a week. Came back in a week and tech says he’s four to six weeks out. Left with mower and I’m done with them. Reordered sharpen wheel. Next time I’m coming to you.
 
I’d go one step further and use the pre-mix VP or Stihl stuff from places like Tractor Supply. Even non-ethanol with fuel stabilizer is garbage after a few months. That pre-mix fuel has a shelf life of 5-10 years and 2 years once you open the container. It’s a little more expensive but my god I’d pay $100 a year to never have to rebuild a small engine carb and deal with the fuel hoses.

That being said, I’m slowly replacing my yard tools with LI-ion tools and blower is next for me.

I gotta disagree on the canned stuff. Myself and several guys I know from landscapers to tree men. Have at one point or another opened a fresh can only to have "old gas" symptoms.

I do admit I have a can in the tool box just in case but non ethanol gas and quality pre mix are the way to go.

@Scsmith42 and several others advised me on here as well as many of the friends mentioned above.

Non ethanol plus quality premix oil is the way. If you know you won't be using that tool. Run the carb empty (drain tank, run machine til it dies) then if your gas has sat for a few months. Pour it into your vehicle and get fresh. Then you know you will never have to clear a gummed up carb.


Then as an aside. Read how much the premix oil bottle on hand mixes into. 1 gallon? 1.5? 2?

I only realized the last few years, many don't even notice to check... I'm a carpenter (one of 2) for a grading company with 40+ employees. So usually we aren't around them. But I noticed when I needed their 2 stroke stuff it was always iffy. Starting, running, etc. They killed stuff alot.

Then I got to noticing when we were on projects together. They'd dump the oil in and fill up the can.....

From dudes 50 years old to 18. I started asking them. Not may of those guys realized/cared about the ratio. Some oil cans are for 1 gallon mix, some are 2. Some pre mix jugs on hand are 1 gallon some are 2.5....

I pissed several off but after a while, getting them to pay attention filling up and only putting a gallon in the jug because the pre mix only mixes to a gallon made a huge difference in hard to start and burnt up tools.
 
I have a stihl BR 600. I recently had to have the carb replaced. Other than that its been a great piece of equipment.
 
I gotta disagree on the canned stuff. Myself and several guys I know from landscapers to tree men. Have at one point or another opened a fresh can only to have "old gas" symptoms.

I do admit I have a can in the tool box just in case but non ethanol gas and quality pre mix are the way to go.

@Scsmith42 and several others advised me on here as well as many of the friends mentioned above.

Non ethanol plus quality premix oil is the way. If you know you won't be using that tool. Run the carb empty (drain tank, run machine til it dies) then if your gas has sat for a few months. Pour it into your vehicle and get fresh. Then you know you will never have to clear a gummed up carb.


Then as an aside. Read how much the premix oil bottle on hand mixes into. 1 gallon? 1.5? 2?

I only realized the last few years, many don't even notice to check... I'm a carpenter (one of 2) for a grading company with 40+ employees. So usually we aren't around them. But I noticed when I needed their 2 stroke stuff it was always iffy. Starting, running, etc. They killed stuff alot.

Then I got to noticing when we were on projects together. They'd dump the oil in and fill up the can.....

From dudes 50 years old to 18. I started asking them. Not may of those guys realized/cared about the ratio. Some oil cans are for 1 gallon mix, some are 2. Some pre mix jugs on hand are 1 gallon some are 2.5....

I pissed several off but after a while, getting them to pay attention filling up and only putting a gallon in the jug because the pre mix only mixes to a gallon made a huge difference in hard to start and burnt up tools.
I do all of those things (running empty if sitting for a while, etc) on every small engine I have from trimmers and blowers to v-twin ATVs. It doesn’t matter and the crap quality gas will catch up to it at some point. I don’t use my gas powered tools frequent enough to justify mixing even a gallon of non-ethanol with the 2 stroke oil anymore. A gallon goes bad before the season is up and I can tell it by the way my blower runs. Then I have to dump it, use another gallon and another bottle of oil, and start over. By December I’m dumping most of that gallon too because it won’t be used before it goes bad.

For a couple bucks more, a gallon of VP in a can last me through 2 seasons. I only have to blow off the deck, front porch, driveway that’s about 150’ from the road to the garage, and sidewalk. No leaf blowing for me. By next spring I’ll have a battery blower to go with my trimmer and not have to worry about it.

These pot-metal Chinese carbs on every piece of small engine equipment and shit pump fuel are a recipe for frustration and I’m just kind of over it. Preventative measures be damned, you’re going to have a gummed up carb at some point.

If I made a living with these tools, I’d probably be singing a different tune. But I got enough ATVs and other things to keep up with around here.
 
For a commercial blower, the Stihl BR600 just went on sale this week until end of year.
For a "homeowner" blower, Echo usually runs the PB-580 on sale in the fall for around $299.99
 
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