Leaf blowers

[SteveD]

I have just tried a neighbour's electric leaf blower and I can see the strengths and weaknesses of the machine he got. Basically, I think a leaf blower would be quite useful for my needs.

If you have a leaf blower, what make and model do you have and what is your opinion of it?

What features should I look out for if I get one for myself?

[Clanad]

I use mine a lot... it comes in handy for other than leaf blowing. i would recommend, however, a gas engine driven blower. I have a neighbor that has an electric one and it's a real pain in the tush to get the extension cord out and drag it around. Mine is a Stihl and I've had it for at least 5 years... We're in the U.S. by the way...

[Thunderbird+]

Hi Steve, Like Clanad I use a petrol powered 'Stihl' leaf blower and find it very usefull for blowing leaves, grass cuttings and other debris from drive ways and paths on the large country estate where I work but in the smaller confines of a back garden, I prefere to use a rake or broom to heap it up for collecting.
If you type 'Northern Tools and Equipment into your search engine and scroll down to 'Lawn and garden' you will see a range there, one of which that converts into a vacume that looks the bees knees. Good Luck Tbird+

[Lonnie]

I use the same one as Tbird+ and also like her, I use a rake for the leaves on the grass..

[Thunderbird+]

Being a practical MAN, like yourself I assume Lonnie, raking the leaves from the grass gets to job of scarifying done too.

[SteveD]

Thanks for the answers.

Petrol engine blowers are a lot more expensive than electric ones and I cannot justify the cost for a device I would use only 3 or 4 times a year in the autumn.

I realise that the suction/chopping mechanism of most blowers tends to block easily but my neighbour's machine didn't seem to work too badly as long as I didn't try to take too many leaves at once.

My problem is that the other side of the road is lined with trees (I don't know what they are) and the leaves are quite big. Every year in autumn, piles and piles of leaves get dumped in my drive and garden. It gets worse year by year as the trees grow. I know that no "domestic" leaf blower/sucker is going to make a neat pile of leaves for me and then make them disappear in minutes.

I am trying to make a list of the plus points and minus points of electric leaf blower/suckers knowing that numerically, there will be more minuses than plusses, but will the plusses outweigh the minuses?

[Lonnie]

Absolutely right Tbird, also, even though I do use the blower, I much prefer 'hands on'.