Leaf blower questions

[Cut4fun]

Been working on other peoples hand held leaf blowers here lately. stihl and husky homeowner small models.

Well after testing them out I think I have a use for one.


What is more important? CFM rating or MPH speed

I do like the ones with the flat end directing air tighter area then the big round looking end ones.

If I can get a backpack for about $70 more then handheld is it a advantage to it?

I'm looking at homeowner use and to blow loose gravel back into driveway instead of raking my 700' drive every freaking year.

I used a husky 225 today and it even was able to do it as small as it was.

Suggestions on make, models and hand held and back pack models.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Tucker943]

To be honest, I've had good luck with all of them. I've had stihl, husky, echo, and even a poulan. I always felt echo makes great blowers and string trimmers. I had a stihl br550 and br600 back pack blowers. I felt they were lousy. They do blow lots of air, but they didn't seem to handle the bumps and bruises of riding around in trucks. I also felt they were bulky and occupied too much space in trucks. I think that hand held blowers do the trick for street and driveway clean just fine. My husky blower took unmerciful abuse and never gave me a stitch of trouble either. I think I have a cheap yellow poulan in the fleet now. I needed one in a jam one day and that was all I could drum up near to where we were working. It's a cheapy, but hasn't gotten mad at me yet for treating it like a pig. I think its been with me a year now.

 

[Jack]

BR600

 

[sotc]

Hand held are arm killers. BR600, period.
CFM or MPH? CFM wins out imo

 

[Al Smith]

I have a Stihl BR 400 which blows a bunch of air .In fact it does pretty good job of blowing snow .

It in comparrison to a small hand held Ryobi indications with the increased CFMs' it just blows more material .A lot more like 3 feet walls of leaves .The little one does just as well on smaller stuff .

It's kinda like a 50 cc saw and a hundred cc saw .The little does about as good as the big one until the wood gets big .Then that increased power tells the tale .

 

[pantheraba]

We have a BR600...does a fine job so far...always starts easily, reliable. Before it I used handheld of several sorts. A backpack blower is THE way to go.

 

[Al Smith]

Once I learned to start that BR 400 it starts easy .I fought that rascal for a time though .--Old dog new trick .Kinda turned into a bone of contention until I figgered it out .

 

[Tucker943]

Gee, y'all have me wondering if maybe I treated my back pack blowers like chit?!

 

[SkwerI]

If you spend more than 10 minutes per day running a blower then it may be worth getting a backpack. I might use mine 5 minutes per week and most often it's to blow off a roof in order to save the ground crew from having to climb up there. A handheld works perfect for me and it fits in my saw box, a backpack would have to ride in the cab.

I've had a couple Echo handhelds and they were fine, so I thought. Then I got a little Stihl handheld and it's twice as strong as the Echo and only about $30 more (prices were 3 years ago).

 

[NickfromWI]

I'm with the skwerl on this one. I don't use the blower that much. Maybe 1 or 2 minutes per job. We'd rather spend a few minutes raking and sweeping, and use the blower only if we have to. Hand held is fine for us.

 

[lumberjack]

BR600, anything else is less.

I hardly ever use a blower, lordy it spent 2 plus months in Treesmith's truck this winter. We used it last week to do the first cleaning of where we dumped sand/ top soil on the customer's drive (followed by pressure washing).

The cost of a power tool you make money with doesn't matter if it delivers performance.

 

[arborworks1]

I have an older stihl handheld. Was given to me. It stays in the chip trk. We use the br 600 everyday, I'd rather rake with it!!

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I bought a used BR320 (Stihl) backpack blower that I can also slap a new P&C on and call it a BR420... Not as powerful as a 600 but non the less, it is nice to have now that I do more residential/town work. I do a lot of clearing on long drives as well... Sure makes light work of it. Sure does help start wind rows on fire as well (leaves and needles). It has about paid for itself in year.

 

[brendonv]

Br600 or go home.

I have a little BG55, it's great for opening the doors on the truck, and cleaning the sawdust off the dash and seat. Drives me nuts.

I'll store one on the bucket truck too, for it's daily clean.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Sweeping over blowing is INSANE.

 

[Paul B]

stihl handheld sometimes and murayama backpack most times, both do a good job depending on what you are asking of it. the stihl is indeed a wrist wrecker if used for lengthy times.

 

[NickfromWI]

Sweeping over blowing is INSANE.

Disagree This is Los Angeles. We can usually sweep up in a minute or two (MAYBE 5) and my clients LOVE that we are quiet. Most times we just have a few feet of sidewalk. Even dealing with driveways isn't an every day occurrence. Using a blower here equates you to the lawnmower gardener guys that just come through, make a bunch of noise then leave.

For us, it makes good sense. I realize that I am way in the minority here. If I had to deal with a 100' of driveway, it'd be another story.

 

[MasterBlaster]

And there ya go - every job here involves hundreds of feet. Blow baby! Besides, you were just running chainsaws and a chipper and you're concerned with decibel levels?

Your LA and my LA are way different!

 

[stehansen]

I use mine almost every job. I have the stihl backpack one that is kind of square. Shoulda got the big one. I also have the largest handheld that Stihl makes. I use it mostly at home or if I have to blow off a roof from the bucket that we can't walk on. Nothing beats a blower for getting debris out of a lawn. I store my backpack blower in the chute of the chipper.

 

[stig]

I used the Stihl handheld for years, then last summer bought a BR600.
I REALLY wish I'd done that years ago.
There is no comparison between them.

 

[Burnham]

For some reason, I'd happily listen to a chainsaw for a few hours instead of a blower for a few minutes.

 

[NickfromWI]

...you were just running chainsaws and a chipper and you're concerned with decibel levels?

Well- that's the thing. I'm still sans-chipper and we rarely use chainsaws- maybe 1 out of 4 or 5 jobs gets a chainsaw. So in this case, the blower would be a big difference.

Your LA and my LA are way different!

Hah! Ain't that the truth!

 

[lumberjack]

The BR600 has a much lower pitch compared to its predecessors.

 

[Burnham]

That might help.

 

[Koala]

Like others said before handheld only if you use it for a VERY short time.
I'm fine with my old backpack Stihl BR380. Unbreakable.
My buddy has a BR 600.
Some more power for sure, but till mine keeps running I am more than happy with it.