Leaf Blower/vac purchase

[ishy]

Hello to all, needing to purchase a new leaf blower/vac. Would appreciate any and all opinions on what is a good one to buy. I had a cheaper gas one (cannot remember the brand) it was black and red. Not sure if I want gas or electric. Thank you all for your thoughts. Price range up to $150.00.

[skee0025]

I have a Toro Ultra Blower-Vac. Its an electric and works great and comes in at about 85 Bucks. No matter what you pick, make sure it has a metal impeller, so if you so miss a stick during clean up you wont end up needing to purcahse any new parts.

[Tom7227]

IMO the vacuum feature on these rigs is simply a way to destroy the unit. You can't vacuum up and shred leafs without clogging up the unit. The dust along this year will create havoc with anything that sucks things up. Blow the stuff into a pile. Bag it. Run over it with the lawnmower and then bag it. Put it in a pile and then put it in your compost and put some urea fertilizer on it to get it to decompose.

Just don't walk around with a 'blower' on 'sucker' and a bag and expect it to work for more than 2 seasons.

[BartmanMN]

I own the toro ultra as well. I agree the metal impeller is key. I only use the vacuum feature for my periniel flower beds and rock area.

[ishy]

Thanks guys.. I think the vacuum is what killed my last one.. It was the third year when it happened. That was a few years back. Like Bartman said, I really want it for the shrubs and flower gardens. They are a pian to do by hand. THe rest is mow , mulch , throw onto tarp in back of PU and take to compost. Most of the back yard goes into the garden to get tilled in.. So..... Gas or Electric becomes the question? THank you

[ishy]

Some how missed the first post. Thanks ske0025.. I guess it's two votes for electric. I have been leaning that way already. We dont have a huge property and I have enough things that use gas to tend to. And for 85 dollars thats reasonable for one that works. Thanks for thr replys..

[K_Josh87]

I don't remember the brand but a guy was showing me one he got a lowes that he was very happy with... using if for cleanup on spray foam insulation job sites to suck up the little bits of foam they scrape off... I believe it was orange and black... and I know he bought it at LOWES....

[CapnJack]

It's called a leaf blower for a reason. The first time I used one of these years ago I sucked up a rock that blew through the side of the housing. Scared the dump out of me. Now I mulch over the leaves and then bag.

[CapnJack]

Dump? I typed c r a p

[delcecchi]

HSO fixes all sorts of things automatically if you type them by mistake.

[LwnmwnMan2]

If it were me, I would watch the c list for a quality backpack blower from someone that thought they could make money cutting grass

A vac won't do a great job of getting all of the leaves out from rock around the house. If you have mulch, it'll want to suck up the mulch and get it stuck in the impellers.

A decent back pack blower will blow all of the leaves out of the bushes, in the fall, when you trim them. A decent backpack blower can be used to blow the garage out and the driveway off.

On those 2" fluffy snowfalls you can use it to blow the snow off of the drive.

If you have a problem with carbs gumming up, use Amsoil Sabre 100:1. Mix it at a rate of 8 oz to 5 gallons of gas. We use 100+ gallons of mix per year. The trimmers sit all winter with gas in them. The snowblowers sit all summer with gas in them. We never have an issue with carbs or fuel system rot.

You can spend $150 every 3 years or $350 once.

[ishy]

Thanks to everyone who replied.. Bought the Toro Ultra.. On sale at FF for 68 bucks.. I mulched with the mower and the boy used his new toy.. Worked great for blowing and mulching.. Almost bought the Worx, but the older gentleman at FF talked me into the Ultra. Along with Skee and Bartman who also liked the Ultra.. So far so good.. it was used for about six hours straight without any issues.. I do like the backpack style, just not the price. We will give it another test on the back yard tomorrow...

[311Hemi]

A little late to the game here, but I have been very happy with my Stihl blower/vac. Works good for picking up leaves. It will pull mulch into the unit if your not careful, but just a flick of the off switch will drop the piece out and a pull on the cord will start it right back up. I mainly use it for cleaning up the driveway/walkways and around trees....have a bagger tractor for the yard. I will also use it in the spring to clean up the leaves in the gardens around the house. I would definitely get one again. I had a corded electric toro that worked decent but was a PITA because of the cord. A friend of mine has the same Stihl and he uses it on his rocks just fine as well.

BTW, I fully expect it to work longer than 2 seasons!