I need help on a new leaf blower

[Brodirt]

I need to buy a new one this week.

I have gone through cheapee (and Craftsman)hand held units one every 2-3 and don't want to go down that path again so I am going with a backpack unit.

I do have a budget though...I figure $329 at the top.

This puts Stihl out of my reach and give me choices of several from Echo, Troy-Built or the smallest John Deere.

One thing I would love to accomplish is to be able to blow the copious acorns from my lawn. My property is 1/3 acre with 3 oak trees, a large cherry tree, a large river birch, a Japanese Lilac tree and TONS of decorative deciduous shrubs. My neighbors all have oaks and/or maples as well so we get tons of leaves.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[RBE17]

When I moved into our current house I bought a Husqvarna. It's going on it's fourth year and I've not had any problems w/ it. Unfortunately, I can't remember the model number, but I did pay close to $500 for it. I also wish I would have done a little more research because apparently Husqvarna was bought by some huge manufacturing holding company and the quality of their products has gone down hill. I don't know. From what I've read on other sites yo9u can't go wrong w/ the Echo. That's what I would choose out of those three your listed.

Good luck,



Steve.

 

[tlanning]

Use ebay if you have to but buy a stihl. $330 is alot and will buy stihl's best most powerful commercial backpack blower close to new with careful bidding. (BR600) I use this and believe me, on full it will blow a 2 to 3 inch rock The stihl will last an individual as long as your physically able to use it.

Its your money, just my opinion

 

[Will P.C.]

I would go with the echo. Many of the golf courses I have seen are using echo blowers and weed eaters. They are solid, but Stihl is still the best

 

[_JP_]

We have an Echo blower that is at least a decade old and still going strong! It even survived a drop off of a one story roof, although one side of the motor case had to be replaced. (We sweep roofs and blow out gutters with it.) In all that time it has never been professionally serviced, I just put one tune up kit in it.

 

[jadam318]

You should take a harder look at Stihl. I know you are looking for a backpack blower, but Stihl has some hand-held blowers (which I have use extensively) for under $200 that are quite powerful. And I would trust Stihl anything. I've done things to Stihl equipment that should have killed it but didn't. I've seen Stihls beaten beyond recognition that would fire on the first start.

 

[Lo'Tek]

I was just talking to a friend two days ago. He's a logger & landscaper and he swears by the Husky's. He was going on about how the lower power ones don't blow leafs through the high, rough stuff. So make sure to get some real power. All the guys around here go for Husky. Though I hear good about the Echos.

I said Echoes, echoes, echoes, echoes, echoes, echoes, echoes. . .

 

[Wendy]

I would go with the echo. Many of the golf courses I have seen are using echo blowers and weed eaters. They are solid, but Stihl is still the best

Agreed 100%. Coming from parents who were a little OCD about the appearance of the yard, my advise from my Dad was always Stihl if you have too much money to spend but we always had Echo. I listened to him several years ago when we bought our house and went with the Echo blower and weed whip and have had nothing but good things to say. I do have the cheap junk craftsman also and there is no comparison.
We are in a new subdivision and we do not have much in our front but behind us is woods and with that being said leaves 6 inches deep some weeks and the blower is great. Not to mention I only spent $200 at Home Depot for it.

 

[strat1117]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeAd8Eu8TSw[/youtube]

 

[KarthVader]

I don't know much about lawn equipment, but my Dad just bought a new Toro leaf blower. Quite handy with lawn clippings. (Un)Fortunately, it requires electric power so you have to deal with power cords, but it fits the job that I need it to do.

 

[dpmtherrien]

I don't know much about lawn equipment, but my Dad just bought a new Toro leaf blower. Quite handy with lawn clippings. (Un)Fortunately, it requires electric power so you have to deal with power cords, but it fits the job that I need it to do.

I just bought one of these yesterday. I got the red model to replace my 8 yr. old toro black model which finally burned out. The first one only cost $45.00 and lasted those 8 years. The new one is even more powerful and only cost $20 more. It should last even longer than the first one, they work super strong, so that's only an average of $5 cost per year. Not bad at all.

 

[Mazeman]

I've been plagued by leaf clean-up over the last 8 years. I've tried a variety of methods, including a handheld unit that didn't do squat. I didn't want to buy something else, like a backpack, only to find it didn't work.

This year I rented a push (walk behind) blower for $38. They guy at the rental place said they're much more powerful than the backpacks (which he also rented). Wow!! That sucker can move huge amounts of semi-wet leaves. If you have points on your property to move leaves *to*, I highly recommend one. I just blew them into the surrounding woods in a couple hours. I'll never go back.

 

[FreezerBurns]

Get yourself one of these bad boys: