backpack leaf blowers

[whd507]

I'm pretty much done for this year, but I'm thinking next year I may want to upgrade to a bigger leaf blower than the hand held ones I have now.

anybody have any preferences? I would like one with 40:1 mix ratio, but I can live without if necessary.

I have a few acres of "forest" to tend to, and the leaves are overwhelming at times.

[justbob]

I've always wanted one but would look like a tool with my two trees. (they are big LOL)

[vmaxmarauder]

10 h.p Billygoat 4stroke. I dont know why I waited! Best time saving piece of equipment Ive purchased!

[sweetair]

I have a Kawasaki 50:1 ratio. Not sure of the HP but I love it. WAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY better than hand held.

[Aren Jay]

.............................. ........

[ImpalaSlayer]

I've always wanted one but would look like a tool with my two trees. (they are big LOL)

:laugh: reminds me of a spongebob episode

[Marauderman]

I'm pretty much done for this year, but I'm thinking next year I may want to upgrade to a bigger leaf blower than the hand held ones I have now.

anybody have any preferences? I would like one with 40:1 mix ratio, but I can live without if necessary.

I have a few acres of "forest" to tend to, and the leaves are overwhelming at times.

Hopefully I will get a pic or few of mine and my leave sucker this week while off--I have a forest--so I have a big sucker--so to speek--

[03Farmmarauder]

Go out and get yourself a Stihl BR420. I take care of four farmsteads, hundereds of miles of ditches and a school so i take care of about sixty acres worth of grass and you cant beat a Stihl!!!

[O's Fan Rich]

Go out and get yourself a Stihl BR420. I take care of four farmsteads, hundereds of miles of ditches and a school so i take care of about sixty acres worth of grass and you cant beat a Stihl!!!


All my Stihl tools work like the da y I bought them!Saw, blower, trimmer, edger...

:up: :up: :up:

[fastblackmerc]

Hopefully I will get a pic or few of mine and my leave sucker this week while off--I have a forest--so I have a big sucker--so to speak--

I can attest to that! Leaf sucker that is...................

[Joe Walsh]

I always wondered why they even bothered to print Leaf Blower operating instructions in any language OTHER than Spanish.

:D

[Drock96Marquis]

We used to use all Stihl backpacks, the last batch being BR420s. At the time they were "king of the hill", but even with their newest backpacks they have failed to keep competitive with the rest of the market. Plus, they are always a pain to start!



What are you dealing with? What size lot? heavily wooded or just a few trees? Lots of beds or pretty much straight-out / just lawn?



If you have some serious leaves to take care of, invest in one of these:
http://www.shindaiwa.com/nam/en/_images/products/blowers/enlarge/eb8510rt.jpg

We started using these a few years ago when they first launched. The cinder block demonstration sold us (The dealer put a cinder block on the parking lot, and at full throttle could blow it along the pavement)
We have never had a problem with them other than the muffler recall that was serviced.
In the fall, they are run basically all day long without a break. The first ones we bought are still in service.
They are still the most powerful backpack blower on the market, with the highest CFM rating at the tube. (Don't go by housing CFM ratings, or CC alone)

The engine is a 79.7cc 4.5 hp 4 stroke OHV, but it runs on 2-cycle mix gas. (50:1, we normally use Echo's powerblend mix since it is readily available)
If you have used a 2 stroke blower for any extended period I'm sure you know how fuel inefficient they are. The 4 stroke uses much less fuel. Drawback would be weight as it is a bit heavier than most backpacks, after an hour or so you will start to notice it.


They are more expensive, but it's worth it. Every dealer will have demo units so I suggest you try each one and see for yourself ;)
A handheld blower is a joke by comparison :D



Prior to the 8510s we were running (Shindaiwa) EB630s. Also an AWESOME blower at the time, but it doesn't hold a candle to the new ones.

A new version of the 8510 (the 8520) is soon to be released, with a more comfortable backrest design and a few engine improvements. If you find the 8510 uncomfortable you should wait for the new model which should be out in January as we've been told.
But, because it is being discontinued you can get huge discounts on the 8510s right now.
Shindaiwa also recently released a standard two stroke model with the same CFM/MPH specs as the 8510 and the new backrest design if you're dead set on staying two stroke.







If that is way more power than you need, I HIGHLY recommend the Shindaiwa EB630 I mentioned earlier. Those were the most reliable backpacks we had ever used, even when abused - and they always start on the first pull. It's not worth going with a less expensive, less powerful blower like a typical home-owner Echo backpack. You get the job done in half the time and with less frustration with good equipment ;)

[whd507]

Several flower beds, a couple of roads. lots of hills, and 10 acres of trees and rocks. I like to blow them to their demise, so I can burn them away from the house.
the old people in the neighborhood have strokes when I burn, its hella fun...

[Tom Doan]

Stihl is junk. Aluminum main shaft brakes.Rebuild is cost of new unit.
Echo is junk, only rated for 150 hours of duty and carbs die.
Astron is strongest with all metal assembly but crews think it is too quiet and low CFM.
Shindawa is so -so.

I run crews of PFFC*, they treat the equipment bad, especially if they do not like it, so I buy everything to try, at least 2 units of each kind at a time. If I found something I liked I would switch to that brand. Each company made something good at one time and then tries to get the manufacturing costs down and then they have problems. Each brand has owners forums out there just like this place and you get a look at the good and the bad.
Allot of people are looking for affirmation of what they bought and by convincing you to get what they got confirms that they bought the right one ( herd mentality).
We use Amsoil at 100:1 in all of our 2 stroke engines and have never had a failure and when we do a tear down the are by far cleaner inside and less carbon build up than any other oil we tried.
*pc way of saying people from ******** country's.

[CRUZTAKER]

Go out and get yourself a Stihl BR420. I take care of four farmsteads, hundereds of miles of ditches and a school so i take care of about sixty acres worth of grass and you cant beat a Stihl!!!


Ditto on the Stihl.
All of my chainsaws are Stihls.

However, I recently bought (at Lowes) the biggest badest comercial grade back pack blower they carry. It's a Husqavarna. I know...Husq=high end sears...but I go through a blower every two seasons. Running it 6-9 hours straight for as many as 12 days in a fall season tends to burn cylinders and exhaust parts. This one has a 4yr full warranty and cost about $400 out the door with the additional 3 year warranty.

It is very powerfull, very quiet, and has little vibration. At times with my ear gear on I think it may have stalled when it's idling. Very smooth and quiet. I like A LOT!

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-11353365108554_2030_845318393

Husqvarna, 150BT, Pro/Commercial Grade Backpack Gas Blower, 50CC, 2.1HP, 2-Cycle X-Torq Engine, E-Tech II Emission Control, Maximum Air Speed 180 MPH, Maximum Air Flow In Housing/Pipe 692/495 CFM, Ergonomic, Tube-Mounted Throttle Handle With 360 Degree Rotation, Comfortable Padded Harness With Load-Reducing Hip Belt For Less Fatigue During Operation, Lightweight At Only 22.5 LB, 2 Year Limited Warranty For Consumer Use, 1 Year Limited Warranty For Pro/Commercial Use, Not Available For Sale In California.


Manufacturer: HUSQVARNA FOREST & GARDEN
Model Number: 965102302
UPC code: 705788505074
SKU: 845034

[Tom Doan]

I have not tried a Husky. If you can find something from Stihl made in Germany it's OK but I flip everything over to check where it was made and were not getting much from them any more.

[Drock96Marquis]

Husqvarna blowers aren't bad. As most know they bought out RedMax, so a lot of their technology is making it's way to the Husqvarana line. The blower you just purchased is a good example of that, Cruz. Using the 50.2cc strato-charged engine developed by RedMax.
Even before the acquisition the older ones weren't too bad, most using Kawasaki engines (always start up right away, good service life)
But, not enough power / low cfms - plus they don't hold up well to commerical use (not the engines, the supporting parts- like covers, handles, straps, etc.). Good enough for most home-owners, though (which is more what they are geared towards)
I was actually just looking at that blower in Lowes the other night. I liked the feel of the choke lever, but sometimes having a partial choke position is beneficial and this felt like it's only an on or off deal. The throttle assembly felt much like the previous Husqvarna blowers - fragile. Just be careful when storing it and when you take it off, Cruz. I don't think it will survive many drops :biggrin: Otherwise it will probably serve you well :cool:


For just a little more $$ you can really step up the power and enter the 60cc class (ie the EB630 I mentioned earlier). And just a little more than that the real big boys, 70cc and up. The extra cost is worth every penny if you have to deal with dense, wet leaves. Especially if you wont be using a ground blower at the same time with it.
At the very least, I wouldn't buy anything less than 50cc regardless of brand otherwise you will be kicking yourself later on.



BTW, here's a nice spreadsheet comparing major specifications of the most popular backpacks currently on the market:

http://www.focusonequipmentrentals.co m/blower/pdf/hand_back_blowers.pdf

[CRUZTAKER]

The throttle assembly felt much like the previous Husqvarna blowers - fragile. Just be careful when storing it and when you take it off, Cruz. I don't think it will survive many drops :biggrin: Otherwise it will probably serve you well :cool:




You sir should be a product advisor for Consumer Reports!
You nailed the throttle assembly issue. I wasn't aware until after I bought it that there was an ongoing issue with this assembly.

Now that I am aware, I am carefull. Also, the additional 3 year full warranty from Lowes is a good piece of mind.

BTW...how much were you paying for those Shindaiwa?

[Tom Doan]

Thanks for the info It will settle some arguments around here. Throttle cables are problematic, must be lubed but then adjustment nuts start to walk and things go down hill from there, the people do not care, just means more time on the clock.

[Tom Doan]

We have had some problems with the mega blowers, they are so strong that they twist your back in the opposite direction when you rev them up and then I got to pay workman's comp.

[Drock96Marquis]

Now that I am aware, I am carefull. Also, the additional 3 year full warranty from Lowes is a good piece of mind.
Definitely. That's practically unheard of with most small equipment.
Plus, most of the time they don't bother to repair and send it back to you - just exchange for the newest comparable model on the floor :D



BTW...how much were you paying for those Shindaiwa?At first in the mid $600s, but they came down in price since then and there is normally a promotion of some sort going on. You can get the EB630s in the high $400s now, and up until recently EB8510s in the low -mid $500s.
In preparation for the new model existing inventory of the EB8510s is being liquidated at most dealers, so you can get some fantastic deals on them right now (We just bought 3 more for only $480 a pop! Might even go lower if they have any left come January)

I am looking forward to the new and improved model, though. Power is going to be the same, only comfort and durability enhancements.



One thing I am not looking forward is any changes brought on to the existing line up now that Echo (Kioritz) has 'acquired' (joint holding) Shindaiwa. I'm sure it will be at least a few more months before we see any of that, though. They have already tried to relabel a few Echo products into the Shindaiwa brand :nono: AFAIK The attempt with the Echo backpack blower failed miserably.


We have had some problems with the mega blowers, they are so strong that they twist your back in the opposite direction when you rev them up and then I got to pay workman's comp. They are torque-y, especially the 4 strokes (much stronger low end). I could see it might catch someone off guard if they are accustomed to a crappy Echo blower. Doesn't feel strong enough to actually injure anyone to me.
Sounds like they are milking you :P

I know the smaller guys have complained a little about the weight on their back for extended periods, though - but obviously it doesn't bother them enough to take it off and switch over to one of the lighter, but less powerful blowers :D

[knine]

It sure would make house cleaning more interesting. VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMM Stand back !