Autumn’s vibrant foliage hues and crisp smells bring with them an associated joy surge in the happy homeowner’s breast. This is due to the eager anticipation of removing the leaves that will soon start dotting the lawn with colorful accents first and then finally blanketing it with a textured quilt made by Nature itself. The excitement is heightened by the idea that, as long as the cycle of extracting the leaf has been finished, there is another chance to re-engage in the fun phase. This wonderful loop of happiness, excitement, job, joy, anticipation, work, etc. can last for quite a few weeks-making the satisfied homeowner almost deliriously happy.
There is the option of mechanized leaf collection for those who are not able to enjoy life at the same potential in the fall-that is, using a leaf blower. This little primer on picking the correct leaf blower is written for these poor, cold-hearted styles.
Leaf blowers can be used by homeowners in three basic types: 1. The blower’s portable 2. The blower of the bag and 3. The blower on the deck. Through blower has its own features and advantages and, in turn, through model of tool is targeted at a particular type of use.
The handheld blower used to be the most common for home use-though it’s modified now. Such a device offers the cost-conscious homeowner with the lowest initial price. Hand-held blowers are either manufactured as electric or petrol-powered blowers. The electrical systems are the smallest, provide the least amount of airflow (leaf blowing power) and are usually disposed of clearly when something goes wrong (no one repairs them). A common problem of electric-powered leaf blowers is also the idea that you are “married” to the cable-the extension cord also defines the width from the electrical receptacle that you can operate with. It can also get worse to uncoil and then recover the rope any time the blower is used. On a regular basis, an electric homeowner may opt to substitute it with a gas-powered device at some stage.
The portable gas blower is a bit stronger than the hydraulic ones. However, by its absolute versatility, its use is greatly enhanced-just take it and go! There are no cords to be fooled with. These systems utilize lightweight, low-maintenance two-cycle generators. Only make sure that the chosen model can be serviced by an OPE (Outdoor Power Equipment) Seller-if such a machine is bought at a “big-box” shop, components will certainly not be readily available and no one will be able to service it. Often, the stronger, the more robust are the premium-brand devices-they are ready to start and do the job without any problems. After the lawn cutting and edging method, sweeping the patio or roof, etc., such a blower is extremely useful throughout the year-making it a handy tool to have around.
The backpack blower provides the handheld blower with significantly increased performance. On a rough scale, a decent handheld gas blower can produce nearly 300 cubic feet of air per minute (CFM); whereas an average of 800 cubic feet of air per minute will be generated by a strong yet intermediate-sized backpack. One of the largest specialist OPE producers utilizing two-cycle engines (line trimmers, blowers, chain saws, etc.) is Echo, and this firm has reengineered the flagship model to create an impressive 1600 + CFM in the blower housing–an almost amazing amount of air capacity and performance. This is one of the industry’s most efficient backpack blowers-and at a reduced weight over the previous model in an engineering victory.
Stihl-a German maker of the world’s leading chainsaws, also makes a complete range of blowers for hand and pocket. These high-powered backpack blowers under almost any circumstances allow very quick leaf removal work and are highly effective in scraping sticky seeds, acorns, etc., as well as clearing powdery snow in the winter.
The conventional heavyweight–and the typical leaf blower of choice to clear larger amounts of leaves off from medium and small property–is the field blower. A machine like this is used to move behind it like a lawnmower walk. The main advantage of using such a blower is that the enormous volume of air created by the tool would clear the largest amount of leaves in the shortest possible time with a properly designed device. A good-quality walk behind (ground) leaf blower can produce 1500 CFM or more (up to about 2500 CFM), usually utilizing engines varying from 5 hp to 13 hp.
Such styles of blowers simply move faster and farther leaves and other debris than any other tool. The best computers are either discharging air to the front or rear. For starters, this latter design allows blowing leaves immediately in front of the operator down a driveway or sidewalk; or sweeping the leaves off shrub beds without “running” the machine into the garden to obtain this result. A good quality product is constructed of heavy-gage steel and the structure is continually welded to create what corresponds to a housing that is virtually indestructible. Such systems utilize large steel fans with a circumference, reinforced steel grips, and air tyres. Air tires are vital because a well-made ground blower has some weight and, unlike solid rubber tires that make it difficult to move the ground blower in rough or rooted places, air (pneumatic) tires enable the machine to “float” over the lawn, making it easy to run.
A maker, Little Wonder, is currently making a line of field blowers separating the discharge gas into two different streams of liquid. It completely eliminates a common “blowback” issue with blowers on the field leaf whereby the top section of a leaf stack recirculates back to the user, resulting in more than once needing to go over the ground. Nevertheless, the lower stream pushes and raises the pile of leaves with the two air streams on the Little Wonder, and the top air stream prevents things moving in the right direction. Such systems also have wide, angled fan blades offset intake chambers that create extremely strong centrifugal force-so the leaves can be whipped farther than most leaf blowers. It offers a great time and energy gain.
