Can someone recommend a good leaf blower?

[jgelack]

Hi, I’m looking to purchase a good handheld gas leaf blower. I was originally going to go with a blower from Hitachi, that had good specs and came with a 7 year warranty, but I can’t seem to find it in stock anywhere. So I’ve started to look at blowers from Echo and Husqvarna. Any opinions on them? Or should I pony up the extra money and go with a Stihl ? I know they make a good chain saw, but don’t know much about their leaf blowers. I’d really appreciate any advice you guys can give me.

 

[bobg03]

In another life I had a Stihl gas handheld blower, it was 10 years old when I conveyed it with the house. Bet it still works.

In this life I didn't need anything heavy duty, so I got the stihl with the self contained battery, where the cord plugs into the unit to charge.
I only use it for driveway, walks and patio. No lawnwork, it's 5 years old and still works great.

Buy once, cry once for a good heavy duty gas.

 

[dacan23]

Not that I know if what's sold today is comparable to before, but I had an awesome 50cc Husqvarna backpack blower that never failed me, had it for over 12 years, lived in the Northeast with lots of spring & fall cleanup, used it after every mowing before getting a battery blower. Sold it two years ago when moved to a smaller property with only a few trees. Waiting for the day when a battery blower can compete with a 50cc gas one, it does not exist right now. Feel sorry for the landscapers in area that have banned gas blowers.

 

[craigibc]

I have the Stihl leafblower both backback and handheld. These units are great and I love them. I also got an Echo around 6 years ago and that thing is great as well. I had had the Stihl for 5 years and the Echo for 6 years and would recommend either of them. The Stihl has a much better warranty on them right now. It came with a 2-year warranty when I bought it and if I bought the factory 2 cycle oil they doubled it to 4 years. (game changer for me)

 

[theoldwizard1]

Stihl

 

[toddmorr]

Tanaka backpack blower, the thing has worked flawlessly for almost 15 yrs. Plenty of power, I bought it because it was Japanese quality and at the time supposedly the most power. I use it in winter to blow snow too

 

[Iridium rand]

Can vouch for echo being great, with one having spent hundreds of hours on my back over the past few years. Probably the only piece of landscape equipment I ever had that never once had a problem or had to be replaced (for any reason other than being stolen that is) however they really don’t like to start especially in the cold, only time it’s EVER started on the first pull is if it was just turned off 5 minutes or less ago

 

[tez929rr]

I have an Echo bought at Home Depot that is approaching 20 years old and still works flawlessly.

 

[RTM]

I have an Echo PB-250LN, the LN is low noise. Seems reasonable for the small amount of work I give it. Bought around 2017, was reasonably rated at the time, compared to the competition.

 

[exmaxima1]

I researched a bunch of blowers last year and ended up with the Husqvarna handheld from Lowes. Starts very easy (compared to Stihl) and much more power than the old Echo it replaced. The air inlet is on the right side so it doesn't **** your pants if you are a righty. I also bought the matching gutter cleaning kit and it also performs very well. 5 year warranty if you buy 3 cans of Husqvarna fuel at the same time.

 

[dave*99]

Stihl. Mine is 20+ years old. My neighbors is 10 years old and my son's is 3 years old. All handheld, all the biggest model they made at the time. All still working. None have needed any repairs. They sit all winter and start up every spring.
Stihl.

 

[humpty]

I wouldn't hesitate with any of the brands listed. I had a Husqvarna for probably 15 years, was the only gas powered device that withstood the corn gas we have. When I moved to the city it was just to much blower so I sold it and bought a Milwaukee cordless blower that I love.

At work my grounds crew uses Stihl for all the gas powered equipment and we've bought in the the Stihl commercial battery powered stuff as well.

All the big brands will serve you well if you take care of them.

 

[DOUGD]

I have an Echo backpack leaf blower that is the same age as my son, 31 years old and still going strong! Can't imagine how many hours are on this blower!

 

[Dakotadadv8]

Stihls backpacks are very good as are the others mentioned. Had an Echo for 20 years before retiring it.

 

[Nosferatu]

Makita 4-stroke.

 

[dogdog]

Kobalt 40V or their 80V stuff ?

 

[HalfTonTom]

My ex wife.

 

[dave*99]

Wow the OP asks for recommendations for a hand held gas blower and about 50% of the responses are neither. At least the last post had some humor.

 

[leadfoot415]

I bought a Stihl Bg55 years ago (like 10) on a closeout deal for just about $220 otd and have abused it since. Only work done to it was a plug change and took it apart to clean the blower vanes of a stuck hoodie hood pull cord it sucked right off my person.

 

[ZX3ST]

I don't know how the new stuff stacks up, but I have an older Shindaiwa that's pretty killer. Recommended to me by the local lawn guys.

 

[Desertskyy]

I have an Echo PB-250LN, the LN is low noise. Seems reasonable for the small amount of work I give it. Bought around 2017, was reasonably rated at the time, compared to the competition.

I have this same leaf blower but mine is the PB-255LN. It works great for the small yard that I have. I have had it for a few years now. I run tru fuel in mine with no issues. I like it as I can switch hands with it pretty quick. Bought it from Acme Tools I believe.

Good luck

 

[IndyGarage]

I had a Stihl BG86 - it was junk. It had the vac unit, and the housings weren't strong enough to vac the debris that comes with leaves - housing disintegrated. i bought a new housing but it was always hard to start. Finally gave it away. I simply cannot recommend that brand.

Before that I had a Ryobi blower/vac that was much better than the Stihl, but it finally gave out.

I replaced the Stihl with a Makita 36v battery powered, which is more powerful, but the batteries have relatively short life. I also bought a Husqvarna backpack - which is really nice.

 

[Steve_P]

If you don't have a lot of trees, consider a battery powered unit; they do fine on typical clean ups. If you're set on gasoline, then Echo is a great unit for the $; I have an Echo PB-200 and it's ~38 yrs old and still screaming

 

[Rinspeed]

I have a Stihl backpack and that thing blows some serious air.

 

[autobon7]

I have an Echo handheld for about 8-9 years now and its been great. The dealer suggested that I do NOT mix gas/oil but use the premix non ethanal stuff in the cans and I would never have an issue starting. I never have drained the fuel for winter just let it sit and have never had an issue. Im sticking with this formula.

 

[jonshonda]

What you need really depends on what you want to do. If you have a lot of leaves, backpack is hands down a better option. If you don't, then handheld is great.

If you want cordless, there are options there as well. I have personally used Stihl, and have nothing but good things to say about them.

 

[dmacedo]

Indulge in the youtube video comparisons for what their worth. After some research and checking them out I went STIHL. BR800 Magnum
My goal was a backpack work horse for wet leaves, driveway, big yard cleanup. I'm happy with it.

I'd guess you will never wish you had less power

 

[D45]

4 cycle, anything

Used

 

[dave*99]

Indulge in the youtube video comparisons for what their worth. After some research and checking them out I went STIHL. BR800 Magnum
My goal was a backpack work horse for wet leaves, driveway, big yard cleanup. I'm happy with it.

I'd guess you will never wish you had less power

I had a discussion about BR800 class blowers with the local Stihl dealer. I have some big oak trees, lots of leaves etc. He said use a walk behind blower if that is what you are doing. So my neighbor brings home a big walk behind and wow does that move some leaves. The low angle of the chute really gets the air under the leaves.

 

[Mr Ratchet]

I have a Stihl blower, shredder/vac that's more than 20 years old and it's been a great machine. Has lots of power and still starts easy. The vac is a nice option to have even though I only use it a half dozen times a year. Mine chops the leaves, acorns, and sticks as long as they are not too big in diameter. the newer model is the SH 86 C E.

 

[AA/FC]

I have a Stihl Br-500 backback blower.... I paid $450 for it about 8 or 9 years ago. I ALWAYS use non-ethanol gas with Sthil 2-stroke oil (gray bottle) and I havn't had a single problem with it. Ever! It starts on first or second pull every time. The non-ethanol, gas REALLY makes a big difference. It prevents carburetor problems and is well worth the higher price per gallon.

Whatever make/model blower you end up with, use high quality 2-stroke oil with non-ethanol gas and it should serve you well for many years.

 

[Dakotadadv8]

I had a Stihl BG86 - it was junk. It had the vac unit, and the housings weren't strong enough to vac the debris that comes with leaves - housing disintegrated. i bought a new housing but it was always hard to start. Finally gave it away. I simply cannot recommend that brand.

Before that I had a Ryobi blower/vac that was much better than the Stihl, but it finally gave out.

I replaced the Stihl with a Makita 36v battery powered, which is more powerful, but the batteries have relatively short life. I also bought a Husqvarna backpack - which is really nice.

Good to know this handheld blower failed. I will speak to my dealer about it since I am looking for a unit for smaller jobs. If you have a large wooded area look into the Stihls backpack blower BR 800 it will blow you away.

 

[anndel]

Don't have much trees, lots of ti leaves. We have a Milwaukee M18.

 

[Roobaix]

If you have a lot of leaves I would strongly consider going with a backpack over a handheld.

I originally went with a Stihl BG-86, the strongest they make (made?) a few years back. It did great, although it took longer than I wanted to spend and you can really only blow into separate piles. Then you still need to rake them onto a tarp and drag them wherever you need to.

I did this for two years and got tired of it, so I started looking at backpacks. I wanted something with more power so I looked at the biggest available. The top three were Stihl, Echo, and Redmax. Around here there are a million lawn care companies, nobody does it themselves on my street except for me. They all use Redmax.

Going to the local lawn equipment shops and talking with guys that run the lawn care companies they all recommended Redmax over the others, citing reliability.

I went with the Redmax EZB8550. It's a big boy, but it will move anything. Sticks, leaves, rocks, mushrooms, maple seeds, pine needles, etc.

Buy once cry once

 

[RonnieC]

You know what I miss? The sound of somebody using a rake. Or a broom. Quieter times.

 

[Showkey]

Depends on the property and use ?

1. wooded lot
2.acres vs small city lot
3.location Dallas vs UP michigan

$800-$1000 Pack back blower for 80x110’ in Phoenix is OVERKILL even in the GJ.

 

[leadfoot415]

You know what I miss? The sound of somebody using a rake. Or a broom. Quieter times.

Not everyone lives in a manicured city lot. You can go ahead and rake our lake front acreage up north (NE lower peninsula of MI, 40 minutes from the bridge) to keep it quiet; tons of oak, maple, poplar, birch, red/white pines and all the leaves you could shake a stick at. You'd be at it raking for days, only for the wind to blow the next batch down or across the property line from our neighbors who dgaf and let it all rot.

We use a walkbehind little wonder blower (older, maybe a 5-7hp briggs engine), a really crappy left handed echo blower my old man picked up from the pawn shop for cheap, and my stihl bg55 to get it done up there.

 

[sparky 1971]

Can't go wrong with a Stihl or Echo. For the two hours a year usage mine sees, I went with a Poulan. Like my Poulan chainsaws, it takes about five pulls to start, then takes a minute or so to warm up, then performs perfectly.

 

[Rinspeed]

You know what I miss? The sound of somebody using a rake. Or a broom. Quieter times.

My dad used to tell me, use your brains not your back. I would rather leave them sit there than pick up a rake, life is way too short for that ****.

 

[SteveW1000]

I had a Stihl BG86 - it was junk. It had the vac unit, and the housings weren't strong enough to vac the debris that comes with leaves - housing disintegrated. i bought a new housing but it was always hard to start. Finally gave it away. I simply cannot recommend that brand.

Before that I had a Ryobi blower/vac that was much better than the Stihl, but it finally gave out.

I replaced the Stihl with a Makita 36v battery powered, which is more powerful, but the batteries have relatively short life. I also bought a Husqvarna backpack - which is really nice.

I've an SH86 which is the same but comes with the vacuum bag never had any serious problems with it and liked it so much bought a second one to save changing the tubes over. Only have two problems with it as a vacuum occasionally pick up a small twig which can get stuck in the fan and if vacuuming leaves from a path and there is dirt under them it will pick up the dirt which if damp will build up in the curved tube and when it dries it will come loose and and jam the fan. Tubes can be a pain to take off. Happy with Stihl and have a BR600 and 800 for bigger jobs.