Can someone recommend a good leaf blower?

[dave*99]

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.

This is the only time I’ve ever seen Stihl referred to as junk. All my Stihl stuff has been great. Current stuff all the way back to a chainsaw I bought in the 70’s.

 

[PhantomEB]

Handheld Ryobi one here, good for the light skiff Of snow I really should buck up for a Stihl backpack one, need to look for one that ***** up leafs too.

 

[tyyost]

I have the BG 86 as well, the blower is good for a handheld, I use the vac a few times a year to get in the corners and under the deck when the leaves are everywhere. I got a well used Echo backpack blower last fall and wish I spent the extra coin on that first. The handheld is perfect for blowing pine needles of the deck or the grass off the driveway after a mow, but if your trees drop a ton of leaves you are in for a work out. I now have a Cub Cadet yard vac, the Stihl, and the backpack blower.

Dollar for dollar the backpack delivers the best bang for your buck when you have lots of leaves to move.

 

[IndyGarage]

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.

Maybe I just got a bad one, but I had just come off a really good experience with a cheap Ryobi blower/vac that worked great for about 15 years, so I incorrectly assumed the premium Stihl would work better, and I was disappointed because it was much worse.

I used it mostly to blow leaves, and it did OK for that. But in the fall I used it to vac up leaves that get stuck in the corners around my house and in the flower beds. It had all the problems you describe with clogging and jamming and difficulty changing over. On top of that It really didn't have good suction if the leaves were wet. It did fine on perfectly crisp dry leaves, but we rarely have those.

The worst part was that it just wasn't made to handle leaves and debris that comes with them. When you vac leaves you get other stuff - twigs, seeds, the occasional pine cone or acorn. It has a little metal grinding blade in front of the plastic blower wheel, but I couldn't tell that was doing anything. I replaced the blower wheel when it disintegrated twice and when I couldn't JB weld the holes and cracks in the front blower housing anymore I replaced it too.

Then I bought the 36 volt Makita battery powered blower and used them side by side and the Makita blew as good or better than the BG86. It was always a pain to start so I gave it to my landscape guy and haven't missed it for a moment. I've had pretty good Stihl chainsaws, but I can't recommend that blower, sorry.

 

[jgelack]

Thanks guys for all your responses, I really appreciate all your advice! As much as I’d like to pick up one of those powerful backpack blowers, I just can’t justify it with the size of my yard. Sounds like I really can’t go wrong with any of the brands I’m considering. I’ll probably end up with the Echo. I’ve had an Echo grass trimmer for years, and it’s given me no problems, and always starts easily. I’ll hope for the same from the blower. Thanks again!