21 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

Not everyone is a landscaper, and needs a $1000 backpack tornado! Lol

They aren't $1,000.00, a pro grade blower can be had for around $500 when they go on sale.  The difference between a $250 unit and a $500 unit is night and day.  You get more value out of the additional $150 to $250 spent on a pro grade blower than you do out of the entire $250 one may spend on a consumer grade unit.  Under powered blowers are a maddening waste of time.

If you need a tornado, then you need a walk behind blower.  We have a 13hp Little wonder that will knock you off your feet.

 

 

22 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

If you need a tornado, then you need a walk behind blower.  We have a 13hp Little wonder that will knock you off your feet

I wonder if I can blow the rattlesnakes away with that! 
 

 

 

Bought an Echo at HD over 20 years ago. No problems. When it gets a bit fussy to start it gets a new plug and it's back to starting on the second pull.

1 minute ago, Displaced Texan said:

I wonder if I can blow the rattlesnakes away with that! 

If that doesn't work, try 12 ga. 00 buckshot.

I have to agree, I got talked out of a bigger blower. Currently I have the BR 430 and it's 500cfm, it was less than $500 

I really wish it had more power for the amount of leaves I have to push. Then again I have about 1.5 acres to clear up. But unless everything is super dry, by the time you get a good pile going, things really slow down. 

Since then, I actually built a leaf collection system for my Tractor since it has the add on blower for the deck. Now, the blower is plenty for just basic clean up. 

I also purchased the Stihl leaf vacuum, which is awesome for around areas that have mulch and thick decorative plants. 

I bought an Echo PB-9010, I don't regret the extra power.

30 minutes ago, CMJeepster said:

If that doesn't work, try 12 ga. 00 buckshot.

Usually the preferred method. Unless they are under my house. 
 

This one was NOT looking for a belly rub. 

2 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

I wonder if I can blow the rattlesnakes away with that! 

Probably.  It's lifted garter snakes, toads, more than one chipmunk and hurled 'em like 10', but they are pretty small compared to rattlers.

The best leaf blowers to buy in 2022, according to reviews - nj.com

On 10/17/2022 at 2:27 PM, CMJeepster said:

The best leaf blowers to buy in 2022, according to reviews - nj.com

LOL!!! 

Maybe if your lawn in 10x10 feet. 

i ended up going with the 150bt. works great. has trouble with wet leaves. it started raining while i was working in the yard yesterday. i tried to keep going, till said rain turned into downpour.........this is kinda hard'ish to maneuver if ya need to do something left handed. but i can work around that pretty easily.

1 hour ago, 1LtCAP said:

has trouble with wet leaves.

They all have trouble with wet leaves.   When blowing out beds and such around the foundation, always work right to left, keeping the foundation, beds or whatever on your right, i.e., the tube side.  Though it may seem counter intuitive, sometimes you have to blow out beds in the opposite direction of the street.

so i got home last night in time to do some more leaves. the side yard looked untouched. what i did, was to go around the fenceline and raked those leaves about 5ft away from the fence. fired up the blower and went to work. this one had a nozzle that the directions say to stick on the end of the tube if you want higher airspeed. i did. it didn't work as i'd expected. i didn't wanna take the pack off my back, but couldn't reach the tip so i removed the bottom half of the air tube......then i noticed that with only half the tube this thing moved leaves like mad. i don't get it.....but it went a ton faster, although i had slightly less control of where the leaves went initially......now i'm happy with this thing.

17 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

so i got home last night in time to do some more leaves. the side yard looked untouched. what i did, was to go around the fenceline and raked those leaves about 5ft away from the fence. fired up the blower and went to work. this one had a nozzle that the directions say to stick on the end of the tube if you want higher airspeed. i did. it didn't work as i'd expected. i didn't wanna take the pack off my back, but couldn't reach the tip so i removed the bottom half of the air tube......then i noticed that with only half the tube this thing moved leaves like mad. i don't get it.....but it went a ton faster, although i had slightly less control of where the leaves went initially......now i'm happy with this thing.

"More power!!!" - Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor

1 minute ago, CMJeepster said:

"More power!!!" - Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor

yea baby!!!

 

 i only took them to the front of the yard with the blower though. then used rake/tarp to drag em to the curb. that part was faster and somewhat easier that way.

15 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

yea baby!!!

 

 i only took them to the front of the yard with the blower though. then used rake/tarp to drag em to the curb. that part was faster and somewhat easier that way.

I don't miss those days.  Our last house had 2 gates and a car port between the leafy back yard and the street.  This house is much better as I can just run the yard sweeper behind the mower.