In my new house, I have lots and lots of very tall trees. I need a serious leaf blower. My contractor told me to get a Stihl or Husqavarna. He prefers the Stihl. What does the forum reccomend?

Thanks
Jaycat

If you are serious about needing a really nice one, I've seen the stihl br-700 recommended many times here. Typically about $550.

The Husqevarna I got last year is a BEAST! I freaking love the thing. I have 36 fully mature huge trees on my property and the 256 mph of wind it blows does the job!!

I highly recommend the RedMax EBZ-8500. It will actually blow a red brick down the driveway. It weighs 25 lbs. though without fuel.

Backpack leaf blowers are heavy, loud, cumbersome, and are still a handheld, limited blower.

If you have to move tons of leaves, and want to do it far more comfortably than with a pack, try a walk-behind.

I rented one of these when I had 20+ trees on my property in Massachusetts. This thing got it done. I have a handheld gas blower, and there was no comparison. I have used back pack blowers for other applications, and found them better than the handheld type, but nothing close to the push behind. You see, it's not so much the velocity of the air that you move, it's the AMOUNT of air that you use, and the angle you apply it to the leaves. Push behinds win on all fronts.

Before you buy, I'd rent one and see if it works for you. BTW, Little Wonder is a really good product. (I have no affiliation with them.)

https://www.littlewonder.com/p...behind-leaf-blowers/

For reference:

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/2260049234

and:

https://opereviews.com/news/bl...s-cfm-one-important/

I paid money for a Shindaiwa. It was worth it and it is fantastic even after 10 years of somewhat abuse.

biggest stihl you can buy wet leaves need mo power, I have 32 oak trees on my property and can fill 3 dump truck loads every year they are deep enough that cars can't make it thru them. the city made me stop piling them in the street until the last 3 days of pick up. they come by with a back hoe and spend quite a while here.

Get an engine in the 75cc range. I've had experience with most brands listed and they are all good in that engine class. Stihl would be my choice because of abundance of dealers.

Your contractor is right.
Buy whichever has a good dealer near you. Stihl is better supported around me but they are both good and online is an option too.
In the fall make sure to blow the leaves off several times. Don't let them build up and get so heavy you have a hard time moving them. Then you won't need the industrial strength walk behind others mentioned. When they are light and dry they blow off easy and quick.

I have Echo and really like it but as mentioned above a walk behind is a better choice or something you can hook up to a riding tractor if that is what you use to cut your yard.

Thanks for the replies....I will look into the big backpack blowers...I dont think i'd buy a walk behind...when I buy my lawn tractor, I plan on getting the leaf mulcher attatchment.

Thanks again
Jaycat

We live on about 4.3 acres, all in deciduous trees. We get LOOOOOTS of leaves in the fall.

I have an echo brand back pack blower. PB500 model. Had it for several years. It does the job nicely. And not all that expensive, either. Just short of $400.

I have one of the Stihl backpack blowers, I think the 430, cant remember now. It is a little heavy, but it will move some leaves, sticks, etc in no time. I have a few Stihl dealers nearby, don't regret spending the money on this one at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaycat:
Thanks for the replies....I will look into the big backpack blowers...I dont think i'd buy a walk behind...when I buy my lawn tractor, I plan on getting the leaf mulcher attatchment.

Thanks again
Jaycat

I had two big maples and a few other trees and always mulched and bagged mine up and with a honda rear bagger it was still a chore and then transferring everything into plastic bags.

I had a brand new Stihl BR600 and was happy with it then someone stole it. I replaced it with a BR700 and am happy with it except for the weight. You might not think that you will need the power that it has until you find out that it can blow sticks out of lawns and ivy beds. Also, it is easy to start and is well built.

Mulching is the way to go. Around here, the big commercial landscapers mulch leaves into dust that disappears into the turf.

Get yourself a collector to tow behind your tractor like this.



Get results like this sitting down while doing it.

That’s bad ass.

Thank you. That was done with one pass. I needed to empty the wagon once when full and the second time was 2/3 full. It chops the leaves up pretty fine. You can see on the hill where I didn't run over the leaves for comparison of before and after.

I have the RedMax EZB-8500 and I agree with yanici, it's a beast. Mine has been trouble free for 3 years. It is heavy though as is going to be any comparable size one. Make sure to go with ethanol free gas no matter which brand you buy.