So you’ve decided to buy a leaf blower, now the real decision making begins.
To ensure you get the best leaf blow-vac for your needs ask yourself a few questions. What will you be clearing? How big is your garden? How much power and noise can you handle? How much weight can you bear?
The first step to take is to decide whether you want a blower or a vacuum, or both.
Leaf blowers in their simplest form are electric handheld models which clear areas using a strong jet of air, and are often referred to as air brooms. Leaves can be blown into piles from where they can be transferred to compost bins or disposed of. Air brooms are perfect for small gardens and maintaining tidy areas all year round. Handheld petrol-driven models can produce an impressive air flow upwards of 350 cubic feet per minute. However, this pales in comparison with walk-behind models weighing in with a whopping 1800cfm. The latter model is capable of clearing golf courses!
You’ll most likely want a leaf blow-vac, which allows you to blow debris into piles then suck into an attached container, shredding and compacting the leaves in the process. This leaves you with a fine waste material perfect for composting as it rots down much faster due to the larger surface area for bacteria and air to work on.
The most convenient blow-vacs are those that can alternate between settings at a flick of a switch although they are not always the most powerful. These models possess an elephant-trunk nozzle which can prove cumbersome but lightweight designs aid manoeuvrability.
As for stand alone leaf vacuums, most are better suited to larger gardens as they tend to be, wheeled machines with large collector boxes, making the job of gathering leaves from large expanses of grass, quick and easy.
Here at Gardenlines we provide all forms of blow-vacs; handheld, backpack and walk-behind versions, petrol-driven or electric.
With this in mind consider what version suits you best. A small garden can be maintained with a lightweight electric handheld blow-vac. If you’re a professional gardener or have over half an acre of land a backpack blower may be best for you. Backpack blowers put the bulk of the weight onto your back with wide padded shoulder straps, and provide more power than their electric handheld counterparts. However, they are only capable of blowing, not vacuuming.
Those with large gardens wanting to collect leaves and other debris from lawns and patios can choose from our extensive range of all-conquering wheeled models. These machines can make light work of large areas and include huge collection bags, as much as 90 gallons.
Take these considerations into account and you can pick the best leaf blower for you.
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