Question about walk-behind leaf blowers

18 years ago

After inadvertently turning my BillyGoat leaf vac into a blower by removing the bag and running it through a deep, wet pile of leaves (never doing that again - almost lost a finger when it shot a section of branch through the chute :-) I have been considering a walk-behind blower to replace my hand-helds. I'm surrounded by Oak, Beech, Birch and Maple, so cleanup this time of year is not much fun. The hand-helds just don't seem to do it, especially with the wet leaves, compared to the volume of air put out by the BillyGoat.

After seeing how expensive walk-behinds are though, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on a particular brand? Also curious if anyone bought one then later regretted it, for whatever reason (not enough oomph, etc).

Thank you in advance!

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Comments (5)

twostroke_guy
18 years ago
Giant-Vac without a dout is the best made unit out there. It has shock absorbers built into the handle to cut down on opertaor fatigue. The metal frame is also constructed of a heavier gauge steel, considering the amount of stress cracks I have seen on other brands this is a huge plus. I would consider borrowing a back pack blower if you have axcess to one. They are not as powerfull as a ground blower but might be enough for what you need to accomplish. Half the power but half the price as well..
krislu2003
18 years ago
Anthony- I had a Fradan with a 12hp briggs. This thing was powerful no doubt but I traded it in after 2 years. It was expensive for a one use seasonal machine. It was loud. It was hard to start, the Briggs didn't have compression release. I have a lot of bush beds and the machine would blow the mulch out but wouldn't get all of the leafs entangled in the bushes. A backpack blower suited me much better. Somethings to think about. - Kris
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bas157
18 years ago
I've got an 8hp Giant-Vac that works great. It replaced an unknown brand blower that I figure was ~35 years old based on the engine serial number. The giant-vac is much better but also a LOT larger. For a large amount of leaves, I think only a trac-vac type of unit would work better. Around here, I mostly see Little Wonder units that the landscape guys use.
I see alot of them for sale on Craigslist, maybe try looking for a used unit instead of new.
Spent about 4 hours sunday blowing the leaves and shredding them with my yardman chiper/shredder. Before I had either, I'd spend about 2 full days (or more) raking and hauling the leaves to the woods in my backyard.

Mine is large and heavy, it gives you a workout if the ground is sloped or if the ground is a little soft (from rain)
doopstr
18 years ago
I bought an aprox 15 year old Little Wonder from a neighbor that was moving. Saved a lot of cash and its still in great shape. If you can find one that was residential owned, not commercial, a used one should last a long time.
paulk
18 years ago
I used to use a walk behind but found it cumbersome and expensive to rent. I purchased the RedMax EBZ8000 back pack blower 3 yrs. ago. I found this blower to be just as effective as the walk behinds. Truly a great blower.