leaf blower/vac/mulcher - do they work?
Ken Johnson
need of a new more powerful leaf blower. I was thinking about getting
the blower/vac combo. Can anybody tell me if these are effective? Does
the vacuum/mulching operation really work or will a lot of leaves simply
overwhelm it? Any recommendations on brands/size?
Thanks very much in advance.
KJ
John Henry
First of all, forget anything electric. To get any useful power at all, you
will brown out your neighborhood, and the noise will make you deaf.
Portable gas blowers are nice, if you can afford something decent. IMO,
only the biggest handheld gas units are close to being worth something. I
have Sears Biggest, and it is pretty good, but I have had problems with
carbon clogging on the exhaust port over the years. I have since bought
other blowers and don't use it too much anymore though.
Backback blowers are much better, look for 350cfm or better. Very powerful,
very portable, but use ear protection. God for blowing leaves around shrubs
and out of bed.
If you have a place to blow the leaves (like woods. I have 9k sf of lawn,
surrounded by 35ksf of woods that I own), all you need is a good blower. A
wheeled, walk behind 5hp or better will move a LOT of leaves, wet or dry. I
have a 3.5hp one (got it used for $24, couldn't pass it up). Works OK until
you get a really big pile going, or they are wet. Very nice for blowing
grass clippings off the driveway...
I also have a 3.5 hp "yard vac" type mulcher. Barely adequate only for the
dries, lights leaves. IMO, if you are going to get one of these, get an 8hp
or better. They do work nicely. Most have a removeable screen on the
impeller housing exit. Screen in, leaves get chopped up smaller, bag fills
slower, holds more. But vac is diminished. Screen out, vac is much better,
but bag fills very fast.
Most of these units have chippers on them, my 3.5 hp one will do up to 1".
And while I burn most of my brush, it is nice to have to shove stray sticks
into while vacuuming leaves, and it does actually work well.
Ken Johnson wrote:
--
John Henry
---------------
Visit the "BugShop" at http://www.geocities.com/thebugshop/
"Sure, women may be able to fake orgasms... but it takes a man to fake an
entire relationship."
HYH
>
> Any recommendations on brands/size?
>
> Thanks very much in advance.
>
> KJ
news:alt.home.lawn.garden
http://www.gardenweb.com/forums/
http://www.greensmiths.com/forums.htm
--
HYH =§= 01 FXST
Michael Mulhaupt
with about 10 mature trees, mostly maple - so a ton of leaves. I figure
that I'm getting about a 4-8 times compaction on the leaves when I put them
into bags - my neighbors are kinda upset though because I was using it when
they were out there with their rakes, and were jealous. I've got many more
leaves than my two neighbors combined, but I still ended up with less bags
for the recyclers. I like the environmental implications, plus I believe
that the leaves should break down quicker when mulched - in my last house I
put the mulch into the garden, after sitting under a dark tarp during the
winter.
If the leaves are wet (if it just rained) then I find that the intake chute
can get clogged occasionally (you have to be careful no to try to suck too
much in at a time) and that the compression isn't as good. I also damaged
the bag (my machine is about 6 years old now) - where the leaves actually
get thrown into the bag, a hole actually wore through the bag, because of
wet leaves softening the material, and probably getting too many broken
branches hitting the burlap. The zipper is also starting to not work. If
you're mulching very dry leaves, expect to get dirty, because you will be
producing leaf dust.
The only thing that I find is that it is cumbersome to use when you are
trying to suck up large areas with very few leaves - for things like this,
I will actually rake the leaves into piles, and then suck them up. Or
maybe you could use the blower and blow them into a common area, and then
suck them up.
I'm very happy with my Black & Decker, I'd also expect a good product from
Toro. I won't recommend a brand, but I'll suggest some options:
If you're picking up over small loose gravel or mulch, it is a good idea to
have a low speed setting, so that you only pick up leaves.
Make sure that there is a good strap on the bag to go around your shoulder,
because the bag can get reasonably heavy when it's full.
Have a good holder for your plug - when you're dragging around the cord,
you don't want the plug to pull itself loss, but to have some means of
tying to the unit.
Also make sure that you've got a fairly sturdy and aggressive impeller that
can handle small branches, because you're sure to be sucking them up as
well.
Mike
RamblinOn
Ken Johnson wrote:
We have the BD and it is next to worthless for vac/mulching. They might be
better for dry, light leaves, such as maples. We have live oaks with small,
heavy leaves which compact readily. The vac picks up bits of bark, pebbles
and twigs and I doubt they do the motor much good. The live oak leaves
aren't shredded enough to notice. I decided to make use of the leaves -
planted some azaleas and just rake the leaves under the azaleas for mulch.
I've never used power rakes or shredders, so don't know how they work. We
live in a condo and have the mowing done by contractor (who doesn't know
much about lawn care). They just started using a mulching mower but we
still have to rake up the heavy or wet leaves. Live oaks are kind of
evergreen but lose lots of leaves in the spring. A mulching mower might be
more effective, but you will probably have to rake the wet/heavy leaves.
--
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."
Kierkegaard
Bill Browning
news:3AC0B4AE...@sprintmail.com...
> ... If you have a place to blow the leaves (like woods. I have 9k sf of
lawn,
> surrounded by 35ksf of woods that I own), ... And while I burn most of my
brush, ...
---------------------------------------
John! Don't burn your brush. Drag the branches up into the woods. It will
decay to provide humus and nutrients for your trees and maintain a nice
forest-floor environment.
Bill B.
John Henry
looking at brush piles from the kitchen window. Spreading them out would be
lots more work. I burn only once a year (town only allows Jan 15-May1), and it
includes the Christmas tree and usually a 7 foot high pile of other stuff that I
collect all year.
I suppose I could make a tractor path way down back where it wouldn't be seen...
Bill Browning wrote:
--
ple...@dont.bother
<johns...@sprintmail.com> wrote:
>I have *several* leaf blower vacs......and live in leafy new england....
>
>First of all, forget anything electric. To get any useful power at all, you
>will brown out your neighborhood, and the noise will make you deaf.
That's what ear protection is for. The electric ones are not that
bad. I have a Sears model and it is quite powerful but yes very loud.
>Portable gas blowers are nice, if you can afford something decent. IMO,
>only the biggest handheld gas units are close to being worth something. I
>have Sears Biggest, and it is pretty good, but I have had problems with
>carbon clogging on the exhaust port over the years. I have since bought
>other blowers and don't use it too much anymore though.
>
>Backback blowers are much better, look for 350cfm or better. Very powerful,
>very portable, but use ear protection. God for blowing leaves around shrubs
>and out of bed.
Look at the RedMax EB7000 (new model this year) Most powerful but not
the loudest, your neighbors will get only slightly pissed vs. totally
pissed.
If you have a lot of vacumming to do then the hand helds won't do. I
have a small Weed eater with a vacuum and it works very good for
sucking leaves out of shrubs and rock gardens and stuff but to do a
yard would take years.
Bill Browning
news:3AC0B793...@alcatel.com...
> ... I still ended up with less bags
> for the recyclers. I like the environmental implications, plus I believe
> that the leaves should break down quicker when mulched - in my last house
I
> put the mulch into the garden, after sitting under a dark tarp during the
-------------------------
You should regard leaves as a rich resource for your garden and
treasure them.
On my street, the city sweeps up the leaves once a fortnight. I get
out there with my rake and 8 X 10 ft plastic sheet before they come and
collect them, all up and down the street on both sides 4 or 5 houses away.
I grab the corners of the plastic sheet and drag it behind my house where I
have some wire fencing in a loose enclosure. I dump them there and turn
them once a year. I am now using the 1998 vintage in my garden getting
ready to set out tomato seedlings in a few months. It used to be I had to
compete with a neighbor 3 houses up the street; but he died at the age of
90; and now I have all the leaves to myself. The person who bought his
house has been setting out the tomato plants we give him, benefiting from
his predecessor's gardening prowess; but each year, his tomatoes are fewer,
more diseased and smaller.
Bill B.
John Henry
all the leaves you want.................. !
Bill Browning wrote:
--
Curly Sue
<michael....@alcatel.com> wrote:
>I've got one (Black and Decker) and they are great. I've got 3/4 acres
>with about 10 mature trees, mostly maple - so a ton of leaves. I figure
>that I'm getting about a 4-8 times compaction on the leaves when I put them
>into bags - my neighbors are kinda upset though because I was using it when
>they were out there with their rakes, and were jealous.
I have a smaller lot with a couple of really big trees and I love the
B&D blower/vac/mulcher. I started to rake leaves last fall and but I
had a shoulder problem at that time so I bought one of these. Two of
my friends were so taken with mine that they each went out and bought
one :>
>branches hitting the burlap. The zipper is also starting to not work. If
>you're mulching very dry leaves, expect to get dirty, because you will be
>producing leaf dust.
I also wear a dust mask as I don't bother with wet leaves- I wait
until they're dry in the yard before doing anything.
>The only thing that I find is that it is cumbersome to use when you are
>trying to suck up large areas with very few leaves - for things like this,
>I will actually rake the leaves into piles, and then suck them up. Or
>maybe you could use the blower and blow them into a common area, and then
>suck them up.
That's exactly what I did. Blow the leaves into a big pile, eg. up
against the garage door then use the vacuum to suck them into the bag.
I picked out the larger twigs but I vacuumed up the smaller ones. The
slower blower speed was useful for areas where there was heavy debris
that I wanted to leave in place and rake up separately. Even for the
ivy ground cover areas I rake I still use the vaccum to suck up piled
material because it's easier to dump the crushed leaves from the
mulcher bag into the garbage bag than try to corral free leaves into a
bag.
Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
sue at interport dotnet
Gary Dyrkacz
electric is not a problem unless you have a big yard or a complicated
layout where the cord is really going to be in the way. For me
picking up leaves is a two part process. First, blow them into a big
pile, then vacuum/mulch them. The leaf herding is the fun and tricky
part to learn. I have mostly pin oak and river berch leaves. The pin
oak leaves are the worst to blow off shrubs because of the many sharp
leaf points which curl and snag. But they just take a little more
time to round up.
On the vac side, you can't just jam the wide nozzle into the middle of
a leaf pile; you need a fairly good airflow to pick up the leaves. So
you kind of start at the edge and sweeping from side to side move
inward. You want the leaves to be reasonably dry for the shredding
action. I have very little problem with the vacuum throat jamming
up. I do have trouble remembering to rezip the collection bag after
removing a batch of mulched leaves. Ptui! Since we live in an area
where leaf burning is prohibited, the vac/mulching is nice because I
just rototill the remains into the garden.
As an secondary benefit I also use my blower to blow dry the water off
my cars. There are usually some fine water streaks left around edges,
but a slightly damp cloth and dry rag take these off easily.
On Tue, 27 Mar 2001 15:07:36 GMT, Ken Johnson <KJ...@Worldnet.att.net>
wrote:
Gary Dyrkacz
dyr...@mcs.net
Radio Control Aircraft/Paintball Physics/Paintball for 40+
http://www.mcs.net/~dyrgcmn/
Tom Fuhs
works pretty good on big dry leaves. Nothing seems to work on the real
little leaves. The vac does an ok job of mulching up the leaves and works
good at picking leaves out of flower beds, although you have to be careful
because it also grabs the mulch. I put the mulched up leaves in the veg.
garden. Overall though, if I had to do it over, I think I'd get a backpack
model. They are a lot more powerful and easier on your back.
Tom
"Ken Johnson" <KJ...@Worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:3AC0AD3D...@Worldnet.att.net...
Carol Riseing
why not rake them? If there are too many of them, then hire some
neighbourhood kids to rake them for you. I have a chronic illness and
am extremely sensitive to noise. When my neighbours fire up their leaf
blowers in the fall I find it extremely unpleasant. I think I have a
right to be comfortable in my own home, free from noise pollution.
Carol Riseing
rake the leaves. If there are too many of them for you then hire some
neighbourhood kids to rake them for you. I have a chronic illness and
leaf blowers in the fall I find it extremely unpleasant. I feel that I
have a right to be comfortable in my own home and that noise pollution
is making this more and more difficult all the time
George Macomber
Ken Johnson
of my neighbors have a chronic illness. Also fortunately, our
properties are large enough that the houses are not on top of each other
and noise is not that much of an issue. Thank god, because my nearest
neighbor has a landscaping service and in the fall they have four men
with leaf blowers clearing their yard! Last fall was my first in this
house and as I am not disabled I bravely went to rake the leaves as you
suggested. Well, three full weekends of raking later I realized it was
like trying to beat back the sea. I don't know what neighborhood kids
you're talking about but even if there were kids available I doubt they
would fare much better and we would still have to find something to do
with the five foot piles of leaves, thus my question on the
blower/vac/mulcher.
You might want to stick around this newsgroup for tips on how to
soundproof/insulate your home.
Alan Burnstine
> Thanks for your helpful response. A couple of points: Fortunately none
> of my neighbors have a chronic illness. Also fortunately, our
> properties are large enough that the houses are not on top of each other
> and noise is not that much of an issue. Thank god, because my nearest
> neighbor has a landscaping service and in the fall they have four men
> with leaf blowers clearing their yard! Last fall was my first in this
> house and as I am not disabled I bravely went to rake the leaves as you
> suggested. Well, three full weekends of raking later I realized it was
> like trying to beat back the sea. I don't know what neighborhood kids
> you're talking about but even if there were kids available I doubt they
> would fare much better and we would still have to find something to do
> with the five foot piles of leaves, thus my question on the
> blower/vac/mulcher.
>
> You might want to stick around this newsgroup for tips on how to
> soundproof/insulate your home.
>
impressed with it. It is slower then I had hoped, but it compresses the
leaves by about 10-1, and was strong enough to pick up most of the acorns
too (I have several large Oak trees, and last year was a mast year, so we
had TONS of them....
The Leaf Hog has an optional attachment that will connect it via a long hose
directly to a trash can so you don't need to empty the bag as often. Worked
great.
It is noisy though.
Alan
HouBlues
Do NOT buy the Ryobi interchangeable system with the idea of using the
blower/vac attachment. The suction is so poor that you have to run the
engine at almost full speed, and even then it is a very slow process.
Raking is quick and easy by comparison.
Curly Sue
lawn care implements, and dread summer for that reason, but have
totally given up the idea that there's anything that can be done
except to join them! It would be nice if people or their landscapers
could refrain from using power tools before noon, but that's wishful
thinking too.
On Fri, 30 Mar 2001 15:55:25 GMT, Carol Riseing <cris...@home.com>
wrote:
Sue(tm)
John Hewitt
wrote:
>Thanks for your helpful response.
They do work, and the mulching type are the best. You have to empty
the bags less often than the vacuum types.
The real "secret" is to blow the leaves into "windrows" and then suck
them up. Simply vaccuming [only] a large area is a waste of time, you
can sweep or rake faster. So you need a vac that switches easily from
a blower to a sucker, this rules out types like the B&D product which
has to be physically changed around [though the vacuum is terrific]
The Bosch model does not mulch and is under powered, tho it does
change from blow to suck at the flick of a lever.
The best model by far is the Ryobi, which mulches, switches modes with
a lever and has lots of oomph.
Now if you can find [and afford] a similar model but with a gas
engine, that would be ideal. Hate those damn cords.
John Hewitt, Malaga, Spain jhe...@ctv.esinvalid
[Remove "invalid" to reply]
RamblinOn
Curly Sue wrote:
> Leaf blowers are no noisier than lawn mowers. I also hate the noisy
> lawn care implements, and dread summer for that reason, but have
> totally given up the idea that there's anything that can be done
> except to join them! It would be nice if people or their landscapers
> could refrain from using power tools before noon, but that's wishful
> thinking too.
If you are fortunate enough to live where the lawn needs care all year, then
you have 12 months of mowers, edgers, blowers. We also have three different
trash hauling services (one city, two private) operating in the area and all on
different schedules, of course. Trash here is collected twice per week, cause
stuff rots faster. We have the mega-monster truck emptying the dumpster next
door twice per week, pulling into the parking lot about 50 feet from our
patio. I've often thought - and I think I will - suggesting a noise ordinance
that would allow lawn and trash services in certain areas only on certain
days. Since most people here apparently use contractors, we at least are
spared the 7 am on Saturday homeowner who does his own on limited schedule.
Argghhhh!
ad...@mn.mediaone.net
grinder from the local Home Depot. It has plastic blades in it and
works well on dry leaves but if they are wet, forget it! Blow them
into the neighbors yard? :)
On Fri, 30 Mar 2001 17:52:45 GMT, Ken Johnson <KJ...@Worldnet.att.net>
wrote:
>Thanks for your helpful response. A couple of points: Fortunately none
Jeff Fischer
Don't hit reply!! Return address is invalid to deter spammers.
Use below address minus the "nadda" text
ad...@naddamn.mediaone.net
Lake Elmo, Minnesota
chrisa...@gmail.com
ChairMan
chrisa...@gmail.com <chrisa...@gmail.com> belched:
(PeteCresswell)
>> rake the leaves. If there are too many of them for you then hire some
>> neighbourhood kids to rake them for you.
on to the main part of the lawn.
From there, I just run the mower over them and they get ground up and
fall down in between the blades of grass.
I'm always amazed when I start with not being able to see any grass at
all and finish up with not seeing any leaves at all. If they're really
heavy, I might have to make 3-4 passes but mostly it's all done in a
single pass.
--
Pete Cresswell
hrho...@sbcglobal.net
(PeteCresswell)
enough.
I haven't been counting, but I'd guess it's about six mowings in a fall
season. I'd have done four mowings in that period just because of
grass growth.
--
Pete Cresswell
micky
wrote:
>In news:63304ce5-fdea-41e2...@googlegroups.com,
>chrisa...@gmail.com <chrisa...@gmail.com> belched:
>> On Friday, March 30, 2001 9:01:36 AM UTC-7, Carol Riseing wrote:
>>> IMO leaf blowers are a noisy nuisance. Unless you are disabled why
>>> not rake the leaves.
then I mow the lawn with a mulcher attachment on my lawn mower. If
you don't have a mulcher, tape a heavy duty business size envelope
over the output chute.
The leaves just disappear. Their little pieces fall between the
leaves of grass and you can't see them. Some leaves may escape the
mower but not many, and a few more will fall, but they won't hurt the
yard, and they look charming.
I just did this today. Over 60 degrees in Baltimore but 99% of the
leaves have fallen, maybe more.
> If there are too many of them for you then
>>> hire some neighbourhood kids to rake them for you. I have a chronic
>>> illness and am extremely sensitive to noise and when my neighbours
>>> power up their leaf blowers in the fall I find it extremely
>>> unpleasant.
blow stuff off of sidewalks. Brooms work almost as well, and there is
no rule that sidewalks have to be spotless.
> I feel that I have a right to be comfortable in my own
between 9AM and 9PM (maybe 10 but it's dark by 9) everywhere afaik.
As to moral right, that may depend on your religion, and if your
neighbor(s) have the same religion, and how you each look at it.
When God gave the Law at Sinai, he didn't specifically mention leaf
blowers. He did say "Love your neighbor as yourself" but your
neighbor may feel he's covered if he wouldn't mind if you used a
blower. And that assumes he cares what God revealed at Sinai. Is
there a regularly scheduled time when you are away from home and your
neighbor isn't at work. Maybe you could nicely ask him if he could
do his blowing then. Maybe you could buy him an electric blower
-- although that is only a good idea
if they work and
if his yard is conducive to using electric.
As to the first, I actually have one, B&D that I got out of the junk.
I have the attachments too, the bag and the tube, but I've never used
it. I used it for about 45 seconds to see if it would such up leaves,
chop them up and put them in the bag, and it wasn't spectacular so I
lost interest. But how well it blows -- you have to connect the long
tube to the other end, where the bag goes -- I do't know. I can
imagine that electric could be too weak, especially for someone who
has used gasoline.
As to the second, it's probably easier to maneuver around bushes and
trees with a blower than with a mower. If you ask nice, he might use
electric.
But all in all, why don't you just buy some ear plugs. Get the foam
rubber kind, either the ones shaped like a cyclinder or like a
rocket-ship, the kind you roll between your fingers, then push into
your ears a bit, then wait while they expand and fill the canal.
They sell them anyplace that sells guns or ammunition, and at drug
stores I'm sure. Last I looked they were about 2 pair for a dollar.
The wax plugs are probably no good.
More below.
>>> home and that noise pollution is making this more and more difficult
>>> all the time
>>>
>>> Ken Johnson wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi, after getting swamped with leaves last fall, I am desperately in
>>>> need of a new more powerful leaf blower. I was thinking about
>>>> getting the blower/vac combo. Can anybody tell me if these are
>>>> effective? Does the vacuum/mulching operation really work or will
>>>> a lot of leaves simply overwhelm it? Any recommendations on
>>>> brands/size?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks very much in advance.
>>>>
>>>> KJ
>>
>> I REALLY REALLY HATE THE NOISE!!!!!!!!!!!!BUT I Am disabled and I
>> can't get my neighbor to cut down the friggn' maple that is south of
>> me and all the leaves blow up into my garage and house...so I may
cut down a maple tree so the leaves wouldn't blow into your garage or
home. I like my trees.
There are leaves around here too, but none have ever blown into my
house and when I had a garage, none blew into it either. Just let
them stay in the garage and turn to dust, or use a broom to get them
out.
micky
wrote:
have fallen. So I have to mow the whole lawn. I think it 's 1/20th
of an acre Well, that's the lot, including the house. So about
1/40th of an acre. I forget how much that is in hectares.
And you're right. The leaves just disappear. It's amazing. I wonder
if I could get on Jay Leno with this act. Or at least Inside
Edition.
DerbyDad03
this out...
Just like most things related to real estate, how leaves are handled is
based on location, location, location.
My house is surrounded by trees. Some are mine, some are the neighbors,
some are in the public domain, so to speak. My house is near the east end
of my street, at the beginning of a curve that causes it to T into the road
that runs along the woods above a bay. With a consistent westerly wind, a
lot of the leaves from the trees west of my house end up on my front lawn.
They blow freely up the street and, because of the curve, get hung up on my
lawn.
I clean up my leaves at least once a week. Early in the fall season, I can
mow them down or mow them into the bag, but once the fall season begins in
earnest, there are just too many leaves to mow with my Honda walk behind.
I have a hand held Ryobi gas blower that I use when I am in a hurry or need
to blow leaves out from SWMBO's many planting beds. When there a lot of
leaves on the lawn, I'll blow them into a big long pile in the center of
the lawn and then either rake them onto a tarp or put them in a rolling
garbage can. I have the advantage of not having to bag anything, since the
woods across the street are on a steep hill. I either drag the tarp over or
roll the can and then just let them slide down the hill.
For the final clean up in the fall, and sometimes for the initial cleanup
in the spring, I'll break out my 16 gallon wet/dry vac and vacuum the last
of the leaves from all the nooks and crannies around my lot - SWMBO's
planting beds, behind the AC, behind the shed, under the bushes, etc.
Basically any place where blowing out the remainder of the leaves makes
more of mess than it's worth. There's a Y fitting inside the vac's inlet
that is supposed the throw the debris around the filter. I remove that Y
because it gets clogged with leaves if I leave it in.
I've used a back pack blower, but I don't really like them. I'm rarely
blowing for a long enough time to make it convenient. Since the ones I've
used you have to take off to start, I always found them to be more of a
pain than they are worth, but again, that's based on my location, location,
location. For others, they might be the best tool for the job. For me, the
hand held blower is much more convenient.
(PeteCresswell)
>location. For others, they might be the best tool for the job.
in his yard. He was almost knee deep in the things - and that was where
they had not been raked or piled up.
I like trees and all that... but I was glad I didn't live where this guy
lived.
A few years back there was somebody with a walk-behind bailer doing some
of the yards in our area. Did not see the thing in action, but it left
a nice neat trail of compressed/bailed leaves.
--
Pete Cresswell
Ron
Stormin Mormon
>
> I like trees and all that... but I was glad I didn't live where this guy
> lived.
>
> A few years back there was somebody with a walk-behind bailer doing some
> of the yards in our area. Did not see the thing in action, but it left
> a nice neat trail of compressed/bailed leaves.
>
behind unit. He really loves it. Says it cuts the
volume down, a lot.
--
.
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
.