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I have a Stihl gas leaf blower that I'm very satisfied with. I only use it to blow leaves and grass off of my sidewalks, driveway and deck, and away from areas where I can't run my lawnmower. I have a large backyard that was left mostly as woods. I don't do anything with the woods, and I don't rake any leaves out of the grass. All leaves are simply mulched with a regular push lawn mower. There are large oak trees in my yard and several of the neighbors. These trees have not dropped all of their leaves yet and these leaves are tough on the grass once they get wet and matted down. I'll run the lawn mower as late in the season as possible. Last year, the weather didn't cooperate and I wasn't able to mulch the leaves after Thanksgiving. One year I was out mulching leaves on New Year's Eve.
I just bought a EGO blower using a 56V lithium eon battery. I'm impressed with the power of this blower. It blows as well as a most gas blowers. The downside is the battery life---turbo will last 10 minutes but Hi will last a half hour, low about and hour, and Hi is impressive. I'm quite surprised of the power of this machine. When you use the turbo the blower actually pulls away from you because of the amount of thrust. The other surprising thing about the battery is that you can recharge the battery in full in 40 minutes.
I do realize the life of the battery is an issue with those with large projects but if lets say you had 4 charged batteries it would do the job as well as most gas powered around the yard blowers. Batteries have come a long way in just the last few years.
I just bought a EGO blower using a 56V lithium eon battery. I'm impressed with the power of this blower. It blows as well as a most gas blowers. The downside is the battery life---turbo will last 10 minutes but Hi will last a half hour, low about and hour, and Hi is impressive. I'm quite surprised of the power of this machine. When you use the turbo the blower actually pulls away from you because of the amount of thrust. The other surprising thing about the battery is that you can recharge the battery in full in 40 minutes.
I do realize the life of the battery is an issue with those with large projects but if lets say you had 4 charged batteries it would do the job as well as most gas powered around the yard blowers. Batteries have come a long way in just the last few years.
The batteries certainly have come a long way and still have quite a ways to go. The EGO blower is certainly impressive for a cordless unit, however until the cost is equitable to gas blowers, your cost is at least 1.5 - 2x still.
The EGO blower is $99 without battery or charger. You probably want to get two batteries at least. The batteries are $159 each. The charger is $69.
You're at around $486, where you can effectively use the blower while one battery is charging.
Now go pickup a commercial gas backpack RedMax unit, say an EBZ6500. Total cost out the door, about $397.
Specs:
EGO
MPH: 91
CFM: 486
RedMax
MPH: 232
CFM: 632
I applaud your choice to go electric. It's the right choice for you. I need the power to move large piles of leaves very quickly so I can get back inside. I've had some electric trimmers etc. before and had to keep at least 3 batteries on charge all the time to get any productive use of the tool.
The batteries certainly have come a long way and still have quite a ways to go. The EGO blower is certainly impressive for a cordless unit, however until the cost is equitable to gas blowers, your cost is at least 1.5 - 2x still.
The EGO blower is $99 without battery or charger. You probably want to get two batteries at least. The batteries are $159 each. The charger is $69.
You're at around $486, where you can effectively use the blower while one battery is charging.
Now go pickup a commercial gas backpack RedMax unit, say an EBZ6500. Total cost out the door, about $397.
Specs:
EGO
MPH: 91
CFM: 486
RedMax
MPH: 232
CFM: 632
I applaud your choice to go electric. It's the right choice for you. I need the power to move large piles of leaves very quickly so I can get back inside. I've had some electric trimmers etc. before and had to keep at least 3 batteries on charge all the time to get any productive use of the tool.
Your cost maybe true in some areas but here at Home Depot I Payed $199 for all three, charger, battery and blower. I agree purchasing extra batteries would be pricy but if one can afford it, doesn't want to bother with gas, oil and long extension cords, this is the blower to get.
Your cost maybe true in some areas but here at Home Depot I Payed $199 for all three, charger, battery and blower. I agree purchasing extra batteries would be pricy but if one can afford it, doesn't want to bother with gas, oil and long extension cords, this is the blower to get.
Unfortunately, most people with cordless electric blowers, respond after their first few times using their 'new' equipment. Time is what makes many choose gas over batteries. The 2-cycle blowers last for years if they are maintained properly. Your battery blowers are on a downhill slide - they will never be as good as the first full charge. Even the newer lithium-ion batteries are loosing their power from the first time they are ever used: How to get the most from Li-Ion batteries | ZDNet. Even storing your battery looses power - 31%/month at 60 degrees with the lithium-ion's. That means that they will have to be charged before using if they sat out a season.
I also do not understand why the manufacturers charge almost as much for a new battery as they charged for the new piece of equipment? Sometimes you cannot even find your replacement batteries. Manufacturers constantly up the voltage and make the older batteries hard to find. I had an expensive (over $200) Makita screw gun that I tossed because of replacing the 14.4 V batteries. I could have bought new batteries; but, because of the price and power of the 'new' equipment, it was not worth it.
Of course there are always some problems with gas or gas/oil equipment. You need to drain the old gas if your storing and put in fresh gas when starting. Some people do not have the strength to pull the starter ropes and some equipment can be harder to start than other equipment. Some people simply cannot stand the noise and the pollution.
Unfortunately, most people with cordless electric blowers, respond after their first few times using their 'new' equipment. Time is what makes many choose gas over batteries. The 2-cycle blowers last for years if they are maintained properly. Your battery blowers are on a downhill slide - they will never be as good as the first full charge. Even the newer lithium-ion batteries are loosing their power from the first time they are ever used: How to get the most from Li-Ion batteries | ZDNet. Even storing your battery looses power - 31%/month at 60 degrees with the lithium-ion's. That means that they will have to be charged before using if they sat out a season.
I also do not understand why the manufacturers charge almost as much for a new battery as they charged for the new piece of equipment? Sometimes you cannot even find your replacement batteries. Manufacturers constantly up the voltage and make the older batteries hard to find. I had an expensive (over $200) Makita screw gun that I tossed because of replacing the 14.4 V batteries. I could have bought new batteries; but, because of the price and power of the 'new' equipment, it was not worth it.
Of course there are always some problems with gas or gas/oil equipment. You need to drain the old gas if your storing and put in fresh gas when starting. Some people do not have the strength to pull the starter ropes and some equipment can be harder to start than other equipment. Some people simply cannot stand the noise and the pollution.
I just like the power of gas and the versatility.
I agree with you 100%. The battery when stored is programmed to ditch 70% of its power. And above all they will not last forever. Gas is the way to go for durability but I had to get either an electric blower or the battery blower because of the wife who has disabilities. But again, I was taken aback the power this battery blower produces.
Hubby has an electric one and it is pretty small so he can only do so many leaves. In fact we hired our leaves done this year, but he can use it for a lot of other things and does.
We have an electric plug-in blower that works well for us. It has plenty of power and is lightweight enough that with a long extension cord I can do most of the yard without having to go to another outlet.
Hubby has an electric one and it is pretty small so he can only do so many leaves. In fact we hired our leaves done this year, but he can use it for a lot of other things and does.
The one thing that is great about all electric blowers is that they have no fumes. You can use them where you would not think of using your gas blowers. Like: Blowing out the garage - great to clean out the dirt brought in by your tires. Blowing out your car or truck (not of paper garbage) of the dirt and dust. They work good on a screened in porch. I also like to take our computers to the porch and blow them out thoroughly every year.
The blowers can do jobs faster and more thorough than vacuum cleaners - providing your blowing the dust outside and not into the rest of the house. I wished that I could get our refrigerator to an area that I could blow out the coils and motor. I am sure they would do a great job on those to - but I don't want all that dust into the house.
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