How to choose the best leaf blower for your lawn-care business.
A suitable leaf blower is an extremely important but underrated piece of equipment. It is the tool that you use to finish off and make the customer’s lawn look good.
But when you start looking at blowers, many options are available. So how do you choose the best leaf blower for your lawn-mowing business?
This will depend on exactly what you do in your business and the size of the jobs you are doing.
In other words…
How do you intend to use the blower?
In a standard lawn mowing business, the original reason for buying a blower is to tidy up the job when you have finished. When you are weed-eating and mowing, you will find that you leave a lot of tiny pieces of grass on concrete or tarsal areas. The customer will not want to see this when they arrive home from work.
You can use a weed eater when starting off.
To do this kind of cosmetic work, you do not need a large blower. Even a weed eater turned on its side can do this small job. However, I will only ever do this if my blower breaks down during the workday. You could start your business using a weed eater as a blower; when I started in the late 80s, you couldn’t even buy blowers. Everyone used their weed eaters. However, if you go down this path, get yourself a blower as soon as you can afford it.
The problem here starts when there are a lot of leaves or other debris on the drive. You can clean the first meter or so, but where does it stop?
You can’t just blow the edges and leave the middle of the drive, and they did not pay you to blow the entire drive. This is where smaller blowers are great because you can lightly blow the grass off the edges and leave the rest. Remember, the object of the exercise is not to leave lawn clippings, nothing else.
Larger jobs
Now, if they asked you to keep the entire drive clean and free of falling leaves, etc., you may struggle with a smaller blower (a weed eater will not work at all for this job.) To get this job done with a smaller machine, you would have to do a small piece at a time and slowly work your way done the whole drive. This can take a while and be hard work.
If you are going to take on this kind of work, you will need a larger machine or possibly a backpack if you are looking at commercial driveways or car parks.
What to look for in a suitable blower.
Now that you have an idea of the job you want the blower for, it is time to compare the machines. Here is a list of the things that I am looking for.
The weight of the machine
This is often overlooked but essential for a handheld machine. Fortunately, these machines have got lighter over the years. I have an old machine from 2010 that still runs but sits in my garage because it weighs a tonne compared to modern blowers.
If you are just using the machine for less than five minutes when you have finished your lawns, then the weight is not so much of a factor. However, if you are doing bigger jobs and carrying the machine for five minutes or more, you should consider a lighter machine. Don’t sacrifice power, though.
If you are using a backpack, they will be heavier machines, but carrying it on your back will certainly help reduce the strain.
Batteries or petrol?
A blower requires a lot of energy, so you will only get a little battery life out of an electric blower at the time of writing. Typically you will get more power from a gas-powered machine. Having said that, a few manufacturers in the US are starting to produce the same blowing power using batteries. It will be a while before we see them here.
A battery blower will be fine for domestic and small commercial jobs. For larger jobs, I still lean towards gas at this point in time. You can get larger battery blowers, but they are a bit pricey.
Blow and vacuum.
This machine can come in handy if you do a lot of leaf work. They also use a shredder attachment, allowing you to work longer before your bag fills up. We have never felt the need to purchase a machine. Here is an example from Sthil
A few questions about blowers
These are some of the common questions I get asked about blowers.
How do blowers perform in the wet?
On a wet day, we use our blowers, but it is more of a token gesture than anything else. Most of the clippings remain stuck to the ground, but hey, we might as well keep up appearances.
Ironically if it is raining really hard, it can be a bit easier than just a wet surface. This is because if the water starts pooling, you can get some momentum going and create a small wave carrying all the rubbish off the drive.
I would NOT recommend trying that with an electric blower.
What can go wrong with a blower?
To be honest, blowers are about the most bulletproof piece of equipment that you will have. I have about half a dozen, some over ten years old and they all run.
If something does go wrong with a blower, it is normally of the following.
- The fan – is easily fixed, and you will know instantly when this happens. You will lose power, and the machine will rattle. This has happened to me twice.
- The pull-start brakes – This can happen with any machine, and it is an easy fix.
- It won’t start – nine times out of ten, a new spark plug will fix this on the spot.
- It dies – Pull out the air filter. Try again. If it starts replace the air filter.
How much fuel does a blower use?
Not a lot. I fill my blower up once or twice a week and it’s good to go unlike my weedeater that needs filling every day.
Where do I buy a blower?
I recommend that you buy your blower from any lawn mower shop that does repairs. You want to purchase from someone that can carry out any warranty work. Do not buy from any of the big box shops, as you will be in a long wait without your blower if anything goes wrong.
What is the best brand?
The million-dollar question. There is no real winner here. However, I would stick to the leading brands like
- Shinagawa
- Stihl
- Huskavana
- Echo
- Solo
I use Shindawas, but any of these bands would be fine.
So How to choose the best leaf blower for your lawn-mowing business?
Decide what type of jobs you would like to do with your machine. Look for machines that suit your needs. Consider weight, fuel type, power and price.
Visit dealers that do repairs on-site. Compare machines and purchase the one that suits your business the best. It’s as simple as that.
If you would like to reach out and find out what other contractors are using, you can ask on our free Facebook group. A bit of free advice is always a good thing.
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