So, I have a bit of history when it comes to leaf blowers, over 20 years in fact.
Back in the early 2000's, I pestered my father for him to buy me a leaf blower, the deal being I would work it off. Most teenage boys ask for cars, motorbikes ect, not me! :laughing: This was at the very beginning of my gardening business, and in many ways, I owe my father for getting me started. That blower was the then new line of Stihl blowers, the BG 55.
I ran that machine into the ground over many years. I actually still have it down in the depths of the back shed, and still running when I put it away, pretty noisy and clattery though.
I replaced that blower with the updated model Stihl, the BG 86C. For a long time, these were THE BEST blower on the market. Many times, I looked elsewhere to see what would replace it, but nothing really stood out.
At this stage I need to point out these Stihl blowers have one fatal flaw; the main bolts that hold the block together work their way loose over time. These bolts are positioned just behind the flywheel, meaning they actually start grinding on the flywheel and eventually stop the engine from turning over. Of course, the sound and feel of that is pretty disturbing, to the point where it's as if the engine is toast. This very thing happened to my BG 86 mid job. Needing to keep the show running, I simply bought another and put the old one in the shed for parts.
Now, I can't remember how I found out about the loose bolt syndrome; it was a few years down the track. I literally went down the shed, pulled the old machine to bits, and yep, the bolts were loose. Once put back together, I had two working BG 86's. In actual fact, that first BG 86 was an absolute demon, one of the strongest little performers I have ever had, so I was pleased to have it back in working order.
With two of those machines, I set one up permanently with the vacuum attachment.
In about 2016, I was doing a few carpark cleaning jobs, big spaces that required a big blower. Me being a Stihl man, I went and got me the biggest backpack blower available, the BR 600 MAGNUM. I think the name
MAGNUM sold it to me more than the actual machine itself.
These have the 4-Mix engine, which is still a 2-stroke but actually have valves like a 4-stroke. This particular version has 64.8cc and is way too powerful for most situations..............which means I like it very much!
Not long after, I started to get into battery powered tools. Battery tools don't suit every situation, mowers in particular for the sort of work I do. But they are brilliant for the smaller tools like hedge trimmers and low-duty chainsaws. It's the hedge trimmers that really suit me in battery form, they are lighter and much nicer on the body to use for extended periods. With the battery system set up for hedge trimmer, pole hedge trimmer and a chainsaw, I added the BGA 56 blower into the mix to see what it was like.
I sort of joke that the BGA 56 looks like some alien spaceship from Star Trek. I didn't buy that blower with the intent on it replacing my petrol blowers, rather to use for quick jobs or around the house. It also dried a few cars too.
With two aging BG 86's, one eventually succumbed to the rigors of regular commercial use. The unit set up with the vac attachment blew out part of the fan housing, the added weight of the suction tube most likely contributed.
In fairness, the wear and cracks in the housing had been slowly getting worse over time, so I knew it was only a matter of time. Luckily, I had been looking at all options leading up to that moment. In late 2020, the winner of my cash was the Husqvarna 525BX.
At the time, after using the Stihl BG series for near 15 years, it was a chance to give something different a try. I had already switched over to a Husqvarna line trimmer, and looking over the specs, the 525BX looked very impressive. And yet, after less than a year of use, the thing became so unusable that I threw it in the shed in total disgust. The engine just would not run, constantly bogging down and flooding itself. In most cases, the problem would be a clogged exhaust screen, not in this case. I don't have time for poorly behaved machines, time is money. Having an almost new machine sitting unused is frustrating. At the time, I decided to just repair my older Stihl with a secondhand replacement fan shroud.
That machine is now back to vac duty. The second machine has also had some "surgery", the blower tube needing to be screwed on due to a flogged out securing tab.
I'm still using and plan to keep using both of those machines for now. The EGO was not bought with the intention of replacing my petrol-powered Stihl's, more so supplementing them until I get a gauge on how the battery life will fare with the rigors of commercial use.
This all might sound like dribble, but when you use these all day, every day, you tend to get attached to your tools. You become in tune with them, knowing what they like, what they don't, what they are capable of and what their limitations are. That somewhat explains why I have so many tools, each one does its own thing in specific ways and usage cases. As the old saying goes, "look after your tools and they will look after you".