Seeing that it is Autumn, I have a plethora of leaves all over my front porch and am thus looking to get a leaf vacuum to clean things up a bit!
Can anyone recommend a cheap but effective unit to purchase? Am looking to spend up to $100-$150 at max on one however am at a loss on what is good (lots of bad reviews on them)
Thanks!
lol was expecting the rake comment.. unfortunately I am a lazy + (insert excuse) time poor person and would rather let machinery do the hard work.
If you're not qualified to operate a rake, perhaps you could try a broom???
Leaf vacuum?
Or leaf blower??
Generally they come in a 2 in 1 function but yes a blower/vacuum. Ideally one with a good vacuum function as I'm sure the neighbors would appreciate it more that I'm not blowing leaves all over their side!
All I saw was recommend me a bang
…and your first thought was 'vacuum', right…pervert! ;)
I had an el-cheapo Ozito blower-vac. It was a heavy thing that you would push around on plastic wheels. I found the small tube (below the large tube) would keep getting blocked with leaves, causing both the blowing and vacuuming functionality to "suck".
I now have a Ryobi One 18V blower (with no vacuum, I just sweep the piles at the end). It is light-weight (no need to roll on wheels) and cordless (big plus). Outlay was around $199.
It came with an 5.0mah battery that can be used in the rest of their "ecosystem" of tools.
I got the very same one but for $99. Have used it twice and I think it does not offer not much bang for the buck.
Standalone, agreed it's quite expensive. Whilst I may use the blower once or twice a month, the huge battery is used daily in my other tools.
Bought the same one and use it often. Its great to blow away the leaves or grass clippings from hard surfaces after the lawn is mowed. Better than a broom or water and you are done in a few minutes leaving it looking pretty spotless!
its hopeless blowing leaves OFF grass through. it sucks.
With any blower, blow the leaves or crap into a corner or space, then scoop up.
When it comes to any garden equipment petrol powered almost any of the stuff they have apart from a very select few you will regret buying. Same with electric v petrol, most electric tools sadly despite their convienence and reliability are just toys.
Get a Stihl, husquvarna etc and you'll never regret it. Time and money just isn't worth wasting on the rest of the crap. Stihl has especially good resale and you can expect at least 50% resale within 5 years, even if a stihl tool isn't working it still has value. My blower was $245.
Horses for courses mate.
Whilst I don't disagree that petrol power does make battery power look feeble and as with most tools buying quality isn't a bad idea if you can afford it. But many users wouldn't want to store oil and petrol and be bothered with all the maintenance that comes with petrol power.
They asked for a cheap solution, many might not be able to afford the top brands you suggest, it's like asking for advice on cheap cars and telling them to only buy a Rolls Royce.
The cheap Ozito range will probably be fine for clearing the porch of leaves as requested. The battery version is more expensive and less powerful than the corded version but its small size and portability might mean its perfect for the job. It might even fir in their umbrella stand? Also these usually come with a descent warranty and easy Bunnings return policies.
Go to Bunning store and get the electric power Ozito vacuum/blower/mulch just for $39.00. Few weeks ago, Aldi also sold same with brand Garderner . It is light and simple to operate . I , an oldie ,always enjoy using it.by sucking those leaves from my garden and garage/driveway.
Those are priced like a yo-yo. One day they are 69 59 39 29 49 59… At the moment they are at 49
http://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-2400w-electric-blower-vac-m…
And apparently you will get pretty dirty from all the fine dust it blows on you.
Seems to be priced well for my minor needs - will keep a lookout for this for when it drops to 29/39
I bought the 18 volt ryobi blower. A great unit. Exceptionally light and has a surprising amount of power. Stated air velocity is 245 km/h and weighs only 2.33 kg with battery.
I have a petrol unit as well. When I used it in the past the vacuum clogged up most times and so I mainly used the blower. Also it was a pain to mix the fuel and it was quiet heavy. It's never used now.
I can't recall ever seeing a professional lawn maintenance person using a vacuum, they just use blower only.
And blow all the clippings out onto the road, which is littering.
I blow my clippings back onto the lawn, but my lawn doesn't look like a bowling green and a few more clippings doesn't hurt anything.
i was just at my local aldi (Nth Bris unfortunately ) and they had 2200W 3 in 1 leaf blower/vac/shredders for $29.99
I got the ~$100 2-stroke petrol one from Kmart about 5 years ago and never had any issues with it. I think its a copy of a big brand name unit. I wouldn't get any electric gardening tools as draging the cord around is annoying unless it is a small area. I also got the cheap line trimmer from Kmart but found it to be unbalanced and too heavy compared to my Echo line trimmer.
Bang for buck
http://www.bunnings.com.au/spear-jackson-60cm-leaf-rake_p336…