Garden or Backyard leaf blowers are driven generally both by gas or electric. With this blog post, we will hopefully be able to guide you in making an informed decision about a leaf blower that will work for your needs based on the size of yard and your portability needs.

Gas Leaf Blowers

Gas leaf blowers are more effective (and noisier) than electric ones, and are not restricted by the reach of an electrical wire. Gas leaf blowers typically have either a Two-Cycle engine or a Four-Cycle engine. Two-cycle engines need a premix of gas and oil whereas Four-cycle engines do not need gas and oil to be mixed. Gas leaf blowers are an excellent choice when you need more mobility and need to reach places far away from an electrical outlet. Gas blowers are more powerful than their electrical counterparts, but they are also more bulky and heavier than electric units.

Kinds Of Gas Leaf Blowers

Handheld Gas Leaf Blowers

These gas blowers are perfect for small to medium yards. As they are hand held machines, you might begin to feel the blower getting a little heavy after using it for an extended period of time. This is the major drawback of hand held gas leaf blowers and i would not recommend it for anybody dealing with hand, elbow, shoulder or back problems. Larger hand held gas blowers may also vibrate a bit at top speed, so make sure you check the weight of a unit before you buy. You are the best judge of your physical capabilities.

The things to look for in a gas leaf blower is air flow velocity and airflow volume. Look for air velocity of at least 150 mph with noise levels less than 70 decibels. Some cities may have restrictions on noise levels, so check with your city and make sure that a unit’s noise level is within acceptable limits.

Backpack Gas Leaf Blowers

Backpack gas leaf blowers are best suited for driveways and larger sized yards. These blowers come with a backpack and more convenient than hand held units. Backpack gas leaf blowers like the Troy-Bilt TB4BP come equipped with a unique full-tensioned suspension that evenly distributes the weight of the blower on your body.

Walk Behind Gas Leaf Blowers

Walk behind gas leaf blowers are best suited for large yards or a really big sized area that needs to be cleaned up. As the size of the job is big, you should look to buy a walk behind gas leaf blower that has a four-cycle motor. This will provide more power with less smoke emissions. Getting a three wheeled gas blower will make it even easier to haul and to steer. Walk behind leaf blowers clean up the most acreage in a short amount of time in comparison to the hand-held and backpack gas blowers. The best walk behind gas leaf blower is the Troy-Bilt  TB672 Jet Sweep Power Sweeper and is highly recommended. These gas powered units fall more in the realm of commercial machines and are typically used by contractors and maintenance guys. But many homeowners also prefer these as the time to cleanup is greatly reduced. These are also more expensive than the hand held models and backpack blowers because of the stronger engines and excellent air flow velocity.

Electric Leaf Blowers

Electric Leaf Blowers are  usually a little less powerful than gas powered ones, but are way lighter in comparison. They are also easier to operate as they have very less vibration and are definitely a lot more quieter. The best of all advantages is the fact that there is ZERO  smoke emissions as it is powered by electricity and is hence a lot more cleaner. Electrical wires though restrict your mobility and cannot be taken too far away from an electrical outlet. It will be useful to get a wire retention system from stopping the wire to become accidentally unplugged. Always buy an extension cord that can be used outdoors and one that will match the power rating and power needs of the electric leaf blower. The extension cord should also be of the correct gauge as a non-suitable wire can cause the electric blower to not perform correctly.

Kinds Of Electric Leaf Blowers

Hand-held Electric Leaf Blowers

Hand-held electricity powered leaf blowers are best suited for compact gardens, small patios and easy walkways. These have enough power that will work for most homeowners. Hand-held blowers like the WORX Trivac WG500 are equipped  with an innovative angular tube design that makes it easy to use it difficult to get areas and under patio furniture.

Combo leaf blower vacuum mulcher

Combination leaf blower vacuum mulcher are 3-in-1 units that will replace three individual units in your garage. These are great for medium sized gardens as they pack enough power to get the job done. Toro 51599 reviews and WORX trivac reviews are great and we highly recommend these two units. They cost less than $100 and will last you for a long time. Both these units have variable speed controls that lets you adjust the air flow velocity and their built-in mulchers have an excellent mulching ration.

Cordless leaf blowers

Cordless leaf blowers are battery operated, rechargeable leaf blowers and are a great option for little areas. These do a good job on strong surfaces like concrete driveways and garage floors. The biggest drawback is that their run time is restricted by the capacity of their batteries. The batteries on these machines usually last for a good amount of time, but you can easily overcome this drawback by having another spare battery pack. Even though they are actually powered by electricity (to charge the batteries), there is no carrying around of wires or looking for an electrical outlet. We highly recommend the Black & Decker NS118. This is the best selling Cordless leaf blower on Amazon.com.