Your Backyard Deserves A Blower-vac
Time and labor saving machines, introduced in the 70's, become a synonim for blower-vac equipment. The core idea behind was to have a tool that could easily blow leaves, mulch grass and make general debris from driveways, pathwalks and landscaping. Some blower-vacs are designed to even clean gutters or remove a snow.
Manufacturers discovered shortly after that many consumers were leaving only the blower behind, while removing the chemical dispensing parts from the device. It was then the potential to improve their invention as a common garden maintenance tool. Blower-vacs also perform nicely in removal of dead leaves from awkward nooks and crannies. It probably saved labor by 10 or more times. With only a flip of a switch the blower-vac can switch to a vacuum to suck up leaves for mulching them.
These beefy models are incredibly stable and pack enough firepower to move wet leaves and thick debris with ease. They're also perfect for clearing lawn refuse from flat, expansive surfaces like parking lots, driveways and parking lots. Leaf blowers are favorites among homeowners because they let you tuck all your leaves into a neat pile for the yard waste bin. Electric or gasoline-powered leaf blowers can be a pain though.
In response to concerns due to the noise that gas-powered blower-vacs produce, corded blowers are now more powerful than ever, some of them are even surpassing their gas driven "brothers". They are also less heavy. The biggest drawback to electric blower-vac is that you can walk away only 100 feet from the plug socket. While a gas blower-vac is powerful they make much more noise than electric powered leaf blowers and vacuums. Some cities have noise restrictions so quietness rules needs to be checked first.
Electric engines provide plenty of power, are 50 - 70% quieter than gas powered leaf blowers and emit no air pollution. If yardmen used electric leaf blowers to vacuum up and mulch yard debris, it would eliminate virtually all the air pollution problems and greatly reduce the issue of noise.
Most of the newer machines are rated at, or less than, 70 decibels at 50 feet at full throttle. And, unlike landscape maintenance personnel, who need hearing protection because of their long hours of exposure to sound coming from a machine a few feet away from their ears, residents and homeowners are exposed to leaf blower sound for only a few minutes a week at much greater distances.
Several factors have to be kept in mind while you are looking for a blower-vac:
1. volume (cubic feet)
2. weight
3. type
The volume is related to how many cubic feet can blower-vac cover per minute. Some of the leaf blowers can easily switch convert to shredders or mulchers,from blowers to vacuums or vice versa.
In short, try any blower-vac before you buy it and, while operating in the backyard, do wear the recommended safety gear for a safe cleaning.
