Lawn mowers can mulch leaves into the lawn, but they leave behind messy swathes. Rakes pick up almost every leaf, but they are painstaking and pain making. Electric blowers are simple in function, but they are not very efficient on larger lawns. Gas blowers require the most maintenance, but they have far larger power capacities. When I began removing leaves from lawns as part of my handyman business, I realized that I had to make a choice between these options. I narrowed it down to electric and gas handheld blower models. After starting out with a used Weed-Eater brand electric blower, I determined that it was prudent to invest in an Echo brand gas blower. In an attempt to explain why I made the switch, I would like to compare several categories of strengths and weaknesses in each; they are usability, ergonomics, sound, and effectiveness.
The Weed-Eater electric blower I started out with was very easy to operate. In order to start moving leaves, all I needed was an outlet, an extension cord, and the blower. As simple as that sounds, it did pose difficulties. With power supplies located only on our porches and in our garage, it was an uphill battle trying to reach the extremities of our property. I had to link multiple extension cords together in order to span the 300-400 ft “back forty.” I ended up having to tie the extension cords together because the plugs pulled apart every time I got close to the end of the cord reach. Storing the extension cords was also a disaster. Unraveling the pile of spaghetti every time I needed to clean up some leaves tried my patience sorely. There was no easy way to manage the power cords.
The electric blower is as light as a feather, perhaps as light as a leaf. I barely had to alter my posture to remain balanced while walking around with the blower, which made it more comfortable to carry. Every blower operates by spinning air around a circle and then releasing it through the tube in the front. The electric blower spins the air horizontally, and that causes the base to protrude a couple inches on the sides. As a result, I had to hold it a little further away from my body. In addition, because the blower forces the air in circles, before it shoots it out of tube, the air pressure that built up caused the blower body to try to rotate in my hand. After a while, it got tiring trying to hold the blower straight while it continually pulled to the right.
I had a hard time dealing with the electric blower noise. The only good thing about it is its consistency. When it is on, it is on, and the sound does not really change unless the air flow is restricted. The blower just drones on and on like a supersized hair dryer. One of the most annoying things about the noise is its pitch. The decibel level was tolerable; I can handle it without needing hearing protection. For sanity protection, though, I do use earplugs. While it is moderately quiet for a blower, the high-pitched whining grates on my nerves very effectively. The blower is boring to listen to for extended periods while shuffling debris around with the air stream.
I tested the Weedeater blower on three common types of debris: grass clippings, dirt, and, of course, leaves. The electric blower cleared the grass clippings well enough, but it was not very effective because of the requisite close range (due to the low volume of air produced). For small patches of dirt, the electric blower actually did surprisingly well because its air speed was higher since it was not moving a large air volume. The blower was able to break up compact dirt and send it spinning. For very light-duty leaf blowing, the electric blower will suffice. However, it did a poor job tackling large areas because it could not handle the constantly accumulating leaf piles.
Per contra, I love operating my Echo gas blower. Nonetheless, it requires meticulous maintenance. Unless treated with stabilizers, the gas has to be no more than one month old so that it will not clog the carburetor. In addition to gas quality control, I have to keep an eye on the air filter, spark plug, fuel lines, and primer bulb. If the air filter is clogged, if the spark plug is corroded, or if either a fuel line or the primer bulb is cracked, the blower can be very difficult to crank. Starting my blower when I have kept up with the maintenance is a breeze. All I have to do it set the choke to ON, open the throttle a crack, pull once, set the choke to OFF, and crank a time or two more before it roars to life.
Blowing for an extended period was a workout when I used my Echo gas blower. After several hours of continuous blowing, the weight, nearly doubled when compared to the electric, began to take a noticeable toll on my right upper shoulder and bicep. I quickly became adept at ambidextrous operation. The slightly narrower form factor, due to a vertical air cycle, is a plus since I could hold it closer to my side and not have to reach as much. The horizontal twist effect is also much less noticeable due to an intentional bend in the air tube that creates an equalizing counter twist-effect. However, a vertical twist-effect caused the blower to want to tip forward in my hand at times; I was able to balance this out by holding the blower further up on the handle.
Any blower will eventually become tiring to listen to and the gas blower was no different. However, it is more fun to listen to because the sound is variable. At an idle, the engine was louder than the puffing air; at full blast, the miniature tornado gives the roaring engine a run for its money. The throttle control also provides an entertaining feature when walking between leaf piles. Squeezing the throttle trigger very quickly causes the engine to splutter and then explode with energy. That is fun to listen to also. The gas blower has a nice masculine tone to it, much more guttural and throaty than the electric. Overall, continuous running can be interspersed with variations that relieve the monotony.
The Echo blower performed excellently on the grass clippings, dirt, and leaves. The grass clippings were a piece of cake to move. The force of the powerful wind stream from the blower was so great that I simply had to traverse the walkways holding the blower in front of me, with a small amount of side-to-side motion, and, voila, the cement was clean. When I tackled sandy dirt, the blower did the trick efficiently. However, clay dirt was a little harder because of its compactness; I had to scrape some of it loose with the blower tube in order to move it. The blower really shone on the leaf test. Although small glossy leaves were slower moving, large leaves with a more papery texture were almost fun to work with. The extra air volume could move the accumulating piles with ease, especially when I moved them incrementally.
In summary, neither blower is perfect, but each is specifically geared to certain types of usage. If I was just trying to clear a porch or dust off a very small front yard, I might be tempted to grab the Weed-Eater blower. Once I manage to untangle the cords, the instant start and lighter weight make it ideal for such tasks. However, the sheer demands I place on my blower cause me to choose the Echo blower over the Weed-Eater machine. The noise factor played a small part in the contest, but the decisive factor was the superior power and mobility. Blowers should clean up grass clippings, sweep aside dirt messes, rake fallen foliage, and rearrange leaf piles. The Echo blower did so, and it did so well.
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