Leaf blower and vacuum

[noidea]

Hi I need to buy a new blower so was going to get a stihl blower again. But also on my shopping list this year is a leaf vacuum. I have a few customers that I clear leaves for and as I’m moving more towards garden maintenance I think it would be good to have in my arsenal. 
my question is has any one used one of the two in one machines or would I be better off getting two machines. Also I’m happy for it not to be stihl

cheers

 

 

 

 

[Stere]

Ive tried several & found thoose machines abit   pointless as the  bag fills so fast.

 

And if you suck up a small stone it can easily  crack the plastic.

 

 

 

 For leaves on flower borders just imo use a rake to get 95% then finish with a   blower. Its always the last few % that takes all time .....

 

Thats the only place I can see some use maybe of the leaf sucker that last few % of leaves stuck on/in other plants

 

Thats the kind of OCD detail they do in japanese  gardens with a big leaf tray and bamboo hand rake

 

 

 

For large amounts on lawns best just to mow over the leaves to stuck then up and a bonus is the mower   shreads them also reducing volume or use a backpack blower or hand held blower to clear the lawn & pile up leaves  then you can pick up  or if there really is loads maybe consider the big walk behind billy goat ones.

 

 

[noidea]

That’s good to know thanks for the reply 

[Steven P]

Second the large amount on lawns - the mower will shred most of the leaves, perfect for the compost heap. Blower useful for paths though.

[Muddy42]

I agree that the vacuums are a bit rubbish unless you have OCD and need to collect every last leaf in a small garden.  It needs to be perfectly dry and the bag fills up fast.

[david lawrence]

I’ve got a push along blower which can also collect. Pointless really as bag fills in seconds

[noidea]

Will save my money and just buy a standard blower by the sounds of it cheers

[pleasant]

4 hours ago, Muddy42 said:

I agree that the vacuums are a bit rubbish unless you have OCD and need to collect every last leaf in a small garden.  It needs to be perfectly dry and the bag fills up fast.

Agree. Sold loads of blower vacs over the years and you must educate operators that they are only really effective to collect leaves if it is dry and the leaves are blowing around. If they are stuck to a surface because it is damp, then they will stick to the guts of the machine and clog, thus reducing efficiency and making the collector bag (and the operator) wet, which if left in the bag will rot it, then wet dust, leaves and grit will harden like concrete in the tubes and in particular around the impellor so even if it does spin it will have a reduced suction.

[Sviatoslav Tulin]

It is only good for detail work in small very tidy gardens, with lots of patio decks and stone combination . I hade Tanaka and Echo before, this Stihl is best of all of them as a vacuum, don’t expect too much and you will be not disappointed, in practice you can get away without one . I do maintenance landscaping 50% of my work time for 25 years 😉

[Dan Maynard]

Bought a husqvarna 525BX recently, I think it's better than the Stihl BG85 I used before. Blower only, vac seems a waste of time to me.