Guide to Choosing a Gas Leaf Blower
Raking and cleaning your backyard or lawn during spring cleaning or even winters can be a tiring task. You have to stack leaves, mulch, and debris without bothering the neighbors. Technology has advanced to great levels though. You can clean up your yard in half the time and lesser labor. That is because leaf blowers have evolved. We now have motor-powered, electric, and gas leaf blowers.
Now you can blow away the leaves into a pile without excessive manual labor. All types of leaf blowers do the job. They clean up your yard. Some can even clean the clippings of a bush, trees and small plants while others can clear out the mulch. Among the categories of leaf blowers present, gas leaf blower seems to hit the brief the best. How are they different from any other blower?
Well, first, many of them come in handheld, wheeled, and backpack forms. So if it is laborious for you to lug around a rake, you can carry these gas leaf blowers in your hands or even on your back. Most of gas leaf blowers run on fuel while some run on a combination of electricity and fuel. Performance is affected to an extent in a gas leaf blower that is both electricity and fuel run. Therefore, it becomes important to keep a few things in mind about gas leaf blowers, when you are investing in them.
Efficiency and mobility
Gas leaf blowers are suitable for large areas and offer long usage. They run on fuel so always check with the seller about the type and quantity of the fuel. You can push the leaves, clippings and other debris to one side using a gas leaf blower.
Unlike push gas blowers, gas leaf blowers come in backpack and wheel forms, so you don’t have to carry them always. With appropriate maintenance, your gas leaf blower will remain efficient and mobile.
Type of gas leaf blowers
Gas leaf blowers come in a vacuum form or either blower type form. The vacuum form comes with an attached bag to collect the leaves and can carry up to 16 bags of leaves in a standard size. One thing to keep in mind is that these gas leaf blowers run on a 2-cycle or 4-cycle engine. This can make them noisy and loud. Ensure that you choose a time for your work, so as to not disturb your neighbors.
Backpack and wheeled blowers
These are an alternative to the typical handheld gas blower. An advantage of these two kinds is that the weight of leaves shifts either on to your back or on the ground. But where handheld blower reaches corners, wheeled gas blowers are difficult to maneuver. Choose your pick keeping in mind the size of your yard and the regularity with which you use them.
Safety
Gas leaf blowers can be quite noisy and run on fuel. Both elements need added precautions. Whenever you use the blower, cover your ears with earmuffs and wear protective eye gear. Your gas leaf blower should also have a safety switch that you can use in an instant. Fuel should not leak and should be easy to detect and curb in case of a leak. Checking this should be your priority.
Another important thing to remember is to blow the gas leaf blower in a single direction. Instead of attacking the leaves, choose a point and collect the leaves in one corner or corners. A better option is to do so on a tarp so that you can move the pile of leaves or mulch in a quiet manner.
Also, many people either use a small blower for their yards or ignore the purpose of a gas leaf blower. Once you invest in a good leaf blower, use it in a way that suits your needs. Keep checking the fuel tank and keep it clean before filling it again. You can also try and buy covers for gas leaf blowers that muffle the sounds generated by the device.
Keeping these options in mind, you can use any gas leaf blower available. You can do your research and compare various models in the market for estimating the costs. This way you can keep both your yard and the device spic and span.