Leaf Blowers & Vacuums Buying Guide
The ultimate blowing tool.
Leaf Blowers & Vacuums
Buying Guide
Leaf blowers, vacuums and blower-vacs are some of the handiest tools for your garden shed. They can turn one hours tiresome work into a simple job taking just a few minutes giving you time to focus on the more important things.
Blower, Vacuum or Blower-Vac?
Blower - Pushes out a stream of focussed, high-speed air moving leaves and clippings.
Vacuum - Looks like a household vacuum cleaning designed to shred debris and suck it up
Blower-Vac - A machine that can switch between both blowing and vacuuming.
Electric, Petrol, or Battery?
Petrol
Petrol powered machines are the traditional choice and still the most popular choice for where longer run times are needed or for commercial and professional applications.
As with all petrol gear servicing at regular intervals will extend the machines useful operating life and will make sure your machine is always running smoothly, efficiently and safely.
You can perform much of the maintenance yourself with the appropriate parts from a Victa Gold Dealer or save yourself the hassle and book it in for a service and tune-up.
Electric
Corded electric equipment can be powerful, lightweight and much quieter than petrol machines however operation is limited by the length of the cord and extension cord. This makes them impractical for professional use or large areas. Corded tools are usually the least expensive and are ideal are ideal for smaller home garden situations. Service requirements are virtually zero and starting is as easy as plugging them in and switching them on.
Battery
Battery powered blowers and blower-vacs are now a viable alternative to petrol powered equipment. Lithium-ion batteries such as those found in the Victa 82V have impressive power output and run-times. With two batteries, one in use, one on charge, you can effectively use it much like petrol powered products. A bonus is that there are few service requirements for battery powered products which, over the life of the blower, well and truly offsets the cost of replacement batteries.
Tip – battery and electric blowers and blower-vacs are much more ‘neighbour friendly’ as their noise levels are lower.
Additional Considerations
- Does the product have any vibration dampening?
- Is the speed variable?
- Is the blower or blower-vac a suitable weight for me?
- How much noise does it make?
- Is this product suitable for the area I need to cover?
Safety & Tips
Safety is one of the most important considerations when using garden power tools due to the inherent risks involved. Blowers are no exception due to the material that can become airborne an, especially with petrol machines, the noise levels.
When you’re buying your new blower, vacuum or blower-vac use this as an opportunity to add or replace gear in your safety kit. Always select Australian Standards Approved safety equipment.
As a minimum you’ll want to use;
- Eye protection – safety glasses or goggles
- Hearing protection – ear muffs or ear plugs.
- Medium-duty gloves for handling debris.
Don’t try to push around big piles of leaves. Instead create smaller piles and either switch to vacuum mode to collect or use a rake and a bin. Collected material is ideal for adding to the compost or using as garden mulch.
