Best Petrol Blower Vacuums

Excellent advice from Mac – Like most people, I have had many brands of leaf blowers. Some good - some awful. But thanks to Mac from Melbourne who has been in the garden… Read more

maintenance business for 25 years, I was impressed by his comments. I went straight out and bought a Shindaiwa EB252 – Leaf Blower - Wind 76 m/s - Air 768 cm/h.

Wow, he was right!

I have had this blower for only a few days and already have cleared the 1 kl road on our property that is also acts as our fire-break, which was smothered in leaves. Boy oh boy, I have never been able to do this before.

Like Mac said, this is a professional quality blower, yet light weight, well made and easy to start. Its already my “go to” blower out of the collection of other blowers we have. Money well spent.

Thanks Mac.

An absolute beautiful piece of machinery – I've been running a garden maintenance business for over 25 years now and used pretty much all of the well known/high end brands when it comes to… Read more

outdoor power equipment. The Shindaiwa EB-240 is an absolute stand out and I would have to say, one of my favourite hand held blowers that I have ever owned. Extremely light weight, fuel efficient, powerful and super quiet. I purchased mine in late 2017 and spent a little more than what I usually would for a hand held (around $470) but all I'd heard was great reviews from other gents working in the same industry, so I thought I'd give one a go. I couldn't be happier!

Great price, great product – For many years my backpack blower of choice has been a Stihl BR700, 67cc. It cost me $1,000 about ten years ago. It is everything you would expect… Read more

from a Stihl product.

Then I saw the MTM 85cc BPX935 leaf blower advertised for $249. I thought at that price it's worth a look.

The item arrived within a week and with some assembly was ready for work.

The blower started first pull of the chord and has not disappointed. The power is very noticeable and I save time at every job.

I definitely recommend this product for anyone looking for power and reliability.

Fantastic backpack blower – Firstly I must say I love all my Echo products and this is definitely up there as one of my favourites. Extremely light weight and comfortable on the… Read more

back, unbelievably quiet and surprisingly powerful in comparison to it's size/weight. This backpack unit is very compact compared to other units which can be bulky, taking up valuable space. Nothing negative can be said about this blower, highly recommended.

Excellent product well built – I purchased the Atom airlift 855 after extensive research .Also after a fellow tradie I know purchased one and he uses it day in day out with no… Read more

problems so whatever. I find the vacuum function a little fiddly to set up initially but once you get use to it, it's fine. I'm very impressed with blower output, it always starts first time the Honda GX25 is very quiet compared to the old 2 stroke one I had previously , it's efficient in cleaning up my yard . I have a very large area to clean full of stones and rocks , this machine has no problem blowing all the leaves and rubbish from this area. Just make sure to change the oil regularly as the machine only holds about 80-90 mils of oil I can definitely recommend the Atom airliftt 855 no questions asked.

10/10 – After a rather disappointing experience with my old DMC EB430 backpack blower (basically a Husqvarna 130BT copy) where the flywheel nut came off and… Read more

caused chaos in the engine after less than 5 hours use, I decided to finally make the leap and purchase the BR700 from my local mower shop and Stihl dealer, Ashburton Mowers. Although the price tag is quite high for a blower, the increase in efficiency, power and comfort that I got was phenomenal and well worth the expense. I have been very happy with all my Stihl equipment, most of which I have purchased as I have built up my mowing and landscaping business over the past couple of years. None of my Stihl tools have ever had to go back into the dealer for anything at all in that time and more, proving their reliability and quality. I have already put quite a few hours on my 700 (I install hour meters on all my main tools) and am really loving it and so do my helpers. It has mountains of power and the weight isn't really noticeable, even for a 16 year old like myself. This blower will happily go through 11 yards a day and I might fill it up once before we start working in the morning. It sips fuel compared to a lot of other blowers given the 4-mix design (essentially a hybrid 4-stroke), is pretty quiet for its power and has a lot of force in it, especially for thick, wet grass or leaves. The easily adjustable tube and throttle handle is really nice and the throttle lock is great. I have noticed that every now and then if I touch the top of the handle in a certain spot it can sometimes give me a bit of a zap but its hardly noticeable and isn't really something I'm worried about. You do have to be on top of valve adjustments for these machines I hear otherwise you're in for quite a ride but I am good on maintenance so that isn't going to be an issue for me. This blower does have massive amounts of torque given the 4-mix engine so it does give you quite a push back in the arm when you pull the trigger but its great for heavy work.

Overall this blower has done me great so far and I look forward to using it for a long time into the future.

Best I've Used – This machine isn't without its drawbacks: - it's heavy - similar machines from other brands (eg Stihl, Efco, Husky etc) are lighter. - the blowing… Read more

tube is made up of 3 pieces; 2 tube lengths and a tip or end piece. If using 1 tube length and the tip it can feel a bit short and if using both tube lengths and the tip it definitely feels long and awkward to use.

- the off switch doesn't automatically reset to the "on" position as with Stihl products.

- it's large and so takes up more room in transit.

- the tube/nozzle is made up of interlocking lengths and if not locked in properly they fly off when in use and when locked in properly they're sometimes difficult to take apart.

Now for the good:

- this machine is right up there in the power stakes. If you're going to use a backpack blower you don't want something that's lacking in blowing ability. In my opinion and of the machines I've used (top end Efco, Kawasaki, Stihl and Husky) only the Efco blows harder, but there aren't many Efco dealers around.

- the throttle lock is easy to use and effective. There's no accidental switching off of the machine (as with Stihl backpack blowers) when all you wanted to do was disengage the throttle lock.

- the blowing tube when using both tube pieces is awkward but you do get used to it and it lets you blow under cars, get into corners or tight spots etc with ease. The tube is also light compared to the heavy Stihl backpack blower.

- so far the machine has started easily and hasn't been troubled in extreme heat (as with Stihl)

- the shoulder straps are well padded and comfortable.

- the grab handle is robust and not prone to cracking, for example, as with the Stihl backpack blower.

- fuel tank is 2 litres I believe.

- Shindaiwa have a large dealer network.

- Japanese made = good quality

After using equivalent Shindaiwa machines on and off over the last 7 years, and having my own for the last 7 months, I wouldn't purchase anything else.

Not 5 stars but very satisfied with this machine.

Update Jan 2018

The blowing tube flies apart where it fits into the section that's joined to the engine. This has happened quite a few times (even though there is a steel O ring(?) supposedly holding the tube in place. You have to stop get a screw driver, undo the O ring(?) re-engage the tube and re-tighten the O ring(?).....very frustrating. To stop this I've driven in a couple of short screws through the tube. Problem fixed.

I said "Japanese made = good quality". Seems this is no longer the case and especially with Shindaiwa. I've heard many complaints re quality from my employers and stores; probably why some stores have ditched Shindaiwa? So far my Shindy gear has been OK. Same with Makita.....they have turned to China for some of their equipment.

Arguably Australia's Best Backpack Blower – Without a doubt a blower is an essential piece of hardware to running a mowing business, maintaining a school, church, or cemetery, or cleaning up… Read more

around a retirement village or even just around your own home. I remember buying my first ever hand-held blower and thinking for a couple of years that it was wonderful. That was until I needed to blow up hill, into a slight breeze, anything wet, under parked cars, or across a swimming pool – in those instances it was akin to using a hair dryer (nearly useless). That was until I saw Stihl brought their first backpack blowers into Australia, the BR400. Echo followed suit, as did Husqvarna, Kawasaki and Shindaiwa. In the last 30 years of starting and operating close to 80 mowing businesses what I have never understood is the incremental improvements to backpack blowers. If it has been demonstrated that air volume and blowing distance (the distance you can stand away from the objects you are blowing) are key factors in how quickly an operator can clean up, why has it taken so long to get to where we are now with the biggest blowers still only at around 75% of weight and width capacity? I’ll review the Stihl BR800 and make references to what I mean so we are clear. If you have never used a backpack blower or even a petrol powered blower, the difference in power between a backpack and a hand held blower is vast. In essence a backpack blower has around 3 times the power of a hand-held. It means you can clean up 3 times faster, blow leaves from under parked cars, up a flight of stairs, up a carpark ramp, blow the rubbish out of a grand stand after the game, or blow the leaves away from an in-ground pool from the other side of the pool. If you are running a large site like a school, university, large car parks, business park or apartment complex where there is a lot of ground to cover a backpack blower would only suit the areas where there are stairs. You would be better suited to a stand-on blower or a towable blower. These put out the equivalent air flow of 11-15 backpack blowers. I bought my BR800 as soon as they were available at my local supplier in Australia. We have only one choice which is the hip-starting model rather than the rope pull being on the engine as in the past. I found this entertaining as we used to reach behind with our left arms and start the BR400 while it was still on our backs, but this became more difficult on the BR500 and 600. So what I found puzzling was why the BR800 didn’t have a dual pulley starting system so it could be started with a rope on the engine or a rope at your hip. At the same time there should be a choke on the hand control assembly. Sometimes there can be an extended delay between shut down and restarting and you put the BR800 on your back but it won’t restart so you have to take it off and repeat the ground cold start procedure. This can be a headache. The strap system is also bewildering. It has 2 straps like a backpack but a torso strap that goes across your ribs in the same fashion a heavy backpack would. Additionally, there is a waist strap that can be employed to reduce the weight of the shoulder straps but the whole unit full of fuel only weighs 13.7kg while many gardeners will wear a Solo (also German) backpack sprayer that weighs 20kg full and only has shoulder straps. Ditto for the Shindaiwa ES726 at 37.6kg fully laden. So is Stihl signalling that they think their machine is heavy or is it designed for mums? All other Stihl lines have a “scary version”. There is a chainsaw I have that my friends won’t ask to borrow. It is big, loud, heavy and around $2400. Same goes for my 1m bar hedge trimmer, my pole saw, my articulated hedge trimmer, my brush cutters and clearing saws and my demolition saws, but when I come home and my wife wants to borrow my BR800 to do some cleaning up I feel the testosterone drain from my body! Why do manufacturers shy away from making a scary version of backpack blowers? I want to pull something out of my truck that makes my wife and friends hide in a corner. Something that cleans up super quickly, makes me look and feel like an expert, and commands instant respect. Still talking about the straps, we found we had to add Velcro ties to roll up and manage the excess webbing so it didn’t catch on objects, or hang out of doors of work vehicles, or get in the way of the rope starter. We noticed, too, that the shoulder and waist straps tend to get filthy with dirt, sunscreen and sweaty armpit smells and this easily transfers to clean shirts especially if either the shirts or the straps become damp. What would be handy is if all the straps and harnesses were easier to remove than a series of torx fittings so they could be thrown in the washing machine at the end of the week with a load of dirty uniforms. Quarter-turn releases not dissimilar to the fuel caps on Stihl chainsaws would be ideal. They could be tightened as well and then the grip laid flat so it doesn’t interfere with comfort. A lot of these issues were carried forward from the BR600 and BR700 so when I saw the BR800 I was really confounded by the lack of thought and design lethargy that has continued with the Stihl brand. To this end I find the BR800 not fully satisfying. What I do love about the BR800 is the fuel pick-ups completely empty the tank while the Shindaiwa EB803 still has about 10% left in the tank when it starts to cough and splutter; the remaining 6 or 7 minutes then done leaning to one side so the tank can be fully utilised. I also like that the BR800 has an offset fuel inlet and a tethered, easy open fuel cap. It makes refuelling quick and there’s no need for a funnel or spout. But occasionally the tank will get a vapour lock and fuel will dribble out of somewhere and into the vehicle while the tank is around 90-100% full which then attracts dirt and makes the unit look untidy and dirty. In this state the engine can be hard to start too. When using the machine after a shortish break or even from cold, the engine will gulp or substantially throttle back before giving out the revs my finger is asking for and this is the same as the BR700, but we did find an overall improvement in the performance of the BR800 over the previous model if we decreased our angle of attack. What I mean by this is most people point their blowers at the ground at an angle of around 30-45 degrees but when air hits the ground it disperses and the effectiveness or “work” it performs is significantly decreased. We found that decreasing this angle to around 15 degrees significantly increased the speed at which we got jobs done or, in other words, we worked hard at blowing things that were further away to reduce the feathering of the air coming out of the end of the blower tube to maximise the forward pushing power of the air. Using this technique the BR700 cleaned up the outside of a block of apartments fairly consistently at 43 minutes but the BR800 at 35 minutes. When increasing our angles of attack such as in wet weather the times were a lot more similar. What I would love to see from Stihl is turning their backpack blower into a combi system. With a hip starting rope, the back hub could come off and a pull rearwards to engage a PTO and disengage the fan, the blower tube could come off (if needed) and a trimmer or flex shaft hedge cutter could attach like a bayonet fitting. This would solve a few problems for a few managers of large sites being able to carry multiple tools at once. What we also found was the throttle cable rubbed against the pleated tube, eventually making a series of holes in the side of the blower tube. In examining other machines I observed the same problem. It seems Stihl has indicated to dealers that they are reticent to continually replace these, so Stihl dealers will make your life difficult unless you start talking about small claims procedures or consumer protection rights such as the Australian Consumer Law or NCAT in New South Wales. I have attached a photo below of what I mean regarding the holes. A new pleated tube segment is around $50 each time you replace it, should you not reach another arrangement with your Stihl dealer. Since this wasn't a problem on any of the previous models, this is clearly a matter of "not of merchantable quality" or just a known design flaw. Finally, the BR800 is a more than adequate blower albeit only incrementally better than the BR700. Although I note we are nowhere near the weight, power, price, or size limits most professionals would expect from an all day professional machine and if you were doing a school, cemetery, shopping centre or apartments with no stairs you would still need to consider a towable or stand-on blower.

Vibration is actually damaging my hand – Updated this review after a few weeks of use, the vibration is so bad it is actually doing damage to my hand, this makes it pretty much useless.… Read more

After much research, I decided on this leaf blower as an alternative to my Stihl BG86, so that I didn't have to keep changing the vacuum attachment on the Stihl. There was not much on the Tanaka review wise but there were plenty of bad reviews on the $200-250 range that Bunnings sell, and what I could find on the Tanaka was good. It was $259 delivered from a company on Ebay and comes with a Vac kit (yet to be trialled) the Stihl BG86 is $399 plus at least $110 for the vac kit. Firstly it's bulkier and heavier than the Stihl, not such a problem for me but will be for the better half. (according to the specs only half a kilo but thats 20% heavier) It's still only an hour old so this may improve but even tho the engine is only 1cc smaller than the Stihl, it just seems asthmatic, and it has a REALLY annoying buzz through the handle, if this doesn't get better I can see Mr Tanaka departing soon, see above, this vibration is actually causing pain in my fingers hours after using it. It's hard to tell the difference in airflow just putting your hand in front of both but I am certain the Stihl moves the leaves with more ease. A bit more fiddly to start than the Stihl but not difficult. Gave it 2 stars for safety because if you're right handed the fan will continually be trying to inhale you're clothing, fortunately the holes are too small to suck a shirt in though. Note: My Stihl is 7 years old and has been serviced once (I'm not proud of that) it still starts after 3 or 4 pulls and goes like a train, that said, I have read a lot of reviews lately that say Stihl has gone downhill with its quality as it's now made in China, I can't comment on this. Because of the terrible vibration this gets a well deserved 1 star

Blown away by how much this sucks! – Not even the worst blower vac I’ve owned. Literally the worst petrol anything I’ve owned. Save your pennies and buy something else. Anything else.… Read more

When you do finally manage to get it started it is no where near as good as the website suggests. I didn’t even give it away to make it someone else’s misery. Threw it to the tip and brought a better known brand.