"Darro" wrote in message
...
I'm planning to buy an electric leaf blower to clear away the leaves
in my back yard.

When selecting the model, are there any features that are particularly
important to have, or to avoid?

I got a cheap Weedeater brand when my fancy gas model went to the shop. It
worked fairly well, considering I was using it on huge, heavy leaves.

I strongly recommend a cheap one that blows, vacuums the leaves, shreds
them, and spits them into a bag. I vacuumed up a whole yard full of leaves,
and only emptied the smallish bag twice, taking just a little space in the
trash can.

I did try raking when I first moved in. It took forever, wore me out, and
filled the trash can to the top.

The one I got was about $50 at Lowes. It's simple to change it from blower
to vacuum, wasn't too loud, and did the job quickly, I'd say 1/4 of the time
it took to rake. With smaller leaves that are easily sucked into the maw,
it would take far less time.

I suggest you avoid the more expensive ones. I found it easier and cheaper
to buy an inexpensive model, use it until it dies, then simply replace it,
than to spend a lot of money on "one that will last for years", only to find
it poop out right before a party, when it will spend a week or more in the
shop, and still end up buying a cheap one so my guests don't think I've gone
White Trash. Also, the cheap one worked fine for two years, and probably
still does, but my neighbor cut down his monster leaf tree, leaving me with
a leafless leaf blower. heh

Pagan