In message , Angela
writes

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Angela" writes:
| I have just moved to a new house which has lots of trees . It is clear
I am
| going to need to invest in a garden vacuum/blower, but I have no idea
what
| to look for except I want an electric one.

Having seen a fair number of people use them (mostly in the line of
work), almost all blowers are less effective than a decent grass
rake.

While vacuums do work better, I doubt that the cheap ones are any
more effective than a rake, either.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


I don't have the option of having a grass rake I'm afraid, as I don't
actually have any grass, it's a sizable garden that is completely paved as
it's under tress and grass didn't grow. Thanks for your advice though.


For small paved areas a grass rake is still very useful but a
blower/vacuum has the advantage of shredding and compacting the leaves
(if reasonably dry). We have a mix of grass/planted areas/large paved
areas surrounded by trees and use the following -
For quick clearing of small areas of paving - grass rake (rarely gets
used on the grass).
For the lawns and paved areas - generally the rotary mower which also
shreds and compacts the leaves reasonably well, but if we have a gale
when the beeches or oaks are shedding and we end up with piles of leaves
all over the place the blower/vacuum is quicker and shreds and compacts
better. The blower/vacuum is also useful for the areas inaccessible to
the mower.

We have the predecessor to the current Stihl SHE71 (electric) which has
proved to be reliable and effective.

--
Robert