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.

I read a couple of reviews about the black and decker one which said that
the bag fit badly and blew dust out. Apart from that I haven't found any
reviews, so if anyone has any personal recommendations I would appreciate
it.

TIA

Angela

"Angela" wrote in message
...
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.

I read a couple of reviews about the black and decker one which said that
the bag fit badly and blew dust out. Apart from that I haven't found any
reviews, so if anyone has any personal recommendations I would appreciate
it.

TIA

Angela

I have a black&decker blower and sucker and it does the job
Have had one for about 10 years , and had it replaced 3 years ago
took it to B&D shop in the meantime the shop shut , B&D head office gave me
a brandnew updated version for free . Good customer care

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.

"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.

Angela

"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.


The main advantage of a vacuum is that it also chops/shreds the leaves
making them better to compost. Having over 100 trees in the garden means I
am getting to be quite an expert at clearing leaves. I have discovered it
becomes an all year round job when you also have a large number of big
hollies. Yew needles are also a PITA as they are so easily trodden into the
house and are almost impossible to sweep from the tarmac. See;
http://share.ovi.com/media/Muddymike...e.10523?sort=5
For these reasons I use a Billy Goat vacuum. Its big, its noisy, it uses a
lot of petrol, and the bag is a pain to empty, but it sucks up everything in
its path. As soon as the rain stops for long enough I shall be using the
Billy Goat today.

Mike

In article ,
"Angela" writes:
|
| 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.

Why do you think that you can't use a grass rake to remove leaves from
paving? Thousands do, including me.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
"Muddymike" writes:
|
| While vacuums do work better, I doubt that the cheap ones are any
| more effective than a rake, either.
|
| For these reasons I use a Billy Goat vacuum. Its big, its noisy, it uses a
| lot of petrol, and the bag is a pain to empty, but it sucks up everything in
| its path. As soon as the rain stops for long enough I shall be using the
| Billy Goat today.

And it's not cheap. I never said that the large, expensive vacuums
didn't work!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Muddymike" writes:
|
| While vacuums do work better, I doubt that the cheap ones are any
| more effective than a rake, either.
|
| For these reasons I use a Billy Goat vacuum. Its big, its noisy, it
uses a
| lot of petrol, and the bag is a pain to empty, but it sucks up
everything in
| its path. As soon as the rain stops for long enough I shall be using
the
| Billy Goat today.

And it's not cheap. I never said that the large, expensive vacuums
didn't work!

Depends what you call "not cheap" at 120 quid off Ebay it was not expensive
either.

Mike

The message
from "Angela" contains these words:

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.

I read a couple of reviews about the black and decker one which said that
the bag fit badly and blew dust out. Apart from that I haven't found any
reviews, so if anyone has any personal recommendations I would appreciate
it.

Leaf rake.

Cheap to run, doesn't break down (though cheap ones break up), quiet,
has an infinitely long lack of flex.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from "Angela" contains these words:

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.

You often find grass snakes in compost heaps.

You find grass widows in a golfer's house.

You find grass skirts - oh, um, TMI

There isn't any law against using a grass rake on paving slabs.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

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

On 7/7/08 10:33, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:


In article ,
"Angela" writes:
|
| 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.

Why do you think that you can't use a grass rake to remove leaves from
paving? Thousands do, including me.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

A besom might be handy, too.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
"Muddymike" writes:
|
| While vacuums do work better, I doubt that the cheap ones are any
| more effective than a rake, either.
|
| For these reasons I use a Billy Goat vacuum. Its big, its noisy, it uses a
| lot of petrol, and the bag is a pain to empty, but it sucks up everything in
| its path. As soon as the rain stops for long enough I shall be using the
| Billy Goat today.

And it's not cheap. I never said that the large, expensive vacuums
didn't work!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


Use one in the school where I work - cost new about £600 +vat, bags
about £80 each. Very wffective unless the leaf litter is trodden in and
damp. I believe the way to empty it is th unzip the flap of the valve
and blow the contents inta a netted enclosure. We ift the bag an empty
it into a compost heap. Somewhat overkill for a garden - we have 6
large trees and of the order of 800m2 of playground. We also have a 4
stroke blower (?Makita?) which is very effective at clearing corners and
under seating, bu only blow with the wind :-)

Malcolm

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...
Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
"Muddymike" writes:
| | While vacuums do work better, I doubt that the cheap ones are any
| more effective than a rake, either.
| | For these reasons I use a Billy Goat vacuum. Its big, its noisy, it
uses a | lot of petrol, and the bag is a pain to empty, but it sucks up
everything in | its path. As soon as the rain stops for long enough I
shall be using the | Billy Goat today.

And it's not cheap. I never said that the large, expensive vacuums
didn't work!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


Use one in the school where I work - cost new about £600 +vat, bags about
£80 each.

Yes the bags are expensive, I have very effectively repaired the zips on my
two simply by purchasing new runners (cost less than a fiver for 4 including
mail from the US) which are normally the bit to wear/break first.


Very affective unless the leaf litter is trodden in and damp.
I agree, trodden leaves are ok, damp leaves are ok, both however tend to be
stuck to the ground and take a bit of sucking up. The manufactures say they
will suck up cans and glass bottles, but I don't get too many of them laying
around. Have tried, and yes it does.


I believe the way to empty it is the unzip the flap of the valve and blow
the contents into a netted enclosure.
We lift the bag an empty it into a compost heap.
Yes I normally remove mine and lift it onto the heap, just tried the "open
the flap and blow it method" wow, what a dust storm that created, I think I
will stick to the remove and lift method. Must remember not to let the bag
get too full when the leaves are wet as I can't lift it then.

Somewhat overkill for a garden - we have 6 large trees and of the order
of 800m2 of playground.
Depends on the garden. I have over 100 trees and around 300m2 of paved paths
and tarmac drive/yard.

Mike

So, you guys are saying that £120 is all right for a garden vacuum?