Ok, Lets hear it

[TierOneLawnCare]

Im just starting out part time and im limited on funds, I needed a blower and this is what I bought

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Power+Lawn+Equipment&pid=07179497000&vertical=LAWN&subcat=Blowers&BV_SessionID=@@@@0824837642.1154219003@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccjeaddigmkhehfcegecegjdghldfoo.0

Ok, like I said I was limited on funds, So I bought this and a 3yr extedned warranty, all for $150.00, If anyone on here would have done different....Let me know, I want to hear your opinions, I did try it after I bought it, and it seems like a decent blower for the money, Moves grass and dirt very well (even wet)if you had $150.00 to spend on a blower (again Im part time, 5 yards a week) Would you have made this move seriously

[GardnerLandscaping]

i'd save another 150 for a better blower and a backpack for anything just because you don't feel like a true beaner until you got the backpack.

should do the job for 5 yards if it lifts everything you need it to lift. just not as efficient. i'd look at cfm carefully as well as airspeed.

i tried the cheapest echo blower. just didn't have the power nor the airspeed. i tried a cheaper backpack blower first which had the high air speed, just didn't seem like i was moving a wide area, it lacked power. wasn't even close to the redmax blower i remembered. i took it back and got the higher powered husqvarna at lowes. i'm happy with it after a took off one of the hose sections. not happy about how all the gas lines are exposed and don't like the gas consumption and would be nice if it also blew spider webs, but good enough for now.

[GardnerLandscaping]

i personally think i screwed up on the blower. i should have spent just a little more for a redmax backpack blower though i do like the throttle control on the tube.

[newz7151]

Made by MTD/McCulloch.

Had somebody bring in a TryoBilt back pack model (also built by MTD/McCulloch) and they told me the fan part came off. So, took 15 minutes, took all of the housing apart, picked up the impellar and along with it came the end of the crankshaft. Thing just looked like it twisted/snapped off. So, there went the $190 that they spent at Lowes on it. I offered to try and submit it as residential use even though they were using it in a commercial lawn care opp (thing wasn't beat up or anything, no scratches, muffler not all blackened up, so didn't look like it even had much use), but they have not been able to find their receipt yet.

[MLawns]

You guys are OK. I bought a Stihl 2-3 yrs. ago, last week was doing a commercial job I have and was moving truck & equipment to the other side of the complex. Ran the mower onto the trailer, started for the truck and saw a gas can sticking out from under the trailer, and right next to it just far enough under for the A frame to land on was a $179 blower. Crunched the handle up but it still ran. My helper stuck things under the trailer out of the sun (hot as hell). Anyway I asked at the dealer's what it would cost to fix. Get this.....2 plastic covers....1 to a side with the handle molded into it.....$220 to 240. I left with my ragged looking blower. But it works!

[MLawns]

When you get to the point where you can get bigger and better equipment, don't run over or onto it like I did because you were in a hurry and not observant enough. My help did get chewed out though......next time it'll be under the tailgate.

[GardnerLandscaping]

oh man, i'm so glad i didn't do something that stupid and get chewed out by my boss when i worked for someone. i could see myself after years of mental exhaustion doing something that stupid now.

he was cool. only complained a couple of times about me taking too much time, which i always had the excuse of trying to do quality work.

i figured i screwed up with the purchase, but it could get stolen or damaged, and then, i would feel better that i'd finally had the excuse to replace it with something better. always good to have a backup too.

[QualityLawnCare4u]

My first blower was a stihl hand held (which I still have) and it was around 155 bucks. For 299 you can get a echo 403 BP blower which is much better for the money.

[Pro-Scapes]

I would of picked up a poulan at a big box store on that budget.

79 bucks or so on sale. I had one that ran for years and refused to die. Katrina claimed it tho

[CutInEdge Lawn Care]

I dont think you can buy 403's anymore. Did'nt they get replaced with 413's or something. And someone on here didnt like them compared to the 403's or maybe it was a California thing. Dont remember!!! As long as your happy and it does the job you are intending then by all means go with it.

[PMLAWN]

They will not honor the warranty if they know you are a business so DO NOT TELL. Use it as a blower only. I know it can be used as a vac but do not think it will last long as that.
Use as a start but upgrade asap

[Evergreenpros]

I have a cheap Homelite handheld blower I used for several years before using it commercially. I used it on customer's prop's for about 5 months before I got a commercial backpack. The thing still runs like new and I use it at home all the time. Must have 300+ hours on it or more, not bad for $80.

[TierOneLawnCare]

Thanks for the info guys...

[Brendan Smith]

Would you have made this move seriously
now, no. when i started, yes. it took me a few crappy purchases before i learned the benefits of having good equipment. only thing i have now that's not commercial is my mower, but since i own it, i'm going to run it into the ground before i get a new one (shouldn't take much longer :laugh: :laugh: )

but at the same time, if it lets you operate, it beats the heck out of a broom. i still use an ancient weedeater hand held blower at times, when i go back to the backpack, it's like diving into a cool lake on a 110 degree day :laugh: :laugh:

[2menandamower]

I had that same blower last year and I broke 3 of them during the first 4 weeks in the biz. I was only doing 8 yards then. I still have the 4th one (all of them replaced under warranty). As time went on it started to blow as hard and when I parked it I think I could have blown through a straw harder than it did. It now sits in the garage next to the troy-bilt trimmer. I have a redmax blower and trimmer now and love them. When you are starting out you will make cheap purchases. But save and move up to the commercial stuff you will not regret it.....

[DoetschOutdoor]

That thing will work fine for a long time or until it starts getting used on 20 yards a day, 6 days a week...I started out with a Homelite backpack blower and it lasted me 9 years. Majority of those years I only had 7 or so yards but the last 3 years I had 20 plus accounts and it finally died the first week into this season. I would have picked up a cheapo backpack from Lowes for $200 but as long as you dont mind carrying a blower around, it will do fine for just starting out

[dvmcmrhp52]

You can buy a stihl bg55 for that same $150 and it will most likely last a good bit longer.

[Joey bag a' donuts]

Check out E-bay sometimes, I got the echo pb-605 for $300. Its a $600+ blower and was brand new. I've had it for 3 years now, never once had a problem with it. :drinkup:

[ozd12005]

Im just starting out part time and im limited on funds, I needed a blower and this is what I bought

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Power+Lawn+Equipment&pid=07179497000&vertical=LAWN&subcat=Blowers&BV_SessionID=@@@@0824837642.1154219003@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccjeaddigmkhehfcegecegjdghldfoo.0

Ok, like I said I was limited on funds, So I bought this and a 3yr extedned warranty, all for $150.00, If anyone on here would have done different....Let me know, I want to hear your opinions, I did try it after I bought it, and it seems like a decent blower for the money, Moves grass and dirt very well (even wet)if you had $150.00 to spend on a blower (again Im part time, 5 yards a week) Would you have made this move seriously


I bought the same blower and it lasted about 2 months and took a cr*p.... thank god I still had my $99 homelite from 3 years ago on the trailer and have no intentions of replacing it.... as for the craftman I had the extended warrenty and went through hell with sears trying to get them to replace it

[GardnerLandscaping]

i found the cost/cash flow hit and efficiency gains with commercial trimmer and blower to be better than the same with the commercial mower.

i had 2 yards that took me 3 hours to cut, mow, blow, and perform other yard keeping tasks with a homelite trimmer and cheap toro blower.

the new semi-commercial blower and trimmer reduce my time to 2 hours and increased my quality of work.

with a commercial walk behind, my time would be reduced to 1.5 hours with no impact on quality though a commercial walk behind mower does significantly improve your appearance as a professional and increases your profit since you can charge more per hour.

commercial equipment will cut your time in half for a yard between 1/2 acre and 1 acre.

i can see how the semi-commercial trimmer will probably give out before it's 1 year commercial warranty, but still the productivity gains and lower cost made sense for my limited cash flow.

if you aren't running commercial equipment, i'd suggest going for the smaller yards where the lack of efficiency is minimized by the size of the job. larger outfits are going to out bid you on the larger jobs because they have the most to gain in terms of efficiency and cost by doing the larger yards.

commercial equipment takes a big hit on limited cash flow, but long-term the cost of running commercial equipment can be lower because you will not always be out shopping for new equipment or repairing equipment. this is especially true with trimmers. expensive blowers might get stolen before this is true, but you'll gain in other areas as well, such as better fuel efficiency and less refueling with commercial equipment.