Gas vs Electric Leaf Blowers for Gutter Cleanings

Shop Talk
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@Luke
So I commented on your youtube short about cleaning the gutters with the gas leaf blower. I figured I could leave a more detailed response here rather than the comment section.

I am guess from the video that you are using an Echo from Home Depot, possibly the PB-2520 which runs about $200, currently on sale for $160 (6/4/2024).

ECHO
170 MPH 453 CFM 25.4 cc Gas 2-Stroke Handheld Leaf Blower
Performance is based off of Cubic Feet per Minute movement by the blower. It can also be measured in windspeed, however, speed can be increased by narrowing the orifice of the blower pipe. The unit is capable of 453 CFM.

Personally, the cons of using a gas blower are:

  • Mixing oil and gas.
  • Having to carry a small jug of gas that can tip or leak or swell in the heat and let off fumes.
  • Pull starts on my already exhausted shoulder and tennis elbow.
  • Louder than electric blower motor.
  • The gyroscopic effect of the spinning blower can cause it to be difficult to get into certain positions to blow down the downspouts. Anything that makes you unbalanced on a roof or ladder is bad.
  • Heavier that Electric Blower.
  • Constantly wastes fuel while idling.
  • Can get hot and cause inadvertent burns from exhaust.
  • Carburetor can get gummed with old gas if it sits unused too long.

So for those reasons I chose to go with a Ryobi 40v blower. This one is currently going for $90 without a battery.

RYOBI
40V 110 MPH 525 CFM Cordless Battery Variable-Speed Jet Fan Leaf Blower
This one will run for about 15 minutes continuous with a 4Ah battery. In my case, I have (5) 6Ah batteries for multiple tools that I have both personally and for the business (Self-Propelled Lawn mower, String Trimmer, Chainsaw, pole-saw, etc). I also have a rapid charger in my trailer that is connected to the extension cord I connect to the clients house to run my fan and battery chargers while I work. The 6Ah’s usually will get me through 2-3 houses if there is no muck or wet clumps.

I will probably upgrade to the newer version which is 600CFM and is about $190.

These are much lighter than gas blowers, easing up on the fatigue issues. When you pull the trigger it turns on rather than having to pull start. When you want to set it down to move around, it isn’t idling wasting fuel or vibrating and tipping over. Batteries can be expensive investment, but can be used on multiple tools. Fuel costs can be equivocated to battery purchases.

1 Like
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How many gutters do you clean per year?

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Starting in oct we will book entire days of gutter cleaning. Not sure thats going to keep up day in and day out with us. We are still a small company but we do about 800 gutter cleanings per year. Id use electric, it just dosent make since for us.

To each their own. Im very happy that you like your electric leaf blower.

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I do scheduled gutter cleanings and use a battery powered blower. We used EGO 56V blower is excellent. We currently use a Dewalt 20v for a variety of reasons. Tools are tools. Hope you guys make good coins with your tools.

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It depends on how long it takes of actual blower usage per cleaning. Typically for me, the houses are are single story, square layouts, so the actual blower usage time is only 5-10 minutes. Then as I was saying, the 6Ah batteries last over 20 minutes on the older unit, I am going to estimate that with the newer one that has the more efficient brushless motor, you might get 30 min+ out of a 6Ah as they are estimating 22 min with a 4Ah.

I usually do a gutter cleaning with every house pressure washing and then I have some clients that have me come every two months to check and keep them clear since they live under a lot of shade trees. Roughly 400 or so gutter cleanings. Again, with a rapid charger, you could have a stock pile of 4 6Ah batteries and then one on the blower, as soon as the 1st is dead, put it on the rapid charger and it will be reset in 30-40 minutes. With the new blower, by the time you have burned up 2 more, then the 1st would be charged, but between set up and clean up before the move to the next site, you might be at a 1-1 usage rate.

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I think it sounds like this works really well for! Thank you for sharing !

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AND then there is this BS that some of us will have to deal with.

I’m not an avid reader of MSM, especially the AP, but this popped up in my feed and I thought it would be pertinent to others to be aware of.