Cleanup Crew

For the millions of us who haven't given in to the lure of lawn and garden services that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year, yard cleanup remains a rite of spring and fall. Outdoor power equipment manufacturers know this and market dozens of machines designed to speed the job of getting rid of yard debris.

Most homeowners choose between two options when it comes to the collection and disposal of lightweight materials such as leaves and clippings: Mulch and leave the shredded material in place, or collect the debris and add it to a compost pile. Mulching is best done with one or two passes of a mulching lawnmower and is fine for light leaf cover. Once accumulations are more than an inch or two thick, composting is a better idea. This is best done in homemade bins of wood or wire fencing, since store-bought composters are usually too small to handle sizable accumulations of leaves. Of course, there's always the option of hauling the waste off to your local recycling center. But even then you have to collect the debris, and you need the gear to get the job done right.

LEAF BLOWERS
Of course, every homeowner has a leaf rake or two to keep the lawn and garden looking great. But for big jobs and the regular autumn cleanup that much of the country endures, you'll need a good blower for gathering your fallen leaves. These are available in both electric- and gas-powered versions. Choose an inexpensive electric (about $30 to $120) if your yard is small and you don't mind wrestling with an extension cord. For homeowners with yards of up to a half-acre and several deciduous trees, look for a handheld gas-powered blower with a 24- to 30cc engine and a cubic feet per minute (cfm) rating of about 400. Handheld units are lightweight, less noisy than backpack-style blowers, and can be laid aside in an instant should you want to grab a rake or need to run to the garage for more bags. Reliable units are available for under $200.

For larger yards with more trees, consider a backpack-style blower. They're more powerful than handheld units and the time you save will outweigh the nuisance of having to lug the extra weight around on your back. Look for at least a 40cc engine and a cfm rating of 600 or more. Top units have the On/Off, speed and trigger-lock controls built into the blower-tube grip. When shopping, look for substantial shoulder and back padding, easily adjusted shoulder straps, an easy-to-swivel blower tube, and a handle for carrying the blower to and from the job site. Expect to pay between $300 and $400 for a quality unit.

Those with large yards may also want to consider a leaf blower on wheels. They're much easier to use than either handheld or backpack blowers--and are much more powerful, with cfm ratings in excess of 1000. But they're expensive, with prices starting in the $600 to $700 range.

When you shop for a blower, don't be tempted by the seemingly brilliant idea of blower vacs--tools that use airflow to either blow leaves away or draw them into a collection bag. Shredding leaves with these units requires more time and energy than it's worth. Blower vacs clog easily and require frequent stops to pull debris from the tube. They don't handle damp leaves well, and when they do work, you'll end up lugging around a heavy, cumbersome bag of shredded leaves.

LEAF SHREDDERS
A better tool for reducing a huge pile of leaves to a manageable bundle of fine clippings is a dedicated leaf shredder. One light-duty solution is the electric-powered Flowtron LE-900 mulcher (about $110, Flowtron Outdoor Products, 15 Highland Ave., Malden, MA 02148). This simple and effective unit resembles a powerful string trimmer built into the base of a large funnel. The discharge chute is high enough off the ground for you to put a bag beneath it. This design doesn't have the clogging problems of blower vacs and will allow you to shred leaves faster, but it's still an enormously time-consuming way to handle leaves. It also has trouble with wet, matted clumps of leaves.

Shredding enthusiasts may also want to take a look at a chipper/shredder vac on wheels. These machines come in a variety of styles, some looking like giant vacuum cleaners and others like high-decked lawnmowers. In both cases, they roll along like mowers, vacuuming and shredding leaves and small twigs. Large 2- to 3-bushel rear bags hold the equivalent of 20 or 30 bushels of unshredded leaves.

The big attraction to these machines is that they eliminate the need to blow leaves into piles. You're essentially bringing your shredder to the leaves instead of the other way around. Options include self-propulsion--important if you have hilly property--and an on-board vacuum hose for sucking leaves entangled under shrubs and in garden beds. Most designs also include a chipper chute for small branches.

Chipper/shredder vacs are not without several negatives. The vacuum hose attached to some units has the same clogging problems that plague handheld blower vacs--especially on lawns where lots of twigs fall with the leaves. And, wheeled vacs are not very effective with wet leaves or on pavement. In addition, the cost is pretty steep ($400 to $700) for yet another limited-duty piece of equipment that takes up valuable shed or garage space. Finally, chipper/shredder vacs do not solve the problem of chipping up branches with diameters over an inch or two.

STIHL BR 340L BACKPACK BLOWER
•Engine:44.9cc
•Blowing capacity:636 cfm
•Weight: 19.8 lb.
•Price: about $320
•Stihl, 536 Viking Dr.,Virginia Beach, VA 23452; www.stihlusa.com
This backpack blower boasts 50 percent more cfm than typical handheld blowers and may make sense for homeowners with large yards. Its fan and muffler are specially designed for use in sound-restricted areas, keeping noise levels to 69 dB.

JOHN DEERE BH25 LEAF BLOWER
•Engine:24.5cc
•Blowing capacity:400 cfm
•Weight: 8.4 lb.
•Price: $170
•John Deere Inquiry Dept., Box 13603, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; www.johndeere.com
This compact blower has one of the industry's best power-to-weight ratios. Its upgraded muffler also makes it one of the quietest (68 dB at 50 ft.). Another excellent blower with a slightly more powerful engine is Stihl's BG45 model.

DR C1120BEA CHIPPER
•Engine:
12-hp Briggs & Stratton, electric start
•Branch capacity:4-1/2 in.
•Weight: 243 lb.
•Price: about $2000
•Country Home Products,
P.O. Box 25, Vergennes, VT 05491; www.drchipper.com
If you want larger branch-diameter capacity and are willing to dispense with the shredding function altogether, check out this dedicated unit.

CHIPPER/SHREDDERS
Gathering and disposing of leaves is a time-consuming task no matter what approach you take, but the real yard cleanup challenge for many homeowners is the heavy stuff--brush, and pruned and fallen branches that are too small to burn in a fireplace or wood stove and too big to compost in a reasonable amount of time. To handle them, you have two choices: Make regular trips to your municipal recycling center or invest in a stationary chipper/shredder or dedicated chipper.

Chipper/shredders are available in a variety of designs and capacities. Typically, they're equipped with two chutes. At the bottom of the smaller one, there are blades that reduce branches to chips the size of small change. At the bottom of the larger chute are flails, hammers or blades that shred leaves and plant stalks.

When shopping for a chipper/shredder, buy as much chipping capacity as your budget allows. Look for a unit with at least a 5-hp engine that will chip branches up to 3 in. in diameter. The weight of the machine and its components are also good indicators of performance, durability and capacity.

If shredding is important to you, be sure to check out the number of flails or hammers the unit has. In general, the more flails, the better the unit will be for pulverizing stalks and leaves. Some newer designs can be tipped down to allow you to rake leaves into the hopper, making leaf shredding a little easier. Many units have interchangeable screens that allow you to determine how fine you want to shred your material. The screens prevent the material from being discharged until it has been chopped fine enough to fall through the screen openings.

Choose a model with a clutch if you can afford the extra cost. This allows you to disengage the blades and flails when not in use and to gear down with heavy loads. In addition, clutch-equipped chipper/shredders are generally easier to start and reduce overall noise. Pneumatic or semipneumatic tires make transporting these heavy units easy.

Negatives with chipper/shredders include loud noise--ear protection is a must--and a high price range of $800 to $2000.

LITTLE WONDER SHO 9502 LEAF BLOWER
•Engine:5-hp Honda
•Weight: 110 lb.
•Price: about $700
•Little Wonder, 1028 Street Rd., Southampton, PA 18966; www.littlewonder.com
This blower's front wheel swivels for maneuverability. Its high-performance impeller and adjustable deflector control airflow.

TROY-BILT CS499 CHIPPER/SHREDDER•Engine:10-hp Briggs & Stratton
•Branch Capacity:3 in.
•Weight: 185 lb.
•Price: about $850
•Troy-Bilt, P.O. Box 368022, Cleveland, OH 44136
Tip-down chipper/shredders allow the user to shred by either dropping leaves into the hopper or by lowering the hopper to the ground and raking in the material. This chipper/shredder has a mower-like blade for shredding instead of the flails typically used.

BCS BIO 100 CHIPPER/SHREDDER
•Engine:8-hp Briggs & Stratton
•Branch capacity:3 in.
•Weight: 250 lb.
•Price: about $1600
•Echo Communications, 924 Chapala St., Suite D, Santa Barbara, CA 93101; www.bcs-america.com
BCS is well-known among serious gardeners for its heavy-duty construction. This compact unit rapidly chips heavy branches thanks to a heavier-than-usual flywheel (37 lb.). With two blades and 28 flails, the Bio 100 can handle the toughest limbs, brush and debris.

YARD MACHINE 021H CHIPPER/SHREDDER VACUUM
•Engine:4.5-hp Tecumseh
•Branch capacity:1-1/2 in.
•Clearing width:22 in.
•Weight: 85 lb.
•Price: about $380
•Yard Machines, P.O. Box 368022, Cleveland, OH 44136
For homeowners who shred leaves for use as mulch or compost, this unit is worth considering because it eliminates the need for a blower and shredder. It allows you to chip small branches by feeding them into the chute on its deck.