I would look at the Stihl BG85 instead. If you have a dealer selling Maruyama, they have BL3100 which is 30cc engine. Your last blower lasted 20 years, so cost spread over 20 years is nothing.

Blower is very useful, I blow dry my car, no water spot, dry window, clean garage floor, blower is one of the most useful piece of tool. I should have get a stronger one like a back pack. That is just me and I am not a lawncare pro. So get a stronger one and try blow dry cars and windows!!!!

If the hand held blower you used to have was sufficent then I think you will be happy with a similar one.

That been said things are easier with a mower powerful blower. I have a RedMax EB8001 blower. The reason why I chose that was because on the Pro Web sites, e.g. Lawnsite, that is what Pro's were using, and looking around my area, what I way most lawn company's using.

This is a back pack blower. I have had this for two years now. It is pretty powerful. The only downside is the weight which is a tad heavy. I am a small guy, 5ft 3 inch and about 130 lbs. I can manage this on my back at about 90 minutes at a shot in the fall.

It is quite expensive at about $US 520. It is reliable and I am happy with it.

Warmest regards, Mike.

Went with the Stihl BR600 and haven't been more pleased, traded the 420 Magnum for the 600. Like the last person said, you will buy a good one once and buy it bigger than what you need. Bigger is better because it makes the task shorter...and easier. You have the power when you need it and that more than justifies the price.

Look at all the nice handhelds and note the price, then look at the big Redmaxx and the Stihl BR600 and see just how much more they are...if any.

Don't do the mail order thing, buy from a local dealer NOT HD or LOWES, I cannot stress this enough. When it comes to the more expensive power equipment, go with a reputable dealer in case you have a problem.

Either Redmaxx or Stihl and you will be set...you should have one of these dealers somewhat close to you.

Good luck.

I have changed my options slightly. No longer considering the Huskvarna. I am now looking at the Stihl BG55 and BG85, as well as the Echo PB-251 and PB230LN (discontinued but still available). Per the specs, the Stihls are about 5db louder and about 1 pound lighter in weight. I have not heard either one running so don't know how big the sound difference may be. The Echo PB-251 engine is a single ring and all the others are two ring. The BG85 has both a round tube and a flat end tube, so that would seem to allow me to tailor to my specific need. Just a little concerned about the noise level.

Any opinion between the above relative to reliability, ease of starting etc and should I be concerned about the single ring on the PB-251?

Do yourself a big favor, take the boss down to the local dealer, have her try it on, i'm thinking she will like it.

You will cut your leaf cleanup time in half if not more than half with a BP style....trust me.

If you have a dealer carrying Maruyama, check out BP3100. 30cc hand held blower. 68dB noise and should be stronger than all the ones you listed. It is not that heavy. Someone in a forum said he actually only paid $200 for it. Maruyama is 2 ring, Tier 3 emmision rated, commercial grade engine. 5 years commercial warrante.

Echo PB251 is one ring but it is cheaper than the others. Really depend what you want. The lower line Echo trimmer like the SRM210 and all the hedge trimmers are all Vortex single ring engines, they do hold up. I prefer 2 rings but there is not evidence of their single ring being not as good.

If I were to go out and buy a hand held again, I definitely will not get the Shindaiwa EB3410 that I bought. I would seriously consider the Maruyama BL3100. But that is just me.

If all you want it for is to clean off the drive way, get an electric one. There light and pretty powerful, yet no maintainence. My sears wet/dry vac has a removable blower. It has more than enough power to clean a driveway of clipping etc. It blows at 210 mph, however, it doesn't have enough volume to push alot of leaves in the fall. I have a Stihl BR550 backpack blower for that. This blower has awesome power and is more than enough to move some serious leaves around. It can actually move some good sized rocks around too. Starting it is a breeze. Prime the bulb a few times, turn the choke to full and pull once. Move it to half choke and pull and it starts. I let it run for a few seconds at half choke then turn the choke off. In the summer you probably won't need to use the full choke. It really is that easy plus its fun to use. The stihl 4 mix engines have great power.