Gas vs Electric? Stihl BGA56 Blower vs SH86C Blower Vacuum review.
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- Опубліковано 23 жов 2022
- Up until two years ago every leaf blower, string trimmer and chain saw I've owned was powered by a 2-cycle gas engine.
After my second Husqvarna blower/vacuum bit the dust prematurely I decided to go electric. On the recommendation of a friend, I got a Stihl BGA56 blower and a FSA57 string trimmer. Both have exceeded my expectations and I'm a big fan of Stihl products now. You can see my review of the FSA57 and BGA56 here. • Stihl FSA-57 String Tr...
As much as I enjoy using the BGA56, I really dislike picking up leaves in our flower beds by hand. I've tried raking the leaves in the beds with several different rakes, but I always end up accidentally removing too much pine straw in the process.
I decided I really wanted another leaf blower/vacuum to supplement my electric blower and I was very pleased to see that Stihl made two different blower/vacuums, the SH56c and the slightly larger SH86c.
I opted for the SH86c and I really like it. - Навчання та стиль
The tip to attach a removal tool to the bag is nothing short of genius. I ordered a set tonight and will be making this upgrade to my SH-86 set up. Great tips and great overview of both machines. Very well done.
I am a year late to this video, but just watched it and was similarly "OMG".
Just broke out the dremel & the drill and made one for my machine from a gap spreader tool. 8-)
I have always used the corded Toro Ultra Blower. I do have to drag an extension cord behind me, but I plan ahead, use a 12 gauge cord, and have never had any problems.
I also have two rakes that work really well and don't need a cord.
You don't need to pull the tube out of the main body to empty the leaf collector bag. You can easily loosen the fabric / plastic clip on the end of the bag whilst it is still over your shoulder > carry it to wherever and empty the bag. Bag goes back on quickly and easily too with a gentle tug on the fabric.
I tired it that way when I first got the blower/vac and struggled to get the cloth back over the plastic tube. I'll try removing the sock from the tube again the next time I use the vacuum.
The outlay in batteries makes electric tough.From what I can see each AK 30 is $170 whereas AK 20 is $120 - totalling $460. I've not talked to my Sthil dealer yet to see their prices. I like that electric will let you blow in the garage or porch overhang without fumes build-up (which is an issue with my Craftsman, gotta work fast).
I'm pretty handy and I had managed to keep my 2-cycle trimmer and blower running well for over 5-years but one day I headed out to work in the yard and I couldn't get the blower to restart after it got hot. I took a break and let it cool down, but it still wouldn't start so I replaced the fuel filter, gas lines, carburetor (they seem to only last a year or two so I had a spare on hand) and spark plug and it it still would not stay running. I came into the house reeking of gasoline, took a bath and drove to the Ace Hardware store where I've known the owner for 25 years. I spent over $600 on a FSA 57 string trimmer, BGA 57 blower kit and two AK 30 batteries. One of the best investments in yard equipment I've ever made.
I still have a gas trimer that I use a few times a year with an edger attachment, pole saw and hedge trimmer that I use to trim thick weeds around the edge of the woods.
I really like the new SH86c blower/vacuum, but I'll be using it exclusively for vacuuming up leaves there I can't blow the leaves out of the landscaping beds. The electric BGA 57 has 90% of the power of the SH86c with only 50% of the weight and none of the hassle, fumes or vibration.
Definitely talk with your Stihl dealer. I didn't want to buy the FSA 57 with a wimpy AK10 battery that it's bundled with and I only need one charger, so he made me a package deal on the trimmer by itself, blower kit with a charger and AK20 battery and two AK30 batteries.
If you want to spend $700 to blow out the garage with no fumes, the BGA56 make sense, otherwise, just buy the sh86c which is way more powerful. I think the perfect combination is the BR800 and SH86C since you can quickly blow leaves into a pile and then shred them. It also super-productive to clean beds by holding the SH86 blower in your left hand while the BR800 is in your right hand providing blowing power in two directions.
I love the BGA56 because it's just so easy to pick it up and squeeze the trigger , it has plenty of power for blowing grass and leaves off of the sidewalk, patio and driveway so it's the blower I use 99% of the time.
It's November 29th and all the leaves have fallen from the hickory, sweet gum, sycamore, crepe myrtle and poplar trees. The oak trees still have about 1/2 of the leaves on them, so I'll fire up the SH86 in a week or two and use it for 2-4 hours to blow the leaves that I can from the beds into the yard and vacuum up the ones that are left.
Then I'll mulch all the leaves in the yard with my riding mower. Once that task is done I change the oil in the mower, give it a tuneup and park it till spring, I'll run all the gas out of the SH86 and put it away until I need it again next December.
Will the 86c pick up pine needles?
I use pine straw instead of wood mulch in all of our flower beds. Unlike wood mulch, pine straw doesn't float away, doesn't attract termites and doesn't get as hot in the summer sun. There are several areas in the beds around our home where it isn't possible to blow leaves out of the beds and that's where the SH86c's vacuum feature really shines. Because the leaves have much more surface area than pine needles, they get sucked up by the vacuum much more easily than the pine straw. If I get the tip of the vacuum too close to the pine straw, it will get sucked up too so I try to avoid doing that. Usually I'm vacuuming up magnolia, oak and hickory leaves in the fall or debris from trimming my boxwood shrubs in the summer and the amount of pine straw that accidentally gets sucked up is negligible.
If you want to remove pine needles, then I would suggest trying the blower to push it up into clumps and then it can be picked up or raked, I think the pine needles shape would make them difficult to vacuum up.
Any problems with sticks, mulch or small rocks etc. when vacuuming?
The bag is obviously porous, so like sticks and small rocks can come and get you lol however the vac will easy suck it up rule of thumb is it sucks it up it will mulch it up
Just tried mine on our gravel garden (medium size gravel) as we have a very large sycamore that drops all manner of debris. Tilted at an angle an pulsing the engine and dabbing it across the surface I never found 1 stone in the bag. I was quite worried that I would do damage to the shredder blade, but the stones just drop out as you pulse. Completely filled the bag not 1 stone.
try the ego 765
I just looked at the Ego 765, impressive. I hope to get many years of service out of the Stihl blowers, but I'll definitely check out the Ego the next time Im looking for a blower.
what you haven't said is how much batterys go down the petrol lasts longer
Did you watch the entire video? I thought I covered the pros and cons of both electric and gas pretty well, but to recap electric is much more convenient and lighter, less vibration, quieter, no fumes from fuel or exhaust but shorter run times which is why I have three batteries so I can use it non-stop for hours. Gas has vacuum and mulch feature, more power and can run longer between refilling the tank, but downsides include fumes from gas and exhaust, risk of burns from exhaust, louder, more vibration, heavier. I prefer the electric 11-months a year and use the gas only a few times in the fall.
This thing looks very weak.