Warren, OH -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/16/2014 -- Backpack blowers can be found on the trailers of nearly every landscape contractor looking to make money this fall, and for good reason. Backpack leaf blower's increased power and portability over handheld blowers is indispensable, especially when cleaning driveways and sidewalks after mowing, or when clearing beds and other tight spaces during fall clean-ups. However, when it comes to moving leaves, both handhelds and backpack blowers simply can’t compete with wheeled leaf blowers.

Quality wheeled blowers such as Little Wonder, can move leaves in a fraction of the time it takes a backpack or handheld blower to move the same volume over the same distance. One internet video features a walk behind blower displacing leaves in a 40 square foot area at nearly 5 times the rate demonstrated by the largest of backpack blowers.

The reason is air volume.

Certainly, backpack and handheld blowers can produce a high velocity air stream. In fact, the MPH rating for most wheeled blowers is in the same range as smaller units (around 150-200 MPH), with the difference being that walk behind blowers are capable of producing a higher volume of air moved at the same speed. The amount of air a blower can move over a given time period is measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM). With wheeled blowers, this rating typically falls in the 1400-2000 CFM range; backpacks top out at around 900 CFM. This is roughly a 50% increase in volume at the entry level price of a walk behind blower.

Walk behind blowers also produce a wind stream that is in line with the ground and close to the base of the leaf pile (as opposed to the high angles produced by backpack blowers held far from the ground in the hands of workers), making efficient use of the high air volume by reducing the deflection of air off the ground. Some manufacturers, like Little Wonder, offer a feature that splits the air stream into two levels, one to blow the leaves in a straight line and another higher stream which tames the leaves lifted into the air so they stay with the pile.

When choosing blowers, buyers should be aware that not all manufacturers will list CFM ratings for wheeled units, since there is no ANSI standard for them as with handhelds and backpacks, and therefore no requirement to do so.

About Power Equipment Warehouse
Power Equipment Warehouse and its affiliates are family owned and operated since 1947. Brands of power equipment supplies sold include: Toro, Husqvarna, Honda, Little Wonder, Mantis, MTD, JRCO, Ryan, Brown, Bluebird, Trac-Vac, Trimmertrap, Jungle Jims, Velke and many, many more. Power Equipment Warehouse is the trusted name in the outdoor power equipment industry.