Stihl Gas Leaf Blower

The semi-automatic choke and the new start/stop switch make it virtually impossible to flood when starting this unit. The high-performance, low-emission engine makes quick work of leaves and other yard waste.

I bought a Stihl BG 56C gas leaf blower for minimal use around my house. I use it to blow grass off my driveway, the leaves off the concrete areas around my shed and deck, and the pine straw off my roof. It is more than adequate for these tasks.

It has the primer bulb needing 3 or 4 pushes before cranking; an 18.3-ounce translucent gas tank to check the level; a choke knob; a pull cord; and an on/off switch at the top. It weighs 9 lbs and is 27.2 cc.

It cranks easily, prime with the bulb, turn the choke on, pull the cord a few times, if it doesn’t crank, pull the trigger and the choke will disengage, continue to hold the trigger and pull the cord again. It should crank at this point.

It has variable speeds based on the amount you pull the trigger but this model does not have vacuum capability. It does come with a two-year warranty. I’ve not had any issues since I bought it, about 6 years ago. I purchased mine at Ace Hardware.

Stihl BG 56C

It rarely snows here, but I did use it a couple of times to blow the snow from around my grill, on the deck, so that I could cook without slipping and falling!

It is rated with a blowing force[1] of 13 Newtons, a maximum air velocity of 159 mph, and a sound pressure rating of 70 dB(A)[2]. It does not have a trigger lock for continuous blowing.

Footnotes
  1. Engines can be characterized in multiple ways. While power is a good indicator of the work generated by the engine, force may be more useful when comparing the ability to move objects. The unit of force is newton – a metric unit that characterizes the acceleration of an object of a certain mass. Blowing force(opens in a new tab) is an effective way to compare leaf blowers because of the effect of the pipe on CFM. Even though we have mentioned that strictly speaking CFM does not depend on the diameter of the tube, its physical presence does in fact restrict the movement of air. This is due to the friction that the inner surface of the pipe applies to the air. Thus, many manufacturers boost their CFM by measuring it without the tube! [Back]
  2. Decibels are the measurement unit used for the intensity of sound. Humans can hear decibel levels starting from 0 dB and 120-140 dB is the sound threshold of pain. 70 dB is in the middle of this decibel range. It is equivalent to the sound level of a regular washing machine. It is also equivalent to the noise level in an office environment or inside a car driving at 60 mph. How Loud Is 70 Decibels? 70 decibels is as loud as a washing machine or a dishwasher. It is a moderate noise level. [Back]
Further Reading
Sources

Stihl
Leaf Blower Guide

Author: Doyle

I was born in Atlanta, moved to Alpharetta at 4, lived there for 53 years and moved to Decatur in 2016. I've worked at such places as Richway, North Fulton Medical Center, Management Science America (Computer Tech/Project Manager) and Stacy's Compounding Pharmacy (Pharmacy Tech).

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