SchröderBackpack Leaf Blower - Backpack Blower - Gas Leaf Blower - SR-6400L - 3.7 HP Engine

My handheld blower's engine seized due to a failed carburetor mount that let air leak past the carburetor and catastrophically lean out the engine. So, new blower since parts cost more than a new one.Note UPDATE below...I gave this Schröder blower five stars based on a performance/price metric and build quality, but there are some live-withs to consider. See "Cons." --- See EDIT --I have three acres of landscaped property out of five acres with lots of oaks having smallish leaves, augmented with redbuds, maples, and others with large leaves. Its an ongoing battle with the oaks all year, others in the fall. The handheld just didn't do it, but I made it work for about 10 years. I never could blow wet or damp leaves.....This Schröder seemed to offer the performance of the usual suspects at half the cost. Reviews seem good. I bought it.PROS:- This Blower Moves Leaves! After being without a blower for about ten Fall days, I first used the Schröder the day after a heavy rain that added a lot of leaves to the existing ten-day normal Fall accumulation. I spent four hours, three tanks of gas, and moved all the wet leaves and large acorns without a worry. Amazing. The blower's operational performance is exceptional. Wow.- Reasonable Weight. At just over 20 lbs, its lighter than some in its class. Makes for a nice workout addition to your 10,000 steps around the yard cleaning up. Plus, you get those "magic fingers" vibration through your back as you traverse the yard. What's not to love?- Well Built. The Schröder seems tight, well constructed and solid. The blower nozzles have set screws to hold them together and include both round and flat blower nozzles. The air filter has both a foam pre-filter and a proper pleated paper secondary filter. All the assemblies have the look and feel of fit-for-purpose and sturdiness. Some thoughtful engineering went into the base blower package.- Comfortable. The thickly padded shoulder straps, and waist and chest straps keep the blower solidly against your body. The pistol grip throttle position is adjustable along the length of the blower nozzle.CONS:- Throttle Trigger is too Stiff. I had to keep switching fingers between index and middle. The throttle return spring is too stiff. The trigger itself is wide enough, but trigger pressure is just too much after a while and your finger tells you it has had enough. Yes, I was out there about four hours, but your trigger finger shouldn't be the limiting factor. I commented to myself about this stiffness as I was pre-assembling the unit - and it proved out in application. I will take the throttle assembly apart and see if I can cut down a spring somehow, or identify the source of the stiffness and relieve it. We'll see.- Single Position Throttle Lock. Rather than a friction-based throttle lock that allows holding any throttle position, this unit has a button that holds the throttle at about 3/4. That may be fine for most uses, but not for heavy, wet leaves when you need all the power you can get.- Recoil Starter is Very Hard to Pull. No, I'm not a wimp. The recoil spool is only about 2.5 inch in diameter and the engine must have about 13:1 compression ;) Bad combination. There is no place to put your foot on the blower to hold it while pulling the cord. So, set blower on the ground, put left hand on the rubber neck above the carburetor, pull the cord, get only about one compression stroke as the blower jerks and slides. Fortunately, it starts right up. My wife is pleased that she'll never be able to start it herself.- Unable to Blow Right to Left. A benefit of the handheld blowers is you can switch them between your hands and blow across your body, right to left, or left to right. Nice when you get into tight spots. By design, backpack blower nozzles are off your right hip. You cannot blow from close in front of you to the right. Nature of the beast.CONCLUSION:I'm keeping it. I love the power, the weight, the magic fingers. I'll figure out something with the throttle, live with the recoil starter, and put the about $300 additional that a usual suspect blower would cost toward another project.As with all power tools, wear ear protection.Note, if you need to adjust the carburetor for altitude, you will need the larger "ACircle" carburetor adjustment tool. Never mind if you don't know what that means.UPDATE 11/21/2020:I took the pistol grip throttle assembly apart - three screws and an allen bolt - to see what can be done about the stiff throttle. A lot, actually.Both the trigger and the throttle interlock have circular springs; both are easily removed. Since the carburetor itself has a fully functional return spring, the one on the handle is a backup, I suppose. The throttle pressure is SO MUCH BETTER without that spring on the trigger. Then, removing the spring on the interlock keeps it depressed so you don't have to keep a firm grip on the handle and can depress the throttle without actively squeezing the interlock. I hid both springs in the handle up near the on-off switch in case, well just in case.See the two pictures of the opened up throttle assembly - one with the springs in place, the other with them removed.Also, regarding starting the unit. Placing a firmly weighted left hand on top of the air filter housing, or on top of the exhaust housing next to the spark plug improves the recoil pull experience. OK.Another tank and a half of fuel this afternoon and I'm a happy camper. I'd buy this again, but hope I never need to do so.Update: 3 January, 2024Three years in and the blower continues to impress me. The only issue is a broken plastic waist belt clip. I replaced it.

Yes she isn't cheap. I didn't want to spend the money but I didn't want to waste money or time either. This tool is well made. I've been using it allot this past summer and I like it. It is easy to start and use and has plenty of power. I did find one flaw today. Do Not Rub The Back of the blower against bushes! I found that I accidentally removed the gas cap and debris fell into the fuel tank. Hope that helps someone. Good luck!

Had to clean up the leaves in the backyard and get them out to the street in front. Went with this blower because of the many positive reviews. Came in a few days. Waited several days. But on Friday afternoon I put it together. Instructions were close but it seems the trigger design had been changed or simplified so it didn't exactly match up. Took me a few minutes to figure out how to get the trigger handle onto the moveable blow tube. I didn't want to break anything. Took a little bit of pressure but it finally slipped on. Then twisted on the last piece of the blow tube which has a custom design where it twists on with a series of channels. There are a couple of screws that holds it in place. Was a bit challenging to get the screws into the holes with them lined up correctly but finally got them in. Mixed the gas. Have a one gallon gas can. I purchased the 2.6oz two stroke oil bottles. Set of six. One 2.6oz bottle to 1 gallon of gas and there is the 50/1 ratio required. I put the gas in the tank. Maybe 80% full. Then primed the fuel line with the bulb. Pulled the rope twice as instructions said. And not having a backpack blower before I didn't think to secure the blower with my other hand. So when I pulled it the first time it spun around in my driveway. Awkward moment. But if you hold it down with the pressure on the top it secures it enough to get a good pull. Moved the choke to half open. Pulled again. Nothing. Then I realized I forgot to click the start switch on the trigger handle to 'start'. Clicked that and the next pull it started right up. Sounded solid. Let it idle a little high for a few minutes using the switch on the trigger handle. It allows you to put it at full power if needed without the need to hold the trigger down. I went about blowing the leaves from one side of my yard to the other. Takes a little practice but much better than my electric leaf blower with the extension cord that gets caught on everything. One issue I had. I was blowing the leaves and I was smelling a strong smell of gas. I thought maybe the unit was just breaking in or was running rich. I turned it off and set it down to rake some leaves from under the deck and I noticed the gas cap had come off the tank and there was very little gas left in it. And much of it had spilled out onto my lower back. I know I had bumped into my fence at some point and maybe I spun it off. But when I refilled the tank I made sure I tightened the cap very secure so it didn't come off again from a bump or vibration. All in all very pleased with my first go with the new blower. Would recommend