# Leaf Blower for Acorns



## pherrley (May 8, 2020)

I have some oak trees in my lawn that are starting to drop acorns. I've tried raking, and the specialty tools for collecting them, but neither worked very well. Now, I'm on to blowing them off the grass then collecting them; or at least blowing them off before going over them with my Greensmaster.

I had the Kobalt 80V blower, that was rated for 140mph and it had some trouble getting acorns moving unless they were floating on top of the grass already. Any pieces laying around from squirrels eating them would barely move.

Anyone have any insight on minimum blower speed or ideal blower speed to blow off acorns. I'm looking at the ECHO 580T (215mph) or the Husqvarna 150BT (251mph). I was leaning toward Husqvarna, but the specs show that it's very loud 94dBA vs 70dBA. I'm not sure how they're so much different in noise level, but I'd assume there is some standard way they're both measuring it?


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## itslogz (Apr 21, 2021)

When I lived at a house where acorns were a huge problem my stilhl br600 did a pretty good job on them, and according to google it's max velocity is 238 mph


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## JOE SCHMOE (May 6, 2019)

I've got the same problem, I use a Shindawia leaf blower with similar specs to the ones you're looking at. It does a good job, but I have a hill, so I use the leaf blower and gravity to blow them to the street and then sweep them up.


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## ADanto6840 (Apr 1, 2021)

My understanding -- though I'm not an expert -- but from my reading on the topic, what you really want to look at is the CFM rating across different blowers. I believe that the air speed/velocity is more a product of the orifice size, which can be very misleading; I think the main thing to be looking at is the total *volume* of air being moved, which is what the CFM rating tells you.

Generally higher CFM models are also higher velocity models, but there are plenty of "150MPH" blowers with CFMs that are lower than "slower MPH" blowers.

Again, not an expert, though do have *some* background in physics & engineering -- but haven't sat down and done the math on this or anything, but the above is my understanding, and my hands-on experience jives with it as well. =)


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I would choose a brand and then buy the biggest baddest one they make. Then you'll never regret not purchasing a bigger one. :thumbup:


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## AllisonN (Jul 4, 2020)

I don't have a issue with the stihl 800c. Echo 9010 is also a strong blower. Just a stihl guy here.


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## pherrley (May 8, 2020)

ADanto6840 said:


> My understanding -- though I'm not an expert -- but from my reading on the topic, what you really want to look at is the CFM rating across different blowers. I believe that the air speed/velocity is more a product of the orifice size, which can be very misleading; I think the main thing to be looking at is the total *volume* of air being moved, which is what the CFM rating tells you.
> 
> Generally higher CFM models are also higher velocity models, but there are plenty of "150MPH" blowers with CFMs that are lower than "slower MPH" blowers.
> 
> Again, not an expert, though do have *some* background in physics & engineering -- but haven't sat down and done the math on this or anything, but the above is my understanding, and my hands-on experience jives with it as well. =)


I wasn't quite sure on this either, but I just thought of it as. 1,000CFM moving 1MPH won't budge an acorn. 1CFM moving 1,000MPH would shoot an acorn through your neighbors window. So, it would be a balance. Higher MPH will move heavier objects and push them farther. Higher CFM will push a higher volume of those objects the MPH can move.


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## pherrley (May 8, 2020)

Ware said:


> I would choose a brand and then buy the biggest baddest one they make. Then you'll never regret not purchasing a bigger one. :thumbup:


haha, I wish that was my budget. I was really hoping to make the Kobalt work. I was hoping to stay around $300


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

You could make a ratio where the numbers don't really mean anything but allows you to compare models.

Making this up so nobody get mad:
Stihl = 200cfm/150mph = 1.33cfm/mph
Echo = 225cfm/125mph = 1.8cfm/mph
Husq = 250CFM/110mph - 2.27cfm/mph

Something simple like that may allow you to cut through some of the marketing wankateering and see how much air you're moving per mph


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## ADanto6840 (Apr 1, 2021)

Ratio is probably the way to go.

Think about it this way -- if you had a tiny nozzle (think of a funnel), and you put a blower up to the "large side" of the nozzle, the air coming out of the small end of the nozzle will be moving *very* fast. If you had enough pressure, you could achieve incredibly high-velocity airflow that way -- but that high-velocity air movement would be so hyper-focused on a single point that it'd be nearly useless (aside from potentially being a cattle gun). You'd likely be poking holes in the acorns before they'd get moved.

I think @Amoo316 hit the nail on the head -- what you're looking for is the best "ratio" of velocity & volume.

It's also maybe worth noting that, assuming a powerful enough motor, you can theoretically add velocity simply via making the output orifice smaller. You cannot add CFM however, as it basically translates to motor power; I'd expect that the engineers designing blowers are already optimizing for the best CFM-to-velocity ratio that a given motor has the power to achieve, so in practice you probably wouldn't ever want to reduce the size of the output orifice. It's an interesting thought exercise, nonetheless. =D


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSUwOjW2dh4


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

@TulsaFan nailed it - blowing force, measured in accordance with ANSI B175.2, is the most appropriate way to compare blower performance:

https://m.stihlusa.com/information/articles/measuring-blower-performance/



> …Different manufacturers use different testing standards and practices to achieve their results. This makes comparison shopping confusing and potentially misleading. That's why STIHL is adopting a new, simple way to compare blower performance: Blowing Force.
> 
> *The Problem*
> Traditionally, blower performance is measured two ways: air velocity and air volume. How these metrics are tested, however, varies greatly, which impacts the results. For example, if a handheld blower with a 25 cc engine is tested with its tube removed, then on paper it could produce an air volume nearly as high as the professional-grade STIHL BR 430 - which has a 63.3 cc engine! Since testing conditions can be manipulated, manufacturers have an opportunity to inflate their blower specs, appearing more competitive than they really are.
> ...


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## Kallgren (Nov 10, 2018)

Given that the density of an acorn is about three orders of magnitude more than the density of air, doesn't seem a leaf blower is going to be reasonably efficient.

Given a reasonably small yard (e.g. less than an acre) use a rake, it will not piss your neighbors off.

If the trees are near woods, use a spade to flick the buggers into the woods. Works best after a hard frost.

Zero emissions.

That's my two cents worth.


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## eric1104 (Oct 13, 2020)

You might look at one of these: https://www.photomagnets.com/nut-picker-upper.html

https://baganut.com/

I had a ton of acorns at my last house and I felt using a blower or rake was very inefficient. One of these worked nicely.


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

pherrley said:


> Anyone have any insight on minimum blower speed or ideal blower speed to blow off acorns. I'm looking at the ECHO 580T (215mph) or the Husqvarna 150BT (251mph). I was leaning toward Husqvarna, but the specs show that it's very loud 94dBA vs 70dBA. I'm not sure how they're so much different in noise level, but I'd assume there is some standard way they're both measuring it?


FYI...the ECHO 580T produces 22 Newtons at the nozzle. The Husqvarna 150BT produces only 20 Newtons at the nozzle.

My ECHO PB-2520 handheld produced 13 Newtons at the nozzle. This may explain why I love my PB-9010T so much with 48 Newtons. I can guarantee that it would move some acorns! :lol:


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## BHopper (May 28, 2019)

I'm a RedMax guy myself....I own a 6500 (631 cfm) is great for my home use. I've also used a 7500 (768 cfm) & 8500 (941 cfm) on trail maintenance those two will blow the hair off a cat...


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## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

Multiply (CFM x MPH)/Price and buy the one with the longest warranty at or above a BR600 specs.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

We used to use one of these to clear acorns off the tee boxes. Backpack blowers are cute. :lol:

https://youtu.be/_4g7W01PA4o


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

MasterMech said:


> We used to use one of these to clear acorns off the tee boxes. Backpack blowers are cute. :lol:


I need this in my life.


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