Stihl FSA-85 Battery Operated Blower Review

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
You may have seen my previous dive into high performance battery operated garden tools with the purchase of Stihl string trimmer: http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?3743-Great-innovation-in-string-trimmers-Stihl-FSA-85

Well, I decided to go deeper in the pool :), and get the compatible blower, the Stihl BGA 85: http://www.stihlusa.com/blowers/bga85.html



This is one powerful blower. Pushing the button on it creates enough draft to push the unit backward as you hold it! It of course doesn't smell like the 2-stroke gas operated units. Always starts. And is rather quiet although I find that it is noisy enough that I wear hear protection.

It goes through the battery faster than the trimmer so the larger capacity battery is recommended. Good thing then that they have a $100 off discount on purchase of a battery. The whole package with a battery, fast charger, the blower and tax came out to a cool $700! After the $100 discount it will go down to $600. An insane amount for a garden tool of course but I can't tell you how nice it is to not have a cord dragging, or worrying about starting the thing and messing with gas and oil.

The only down side is that the unit is a bit heavy. Fortunately by the time your arm gets tired, the battery is out too so you get to rest anyway :). I am able to use both of my batteries with it after which I am exhausted.

With this unit, I no longer procrastinate when it comes to keeping our front yards clean. I even use it to blow out the dust in the garage. I wear my powered respirator to keep the dust out of my lungs and eyes. Didn't do that the first time and my allergies really got to me.
 

treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
5,455
949
1,290
The tube lair in beautiful Rock Hill, SC
With this unit, I no longer procrastinate when it comes to keeping our front yards clean.
That would be a big factor for me as the cord management can be a pain in the ol' keister sometimes. Especially when the ground is still wet because the cord gets debris on it and makes a mess over your cleaned areas as you wind it back up. To pick up, blow off the yard and put back would be well worth the price of admission. 600 smackers is still a steep price though.

Tom
 

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