[aussie farmer]

header , field bin and shed clean down
been thinking of getting a petrol leaf blower for a few years but continued using the air compressor for clean downs .
bought one this season any holy crap am I happy. even if im only greasing one or two nipples or even filling up with diesel I let her rip.
end of the day once the heat has dropped in the exhaust I can blow the hole exterior of the header off in under 5 minutes.
stand back 6 foot and watch the dust fly
I bet a $300 leaf blower would extend the air compressors life indefinitely.
if you don't have one, get one you wont be disappointed plus you can throw the brooms away for shed floors and field bins, will shift grain from 6 foot away.
anyway its a stihl with 250 klm / hour wind speed . LOVE IT

 

[361turbo]

2nd that! Even use for powder snow.

 

[gleaner l]

3rd that! Bought one this summer for cleaning the combine. Should have years ago! Far better than washing, keeps the water out of bearings. Works great to clean snow off the truck too!

 

[chompy]

Agreed again! On our second year with a Stihl and it halves blowdown time at the end of the day, plus you get covered in a lot less [email protected] Still need the compressor for blowing out rads etc. though.

Was having problems with mine towards the end of harvest - it seemed to be losing power gradually, and at the finish it was completely gutless. Dragged out the manual, cleaned the plugs, filter, reset the carb to spec and made zero difference. Read on further and it says to have the dealer check the exhaust, but all you have to do is unscrew the fitting on the outlet, and wash it in petrol to unclog the spark arrestor screen. Now it runs like new again

Something to keep in mind if yours ever seems to be losing it's edge. I think mine is a BG86? , but I'll bet they all have that screen in the exhaust.

 

[Andrew_D]

Leaf Blowers are also great to have around for stubble/grass fires. Used properly, they will blow out the fire before blowing sparks. We use them all the time on our local FD.

Andrew

 

[Irrigator]

I agree with all said. If you really want to clean combine at end of the year, obtain use of a diesel powered pull type compressor. Guarantee combine will be clean inside and out. Need goggles and earplugs!

 

[Transaxial]

I agree with all said. If you really want to clean combine at end of the year, obtain use of a diesel powered pull type compressor. Guarantee combine will be clean inside and out. Need goggles and earplugs!

X2. Got an old Atlas Copco rotary screw 600 cfm powered by a 6V71 Detroit. It will blow with a 1/2" sch 40 wand 6' long all day at 2/3 throttle!

 

[MNfarmer85]

Was going to get one for the farm this summer but never got the chance... Would really come in handy quite often.

If you really want to clean combine at end of the year, obtain use of a diesel powered pull type compressor. Guarantee combine will be clean inside and out. Need goggles and earplugs!

When I worked for the local canning company out on field crews we used to use these a lot, they had them mounted on a beefed up bale rack that served as a cleaning station, also had a pressure washer and water tank on them also. Needed that kind of air flow to blow wet pea silage off of a pea combine. We would blow off machines before every road move and every 3rd, and the last couple years, 2nd night, they would get a major clean top to bottom with these. We would clean 2 pea combines at a time, 1 guy ran the air valves by the compressor and each combine operator would blow off the machine they ran. Each crew had 3-4 machines, and the crew lead would also clean out the dump cart with it if they had used it recently. The first couple years they had some pretty strong compressors but later used smaller ones, guys complained about almost getting tossed off the top of the combine when only one hose was in use. If I remember right these were Ingersoll Rand compressors powered by a 4 cylinder JD engine.

 

[aussie farmer]

Agreed again! On our second year with a Stihl and it halves blowdown time at the end of the day, plus you get covered in a lot less [email protected] Still need the compressor for blowing out rads etc. though.

Was having problems with mine towards the end of harvest - it seemed to be losing power gradually, and at the finish it was completely gutless. Dragged out the manual, cleaned the plugs, filter, reset the carb to spec and made zero difference. Read on further and it says to have the dealer check the exhaust, but all you have to do is unscrew the fitting on the outlet, and wash it in petrol to unclog the spark arrestor screen. Now it runs like new again

Something to keep in mind if yours ever seems to be losing it's edge. I think mine is a BG86? , but I'll bet they all have that screen in the exhaust.

i am interested in what 2 stroke oil you used ,in my experience with chainsaws using stihl 2 stroke oil in a stihl and Husqvarna 2 stroke oil in a Husqvarna almost eliminates the build up on the exhaust screen. cheap 2 stroke is cheap for a reason. it probably all comes from the same refinery but i believe this works.

 

[rcyung]

If you're in a hurry and have some jet fuel on hand this might work. Probably shouldn't get too close though!

 

[Stephan]

You can clean your kid's room with a leaf-blower too!

 

[chompy]

I've been using stihl 2 stroke oil, mixed 50:1 through my chainsaw and line trimmer (both stihl) for 10 + years without issue, so it was a surprise to have it block the blower after 2. It appears to be a very fine screen though.

 

[aussie farmer]

You can clean your kid's room with a leaf-blower too!

I saw a bloke get his shed heater going with 4 inch round wood ,added fire lighters than held the leaf blower on the flu . in 5 minutes the wood was red coals and ready for more sticks .

 

[Koolaby Kid]

Great bit of gear the Sthil. On the spark arrestor they will clog even with sthil oil. I wonder if the air cleaner works to well and makes the engine run to rich when it starts to get dusty. Petrol cleans it ok to clean the arrestor for a few times but at least once a year I have to get the oxy with a gentle welding flame and carefully burn out the carbon buildup. Cleans it out like new, just be careful not to blow a hole in it.

 

[gleaner-r76]

I have a lawn service and run nothing but Amsoil dominater two stroke oil, never have problems, just crank and go.

 

[SouthernSK]

I have had a stihl backpack leaf blower for 14 years and have never cleaned the spark arrestor or had a minute of problem with it. It gets used a lot during harvest. It has been very reliable and a greeat investment. I wonder if this problem is more with the newer units.

 

[Diesel Dan]

I agree with all said. If you really want to clean combine at end of the year, obtain use of a diesel powered pull type compressor. Guarantee combine will be clean inside and out. Need goggles and earplugs!

That's what we do. It's nasty when the soybeans still have a few leaves at frost. So dusty you can barely see when the wind quits. We park out in a field and blow it off for a whole day.

 

[Diesel Dan]

If you're in a hurry and have some jet fuel on hand this might work. Probably shouldn't get too close though!

Jet Snow Blower - YouTube

I bet everyone on this board has fuel for a jet on hand

 

[aussie farmer]

I bet everyone on this board has fuel for a jet on hand

80% of people would have some grade of jet fuel, its just fancy kerosene.(probably get some backlash for saying that wont I).
The other thing I learnt about using the leaf blower was to get some of the light weight overalls like they are using for ebola. save wanting to burn ya shirt.