Table of Contents
Introduction
With the recent advancement in technology, activities take up and drain less time and energy unlike they used to do in the past. Now, you can complete activities like gardening and lawn mowing within one or two hours, instead of occupying your whole weekend with chores.
One of the modern tools technology has given to us is the leaf blower. A blower is a type of gardening equipment that blows debris away from the ground and into a pile, which you can later use as mulch or throw away as trash.
The leaf blower uses the element of air for its debris blowing process. A gas or electric engine powers the continuous propelling of air out of the nozzle of the leaf blower; the air which comes out the nozzle of the blower is enough to cause whatever material in front of it, either dead leaves, hair, or sand, to be blown away.
Leaf Blowers come in several types, sizes, and configurations. There are models that use gas or electricity as its power source and hand-held or backpack-style as its design. And there are other blowers that vacuum leaves into a bag for mulching, instead of the popular method that blows debris and any other dirt one can find in a yard into a pile.
Although leaf blowers might seem like the new best thing after sliced bread, they can be dangerous. In 2013 alone, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released an estimated statistic of over 4,000 leaf blower related accidents in America.
When problematic, Blowers can cause bruises, ear damages or loss of hearing, electrical injuries, fires, electrocution, pinches, eye accidents, and even death in some rare cases.
To prevent leaf blower related incidents from happening, owners must learn how to properly use their type of blower before actually using them, and to always fix faults in their leaf blower when they occur.
How to Fix a Faulty Backpack Leaf Blowers
There are several reasons why the backpack leaf blower that you used yesterday is giving you problems today. Your leaf blower might have a spark plug, carburetor, recoil, or fuel filter issues preventing it from having its usual 100% functionality rate.
When a machine you have invested a lot of money into becomes faulty, it’s only reasonable to fix it instead of leaving it to rust in your garage. Self-diagnosing and repairing of tools can be extremely dangerous, especially if you do not possess previous knowledge or experience with that particular tool.
During your DIY repair, mistakes can happen that you won’t be able to solve. It is always advisable to take your faulty equipment to a professional for repairs.
However, some repairs are easy and safe that you can carry out by yourself without needing the services of a professional mechanic. We recommend simple processes like cleaning or replacing the air filter, oil change, and replacing faulty spark plugs if you want to try your hand at fixing machinery.
How to Carry Out an Oil Change for a Backpack Leaf Blower
To change the oil in a backpack leaf blower is quite simple; all you need to do is place your leaf blower on a flat surface, take out the oil drain cap, tilt the backpack blower forward slightly to allow the old oil to drain quicker, and then clean out any residue oil. Recap the oil drain, make sure you close the cap tightly to prevent leakage, then pour in the new oil.
How to Change a Backpack Leaf Blower Air Filter
The location of the air filter is usually behind the leaf blower’s spark plug. You will have to take out the spark plug to have access to the air filter. After disconnecting the spark plug, loosen and remove the nuts that hold the filter in place. Please take out the air filter and its holder together instead of separately, replace it with the new one, retighten the nuts, and put back the blower’s cover.
How to Replace a Faulty Backpack Leaf Blower Spark Plug
The tricky part of this repair is finding the spark plug boot. You can check your backpack leaf blower manual to find where your spark plug is; if your manual is missing, you can search online for directions.
When you find the spark plug boot, disconnect it and use a wrench to unscrew the spark plug out. Plug in your replacement spark plug, use a wrench to tighten it. Reconnect your spark plug, and you will be good to go.
Conclusion
Backpack leaf blowers are essential tools for easy and efficient gardening, but it necessary to take caution whenever you are using them to prevent severe injuries from occurring.