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Stihl SH 86 C-E Shredder Vacuum Blower
By Dusty Overby
closeAuthor: Dusty Overby
Name: Dusty Overby
Email: doverby@gearpatrol.com
Site: http://www.gearpatrol.com
About: Gents… my name is Dusty. To date, I have been resident amongst the masses of Gear Patrol devotees. Now, I have received a different calling. My charge is to shrug off the casual and carefree life of one who solely reads; I am to eschew the selfish pleasures man-info consumption, and to, instead, contribute mighty works of journalistic prowess suitable for the enlightenment of the Gear Patrol audience.
I’m sure that we would all agree that Gear Patrol shines as a bright beacon in the world of Men’s Lifestyle and Leisure. With numerous other sites and magazines vying for your attention, you read Gear Patrol because it cuts through the worthless flotsam and jetsam the other sites and blogs rehash day in and day out, bringing you a unique perspective on the latest gizmos and whatnots that matter to you. Well, it just so happens that I majored in gizmos and minored in whatnots.
Hopefully, my background and experiences will allow me to deliver piping-hot and tasty content direct to you from my areas of expertise. I was schooled in the beautiful Southeastern U.S. of A. There I spent only a modicum of time in actual class; instead wisely opting to hone other skills such as video game dominance (Ed: Dusty’s GoldenEye skills were unparalleled - full stop), media and entertainment studies, and indulging my competitive nature.
Post graduation, I sojourned for three years in southern Germany. There, I garnered a great appreciation for European culture as well as their longstanding brewing traditions/skills. Needless to say, travel is up there on my list of personal passions. Now I am back in the States where, by day, I work in sales and marketing in the construction industry. Also, I’m an on-again, off-again runner who enjoys many outdoor activities, preeminent among them being a fanatical, though rarely fantastical, golfer.
That being said, you may have to indulge some of my written idiosyncrasies. If my posts get too wacky, surely someone will let me know (Eric?). I plan to bring a bit of wit and wisdom to a community that clearly already has them in spades. Fellow readers, I shall do you proud by helping advance Gear Patrol in advancing you. After all, it’s a good bet that at least some of what entertains me just might entertain you too.
Dusty can be reached for question or comments via e-mail at doverby@gearpatrol.com.See Authors Posts (129) on Thu, Nov 13, 2008 | Email To A Friend
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Never Take A Knife To A Gun Fight
The last thing my leaves ever saw.
Leaves. In my yard. Everydamnwhere.
To make matters worse, rain was bearing down on my position from the West. Such a tempest was sure to whip the unruly fronds that littered my property into an unrecoverable mess. Thus, I made the fatal mistake of setting out with only my two bare hands and a rake that I’m pretty sure was manufactured sometime before I was born. As you can imagine, it took hours of arduous effort to bring that amorphous allergic amalgam under control. Even at that, the leaves were merely contained; they are corralled in the back corner of my yard into a mass of approximately 576 cubic feet (yes, I calculated it) and threatening a jailbreak at any moment.
After this traumatic episode, I equipped myself with the proper armament for this annual chore. One could do much worse than the Stihl SH 86 C-E Shredder Vacuum Blower. If you’ve never had the pleasure of wielding a Stihl power tool, let me tell you that Stihl is a purveyor of fine-tuned beastly contraptions.
Of course, they offer a full line of both handheld and backpack blowers, but I’d choose the SH 86 C-E for its ability to vacuum and destroy those airborne invaders that find residency on my lawn, roof, and driveway.
The Stihl SH 86 C-E boasts a 14 to 1 mulching ratio, perfect for significantly reducing the size of my leaf collection (repeat: 576 cubic feet). Throw in the fact that it easily converts to a handheld blower generating up to 190 mph of air velocity, and you’ve got yourself a very versatile wingman in the war on yard waste. Take it from me; you don’t want to go it alone.
Cost: $270
Also See: Leatherman Genuis Landscape Multi-Tool | Garlick Saw Company Lynx Rip Saw
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I purchased the Stihl SH 86 C-E blower/vacuum and returned it within 2 hours of purchase. It clogged at the tiniest piece of mulch and sounded like it was grinding the cheap plastic gears inside. I spent about 60 of the 90 minutes that I used it unclogging it. Needless to say, I am extraorsinarily disappointed considering Stihl’s reputation.
I purchased one in March 2009 vacuumed a few leafs and blew the the drive and sidewalks off all summer , worked great. Now its fall and I starting trimming shrubs and vacuumed 2 bags of clippings and the vacuum tube melted from the inside, stretched and fell off 2 inched from locking ring. Dealer said a stick got caught in it and was spinning which caused the tube to melt and was not covered under warranty. They put a new tube on for $29.95. Spinning??? I say bull! Had a cheap $100 dollar blower vac from Poullan for 10 years and vacuumed hundreds of bags and never had that happen. I think the vac tube is made from the wrong plastic composite. Going to the dealer to pickup and raise hell.
ive had a bg85 for a while now and am very impressed with it so far . ive only recently found out that it can be converted into a vac/shredder so ive been looking forward to gettin the conversion kit for it but if the newer sh86 is a load of rubbish would it be worth buying .
I purchased a SH86 This Spring and has been a great unit for me in my lawn mowing business! It has tons of power for blowing and sucking up leaves
[...] with experience with this blower Vac from Stihl? http://gearpatrol.com/blog/2008/11/1…vacuum-blower/ I am looking for a new one myself and I like the vac part for cleaning up once I have made my [...]