How to Start a Leaf Blower

You’ve taken the time to invest in a leaf blower and you’re excited! Finally, you’ll be able to go a season without having to worry about spending hours outside trying to gather and remove leaves from your yard that will continue to pester you for the next few weeks! However, you may get your new miracle machine home only to realize that you’re not exactly sure how to work it. Electrical leaf blowers and battery powered leaf blowers are simple enough to figure out, but if you’ve invested in a gas powered leaf blower, there are a few things you should know about how to properly start your machine.

The Oil to Gas Ratio is Important

Gas powered leaf blowers require a little extra time and care to make sure they run properly. They require a special balance of fuel to make sure they can run without issue. The majority of gas operated leaf blowers require a 50:1 ratio (2 ½ ounces of oil per 1 gallon of gas) of fuel mixture to operate properly. You want to make sure you measure this carefully because adding too much oil could ruin the spark plug and cause the machine to smoke while in operation.

The type of oil you use is important too. If you’re using a 2 stroke engine, it will likely require a special 2 stroke oil. If you’re using a 4 stroke engine you don’t need to worry about any of this – just use gas without adding any oil to the engine.

How to Fuel and Start the Engine

You’ll start by mixing your gas and your oil into a small gas can if you’re dealing with a 2 stroke engine. Make sure you take your time to measure everything out carefully so you get the perfect oil and gas blend. It helps if you shake the can gently to help the two mix together better. Once this is done, pour the mixture into the gas tank slowly. If you’re working with a 4 stroke engine, simply pour gas (without oil) into the fuel tank of your leaf blower.

Next, open the choke (look at the manual diagram if you don’t know where this is) an pull the primer bulb six times. You’re going to need to do this slowly. After this is done close the choke, but leave it open halfway between the open and close mark.

Now all you need to do is pull the starting cord! You’ll need to do this anywhere from one to five times to get it going. Once the engine has started, let it run for 10 to 30 seconds and then move the choke lever into the open position. If the engine stalls (dies out) repeat this process and give your engine an extra ten seconds to warm up before opening the choke lever.

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That’s all there is to it! Follow this process carefully to ensure the best results and properly start and take care of your gas powered leaf blower.