Blower: Vibrates Excessively

Your leaf blower’s fan can also be known as the impeller, and it spins to create the air flow used by your blower. To generate this air flow, the fan has several blades that direct the air when the fan is spinning. These blades can occasionally break, and a broken fan blade can result in excess vibration. Some leaf blowers can also be used as a vacuum. Occasionally dirt and debris can be sucked up into the fan blades and damage them. Dirt can accumulate on the fan blades, which can result in excess vibration as well.

The washers within your leaf blower generally won’t cause excessive vibration during normal operation or as a result of normal wear. However, if a washer is lost, it can ultimately cause other parts like the isolators or impeller to vibrate excessively. Sometimes, when a leaf blower is disassembled, washers can be reinstalled in the incorrect location. This can result in more vibration than normal as well.

For the most part, the impeller on your leaf blower will be secured to the crank shaft by a lock nut. However, in some models a retainer is used, and it can cause a bad vibration if it is missing. In most cases if you notice that your retainer is missing, you can simply replace it, and that will fix this symptom.

Your leaf blower’s impeller spins on the crank shaft to generate air flow. It can also be known as a fan, and has blades (the number of which differ from model to model) that create the flow of air as they turn. If one or more of these blades have broken off, they can cause the blower to vibrate excessively. Debris being sucked into the impeller blades can cause them to break, so be sure to clean out the housing if it becomes clogged.

Isolators or isolator mounts are commonly found on backpack-style leaf blowers. Your leaf blower’s isolator mounts are designed to separate the harness from the blower itself. This should reduce the vibration felt by the operator during operation. Isolators are typically made of rubber, and as a result they can wear down over time. If the isolator is worn out, the blower’s normal vibration will become much more noticeable for the user.

If your leaf blower is a backpack blower, it will have cushions on the shoulder straps that are designed to minimize strain on your shoulders. These are particularly useful because backpack blowers tend to be a little heavier than handheld blowers, and tend to produce a bit more power. Because of this added power, backpack blowers tend to vibrate more during normal operation. If you feel that your backpack blower is vibrating excessively, it may be because the cushions are old or worn down. Therefore, normal vibration may become much more noticeable to the operator. These cushions can usually be replaced individually, as opposed to buying a brand-new leaf blower.