YIKES !!!

while at home depot now.. dont forget to look for this item as well... send bill to the manufacturer of faulty blower !

ps.. when I was a kid... me and my brother and sister became experts with the tool known as the " rake "... strange thing that collected leaves that you had to stuff into the garbage cans once the town outlawed burning them in the back yard....

Took all the fun out of it.. not being able to make a giant leaf fire in back yard.. but such is life.. things improve and the fun is gone.

hehe..yes.. lots of stories about rakes now that I think about it !

let us know how the return / swap of merchandise works out... those tales are always amusing ...

bring a few leaves too.. and turn on, blow leaves across floor... make sure EVERYTHING works !

good luck !

ps.. bring ear plugs

hehe.. redneck jokes...funniest ones seem to come from country music award shows etc..

sorta making fun of selves or friends but without being mean.

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For home projects I used to by Black & Decker power tools... no more... they don't seem to last like I remember from 30-40 years ago... so now I pay a bit more and get DeWalt (I think DeWalt is owned by B&D, or vice-versa, but different parts of the company... anyway, DeWalt power tools are lasting well, so no more B&D for me)

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yeah, this has changed dramatically over the past 10 years.. major changes.

you're right.. black and decker and dewalt same co. but dewalt better, specially for cordless drills ( 18v or higher good ), table saws and chop saws ( or radial arm saws ).. once you get up to commercial quality the saw brand changes ( like heavy duty 220v stuff for wood shops, etc )

the newest thing for cordless drills ( for screwing in stuff or putting nuts on bolts etc ) is the ones that can 'impact' ( hammer ).. they are very good and theres a suprising number of good brands.. theres a little one thats cheap but very good but cant find the name ( ahh, found it... ryobi ). some have little led lights on them which shine on 'work' as you start to use tool.. that helps a lot sometimes believe it or not. But anyway, dewalt, milwaulkee (sp?), tons of good ones , even craftsman... usually 18v or so.

milwaulkee still makes the very best sawzall...but believe it or not dewalt makes a decent battery powered ( cordless) one... they have kits ( combination of tools in one case ) cordless screwgun, cirular saw.. that are good.. and the dewalt radio can charge batteries as it plays groovy music !

port a cable has good stuff too...sorta new ( last 15 years ) but good stuff.

for hammer drills of 1/2" and higher , for industrial work, bosch is still best.

they have some stuff you can attach to steel ( ibeams etc ) via electro magnet and drill into steel from below...

if you get cordless stuff, get 3 batteries per tool, and 2 chargers per tool... and you will never run out of power.

tools... talk about fun ... walking thru tool places...!!!!

couldnt find the bosch one..but heres milwaukee similar thing for steel.. even upside down !!! how cool !

http://www.toolup.com/milwaukee_4270-20_compact-electromagnetic-drill- press-450-rpm.aspx?gclid=CJqc5tqDwq0CFcNo4Aod6WR5_w

my fingers are crossed in hopes you blow leaves to your heart's content....without any leaking oil or gas tank explosions etc.

If I was you I'd hire some local kid to test the next step... see if he / she survives the test ( provide helmet ,blast proof googles, and body armour and ear plugs )

> and it's winter so a heavy jacket will be worn

Here is San Diego, nobody owns a heavy jacket.  If we fly to a colder climate, we have to rent a heavy jacket.

It's winter here also,  The high pressure broke down so we are no longer in the high 70's coastal/low 80's inland.  It was a bone chilling 69 degrees today.  (So I stayed inside so I wouldn't have to rough it)