Walk behind leaf blowers Fradan vs Little Wonder

[FishNJ]

Hi all
Time for a new blower.

Looking at Little Wonder 13hp but also see a lot of 14-16hp Fradans available used. Anyone used both?

I can get a Fradan needing a repower and put a new 16hp Honda clone and be about $500 vs a used LW 13 or 14hp for about $1000. I have used the LW and know that will do the job.

Homeowner with a big yard. Not making money. Not running a lot of hours. Just can’t spend 6hrs every weekend blowing leaves with 3 little kids. I want the right equipment for the job.
Thanks.




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[newoldschool2]

Hey FishNJ

I do not have any experience with the Fradans but I do have a Little Wonder 6hp(used off CL for $500). The only reason I went with the 6hp Honda was for the weight savings and I found a mint one used. If I was not working on a hill I would have been all over the larger 8 or 13hp Little wonder with the swivel wheel kit in the front. It was a vast improvement over my echo backpack blower. Heck if you have a tractor with a 3point hitch and PTO I have seen used units on craigslist that golf courses use but that may be over kill. Good luck with your search

 

[CentaurG2]

Had a little wonder many years ago. Got rid of it when I purchased a lawn tractor with bagging system. Walk behind blowers work fine in big open areas where you need to push leaves in one direction (into the woods). Ours lacked maneuverability and finesse for tight areas or planted beds and would actually make more of a mess/work than it solved. Mine was not self- propelled and as I recall, the 3-wheel design was difficult to push over anything but firm, flat ground. You might want to rent one to try it out on your yard before you buy one. Most pros here use backpack blowers and some sort of vac machine (walker).

 

[FishNJ]

1-1/2 acres of grass.
Done the bagger and takes too long.
Have an older 11hp giant vac. Need something bigger.
Use my neighbors newer 13hp LW and it’s what I need.
Just seeing if anyone has used Fradans as I can go that way for less than half the cost of LW.

Had a little wonder many years ago. Got rid of it when I purchased a lawn tractor with bagging system. Walk behind blowers work fine in big open areas where you need to push leaves in one direction (into the woods). Ours lacked maneuverability and finesse for tight areas or planted beds and would actually make more of a mess/work than it solved. Mine was not self- propelled and as I recall, the 3-wheel design was difficult to push over anything but firm, flat ground. You might want to rent one to try it out on your yard before you buy one. Most pros here use backpack blowers and some sort of vac machine (walker).

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[CentaurG2]

Every lawn is different. I mow about 1.5 acers of lawn with a 3-cylinder 19hp Kubota diesel. The deck is 60” and bagging system is shaft drive from one of the deck pullies. It takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to vac, mulch, move and dump leaves into the compost pile (pure gold) depending on how many leaves have fallen. Leaf season, I usually mow once a week. If you let them build up, it will take a while to vac them.

 

[State Street Landscaping]

Hi all
Time for a new blower.

Looking at Little Wonder 13hp but also see a lot of 14-16hp Fradans available used. Anyone used both?

I can get a Fradan needing a repower and put a new 16hp Honda clone and be about $500 vs a used LW 13 or 14hp for about $1000. I have used the LW and know that will do the job.

Homeowner with a big yard. Not making money. Not running a lot of hours. Just can’t spend 6hrs every weekend blowing leaves with 3 little kids. I want the right equipment for the job.
Thanks.




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My dealer/repair shop let me demo a Vortex 13hp with a Honda for a weekend. It was easy to wheel around with the big tires and blew my old Billy Goat away (pun intended!) To be fair, my Billy Goat was only 8 hp and an older 1st generation machine because it was made of metal, not plastic.

I passed on the Fradan and got a Little Wonder because you can have it blow to the side or the front The Fradan only discharges air one way. Little Wonder has a better dealer network for parts and service. Same with Billy Goat.