The new small, lightweight 4-cycles seem to be good, but with the lean-running 2-cycles with synthetic oil, smoking and fouling is reduced. Fuel economy is not usually an issue for residential use, as a 2-gal can of mix will usually serve your 2-cycle equipment for a year. I'm interested in one of these units too. My blower now is a 13-yr old Ryobi trimmer with the 'Quick-Link' (or whatever they call it) interchangable heads. This thing has been great and the blower head really works, but I'd like to have the vacuum/bag deal for getting leaves out of juniper beds, etc. This would be for very intermittent use, so I don't need a top model. BTW, the next time you have to tighten up the jug on the Ryobi, clean everything up with brake cleaner to get all oil off the bolts and threads, then use the appropriate Loc-Tite. I don't think it will come loose again. I have the same 31cc engine on mine, and realized that those bolts could be a trouble spot, but have never found them to be loose. Maybe they used a thread-locking compound on mine but didn't on yours.

" is dutch elm disease something that would prevent you from planting an elm?" No and especially not if I lived in Florida because there is no D.E.D. in florida. Anyway, just as I expected. You have a typical florida homesite with no shade, and sandy soil. So here's my take. Truthfully, sycamore is my favorite tree. They're tough and fast growing but they're a bit coarse textured and grow to be extremely large trees. Would I plant one on a lot like that, absolutely. But I'm crazy for shade and don't mind the large leaves and litter they drop. Most people wouldn't appreciate them. Something a little less extreme would be on the order of the elms, red maple, shumard oak and sweetgums. Local sweetgums down there don't have real big seedballs like most of the country but they are not that easy to transplant. The first things that come to mind are shumard oaks & American elm for that back yard space. And for the front yard an American or Chinese elm or both. Realistically you're probably going to have a tough time finding trees down there. The easiest to find of what I have suggested are going to be the chinese elm and shumard oak. I used to live on a corner lot like that and had I stayed there longer was going to put a planting bed in the corner. It would be a nice space for a few trees and shrubs. Perhaps a grouping of bald or pond cypress and give you some privacy and screening from the outside world.

I'm in northwest Florida and potted some All Star strawberries. I have harvested about 8 so far. I have never tasted a strawberry like this. It is the best I've ever eaten.

We bought a Wolf liner (42" Pro Ventilation Liner) and it works great with the Abbaka. I like that it has a continuous twist knob for the blower so you can turn it up and down as you please without being tied in to specific Lo, Med, High, etc. My only disappointment is that there isn't a grease trap at the back of the liner, so if you do tons of greasy cooking without cleaning the baffles, grease will eventually drain out the back of the removable baffles and onto the ledge they rest on and then . . . drip onto the stove, I guess. Or maybe into the body of the liner? This is reminding me that I should probably go see if the baffles need cleaning! I'm very happy with the Abbaka (bought from Dvorsons--thumbs up for their service) and in-line silencer. We started with a Zephyr Monsoon II, but it was so loud that we couldn't stand it and decided to swallow the cost of replacement. The Abbaka on high (1400 cfm rating) is quieter than the Zephyr on low. Edited to add: be sure to check what's in the Abbaka box. We ordered the 1400 cfm but the box had a 1000 cfm blower in it and was mislabeled. I only realized it when I heard the contractor's guys talking about an adaptor for an 8" duct, which shouldn't have been needed. Despite the fact that we'd had it for a few months, Dvorson's was very helpful in getting in touch with Abbaka and making sure the right blower was shipped right away.