I recently bought a Ryobi backpack leaf blower. Ry38bp is the model, to replace a 15 year old Husqvarna 150BT. The husky is a great tool, but the output of the ryobi just blows it away (pardon the pun). My dilemma is that the “flexible” plastic accordion piece that attaches the backpack to the blower tube is not very flexible,making it more difficult to maneuver. Unfortunately it is also unusually shaped, so replacing it with a standard silicone part from another blower won’t work.
On a cool Michigan fall day, that plastic is much more rigid than shown.
So, my goal is to try to make it more flexible somehow. I thought about cutting some grooves into it and then covering the grooves with exterior grade duct tape, but I am not sure that would help much. Buying a different blower is out. No other blower comes close to this one’s output at less than double the price.
Try getting one or two more of the flex tubes (see here, on ebay).
If you’re lucky, they’ll fit together, end to end, so you can add second one without too much trouble. If you’re less lucky, hopefully something like flextape will be able to make up the connection and withstand the pressure. But that’s where I’d start before I try cobbling together some pieces of flexible dryer ductwork from Home Depot.
They definitely won’t fit together and would need to be taped. Doing this will also put the handle farther away and make the tube longer and more unwieldy.
Dryer duct is an interesting idea, but very flimsy.
There is also a flexible steel dryer duct. Probably on par with cold plastic as to flexibility. I’d try the dryer duct with a steel wire in the ridge as it would maintain the oval shape at the ends a bit better.
It sounds like the hose on your old hose worked just fine, and the only reason you’re not using it is because the adaptors on the end don’t match? I would try to rig up new adaptors on that old hose.
Another option (and I’d buy a spare flex tube before I tried this) would be to cut the tube on 3 sides (top/bottom/outside) so it hinges on the uncut inside part. This would allow it to flex in/towards you. Then find a suitable material to fill in the giant gap that’ll ‘fold’ when you point it straight.
For example, if you cut the three sides, then, with the blower flexed all the way towards you (it would be pointing to your left), cover the giant gaping hole with, I’m thinking, a neoprene sheet and a few layers of flex tape and maybe some sort of reinforcing material so the neoprene doesn’t blow out. If it works well, that would allow you to flex it considerably further and the neoprene/tape should accordion itself (kinda) when you point it straight or to the right. Or the whole thing might just fall apart the first time you use it.
On the other hand, over the course of a season or so, it might break and be plenty flexible. Between that and getting used to it, it might seem just fine by next year without any modification.
The hose on my old leafblower was narrower and designed for a blower that provides about 400cfm. I don’t think an adapter would allow enough volume of air at the rated speed.
Joey_p that sounds like a reasonable idea. And today I used it and tightened up the shoulder straps so it was more snug, and I was able to use it more effectively. I am still worried about long term durability of that hard plastic, but maybe I’ll just but a couple of spares.
If it’s that you need to continuously bend it in the same direction I would first try bending it that way and storing it with that bend, perhaps storing it inside where it is warm. Another option is to vary it’s storage, keep it bent in various directions, hopefully that will loosen it up over time.
A kettle full of boiling water poured over the hose before you start working. It will soften the hose for a little while and hopefully keep the shape that it takes as it cools.
A 3D printed adapter for the ends of the nozzle and duct to replace the rectangular tube so you could use drainage pipe or something similar.
I was thinking the same thing, except using a blow dryer/heat gun/blow torch (from a safe distance) to soften the plastic and let it re-harden in the position the OP wants it.
If the OP can create and print 3D files, even just a coupler between the blower and flex tube with a 15 or 30 degree angle would probably work as well. It wouldn’t even have to be a perfect fit. As long as it’s close enough that a few zip screws and some flex tape would keep it in place and mostly sealed would probably work just fine.
I’m a big proponent of 3D printing custom parts, but it sounds like this job needs a fair amount of strength, and cheap printers (the kind folks might have at home, or find in a public makerspace) have limitations on the strength of the product they produce.
The problem with heating and re-forming (besides the fact that this will probably weaken the plastic and possible cause cracking) is that the whole point of this part is to be flexible so you can simply direct your arm where the air should go without needing to struggle or twist your body.
Anyhow, as I mentioned above, after a couple of uses it seems like it takes a little more muscle but it’s a workable tool at this point.
The problem I was seeing with 3D printing is that most filament is pretty rigid. I don’t see being able to print anything strong enough to withstand the pressure but flexible enough to bend. That’s why I was suggesting just making a coupler. PLA filament should be plenty strong enough to make a simple coupler to go between the blower and flex tube that would kick it over a few degrees.
However, I think the limitation is going to be designing it. At least for me, no matter how I try, I cannot wrap my head around any of the programs for creating 3D files. I have no problem printing something already made (and maybe making very minor tweaks), but if something I need isn’t on thingiverse, the likelihood of me printing it is just about zero.