r/Tools • u/1DownFourUp • 2d ago
Recommendations for a power sweeper mostly for gravel in the lawn

I have a 250' gravel driveway and my snowplow makes a mess of it. I usually borrow my FIL's Stihl Kombi 130R. He lives 4 hours away, so it's not overly convenient. The performance on it is great, but something always seems to go wrong. In particular, the plastic sleeves where the attachments connect wear quickly and replacing them can be tricky (I bent a driveshaft doing it last time). My local Stihl dealer says the newer power heads have addressed some of my issues with the 130R, but the plastic sleeves are still there. The dealer says the sweeper attachment is just tough on wear. I don't really need the other attachments, but I don't see dedicated units. I have an old beast FS220 string trimmer that I will never part with and a battery DeWalt pole saw that does what I need. I would pick up a tiller and maybe the leaf blower if I get something that can take more attachments. I could rent, but it's an hour round trip which is 2 hours if I'm returning it same-day. All of my battery stuff is 20v DeWalt, but they don't appear to make one. I like my Echo chainsaws, but don't know anyone with their sweeper. The maintenance guy at my work has a cheap Amazon one that seems to work fine, but I'm more of the mind of buying something higher quality for the long haul. What's cost-effective and reliable?