Frequently asked Questions

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How do I set up the Gutter Viper? 

• Here is a link to a video to set up the Gutter Viper using your consumer grade hand held leaf blower, or using a more powerful backpack leaf blower.  You definitely don't need to have a backpack leaf blower, by the way. Hand held blowers work great. 

Will the Gutter Viper work with a standard painters pole?

• The Gutter Viper will work with painters poles that have the typical thread found in the United states.   There are adapters that will convert from a British thread to a US thread, which will then fit in the Gutter Viper.

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• For the longest reach, we recommend you consider the Mr Long Arm pole, which extends 22 feet.   These are available at most Home Depots, Lowes and Menards stores, and also online.   We sell them on our web site as well.  There are three sizes.  If you have two story  gutters, you'll want the 17 foot of the 22 foot pole.   

Will the Gutter Viper work on my leaf blower?

• The Gutter Viper will attach to gas or electric leaf blowers.   And hand-held or backpack style leaf blowers.   It even attaches to reversible shop vacuums.   The nylon air conduit tube clamps to the outlet of the leaf blower, using an adjustable clamp.  The adjustable clamp allows the user to adjust and clamp the nylon tube to blowers with round outlets as large as 4.5 inches in diameter.   If your blower has an oval outlet, and you want to measure the circumference (rather than the diameter), just check that the circumference is less than 14 inches.   These specifications fit the vast majority of leaf blowers.  If you are uncertain, measure yours.  

Will my leaf blower be powerful enough?

• Yes, almost definitely.   If your leaf blower does a pretty good job blowing leaves on the ground, it should work well on the Gutter Viper.   The outlet of your leaf blower needs to be less than 4. 25 inches diameter.  If you have an oblong opening, and you want to be sure, you can measure around it (it should be less than 13.3 inches).  Its a very rare blower that has a larger opening

• Backpack leaf blowers work well also.  Its nice to have your hands free.  But we supply a strap for people with hand-held blowers, so their hands are free to.

• Most every leaf blower has a throttle that you can lock once you start blowing.  Backpack leaf blowers  may need to be throttled back to about half throttle.  They are plenty powerful, almost too powerful sometimes. 

Can I use the Gutter Viper with a backpack leaf blower? Yes

• For sure the Gutter Viper  will work with a backpack leaf blower. In fact, it’s  simply delightful to use it with a backpack leaf blower because your hands are free (you don't need to put the hand-held blower on a strap), and most backpack leaf blowers are incredibly powerful. 

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•  If fact , you will find that you will want to start the backpack leaf blower at about half throttle, because it is plenty powerful.  You’ll likely find it will blow several feet ahead of the working end of the Gutter Viper.   We try not to show the backpack leaf blower in most of our videos, because most people have hand-held blowers, and they work very well too.  We provide a strap so they can throw the blower on their shoulder and use both hands to move the pole/Gutter Viper. 

• Also, it may be even easier to attach everything (see our setup video), and then leave the back pack leaf blower on the ground, about midway along the gutter.  The nylon tube is 25 feet long, so if you put the blower on the ground, about mid gutter, you can just hold the pole.

• Here is a photo.   Its a nice trick. 

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• Hand-held or backpack leaf blower.  It makes a quick job of the gutters, and keeps you safely off the ground. 

How high will the Gutter Viper Reach?

• The Gutter Viper will reach at least 27 feet if you put your leaf blower on a strap, and throw it over your shoulder (or use a backback blower) so the leaf blower is at waist level.  The black ripstop air supply tube is 25 feet long, so at waist level its lower end will be at least 2-3 feet off the ground - that puts the Gutter Viper 27-28 feet from the ground. 

Will the Gutter Viper Work if I have heavy debris in my gutters, or web debris?

• Yes, we routinely see this type of buildup in gutters and the Gutter Viper does a great job in these situations.    If the air forces alone do  not blow your gutters clean   thats where  the "plow" part of the Gutter Viper  comes in.  The plow lifts up wet or heavier debris, which allows the air to get under the debris and blow it out.  The Viper "tongue" helps as well, to agitate any stubborn debris free and out of your gutter. 

I have a hand-held leaf blower. Will that work?

• Yes, hand leaf blowers work well with the Gutter Viper.  Generally we find that if you can blow leaves on the ground with your leaf blower, it should work to blow the gutters, too.   Of course, more powerful leaf blowers (power measured in cubic feet per minute, or CFM, of airflow) will typically blow your gutters faster or more forcefully.   We find that powerful leaf blowers sometimes need to be throttled back, as they are overpowered.  They sometimes blow the gutters 3-4 feet ahead of the Gutter Viper !

Do I use the same technique for cleaning one, two, high two, or even third story gutters from the ground?

• No.

• With first story gutters (A) you can preset equal pole and ripstop nylon tube lengths to the reach the gutter and then hang the leaf blower from your shoulder via the strap and walk along below the gutter to clean it, or (B) simply place the leaf blower on the ground behind you  without shortening the ripstop nylon tube at all, set the blower to maximum power, and clean the low gutters as you walk along under them.  If you have enough space, the ripstop tube simply billows out behind/beside you. I

• For "low" second story gutters which you reach by extending your pole perhaps 18 feet, use the 1A technique above, although if you have no trees to get hung up on you can also use the 1B technique (you never need to shorten the ripstop nylon tube).. If you can reach the gutter by extending the middle section of pole instead of the top section of pole - the middle section is much stiffer than the top section.

• For "high" second story gutters for which you have to extend the longer Mr LongArm pole to its maximal length,  the flexibility in the top section of the pole can make the Gutter Viper difficult to control, especially if you have a powerful leaf blower that produces a lot of thrust.  Don't worry - just use the following technique: "C".  Hang the Gutter Viper from the high gutter and gentle pull down on the handle with a couple of pounds of force. That downward pull creates enough friction between the Gutter Viper and gutter to "lock" the Gutter Viper in place.  Now rev up the leaf blower to max and clean out the first 3 feet of gutter, then idle the leaf blower.  Move the Gutter Viper to the next 3 feet, pull gently down on the pole to keep the Gutter Viper in place while you rev up the leaf blower to clean out the next 3 feet, and so on. The pole will never flex during cleaning because your downward force holds the Gutter Viper safely in place on the gutter.  Using this "C" technique we have cleaned gutters 27 ft above the ground, but definitely wait until the leaves are dry in the gutter.

Can I use the Gutter Viper to clean leaves off my roof or out of roof valleys from the ground?

• Yes.  If you can see 'em, and you can reach 'em with the pole, you can clean them if they are dry.  Set the pole length to reach just beyond the highest leaves and set the ripstop tube length to maximum length.  Put the leaf blower on the lawn behind you  and set at maximum power.  Now lift the Gutter Viper and aim it straight down onto the roof surface and it will "float" like a hovercraft (with the thrust of the air supporting its weight). Now push the Gutter Viper up the roof and beyond the highest leaves and work them off the side of the roof, if available.  Otherwise by "sweeping" back and forth across the roof, and pulling the Gutter Viper toward you, you can work the dry leaves down, out of the valley, and off the roof.  Then clean the gutters last in the normal manner.  

We have two story gutters with screens, but need a way to blow leaves and seeds off the screens. Will the Gutter Viper work without damaging the screens?

• Yes, you can use the Gutter Viper to blow leaves off your screens by holding it, say, 3” above the screen and walking along below the screen/gutter. The leaves will blow off 6 feet in front of you. Best to wait until the sun has been out for a couple of days to dry the leaves. Similarly, you can also use the GV to clean any valleys or roofs that you can see and reach, by starting as high up the roof as possible and working the leaves side-to-side and down the roof and then over the screens and off the roof completely. Try to use  a leaf blower with 450 CFM and the GV will almost support itself (like a hovercraft does with its downward thrust) when you hold the GV above the roof and aim it mostly downwards. By inclining it slightly it’ll move the leaves sideways and down the roof. (Feels a bit like flying a kite when you were young, but different.)

• What do I do if I notice the Gutter Viper's yellow tongue stops flapping?

• It's a good thing to notice.  If the tongue isn't flapping it means the air stopped flowing though the nozzle and that means only one thing:  the soft black ripstop nylon tube supplying air from your leaf blower is twisted one complete turn just below the Gutter Viper.  Simply untwist it by twisting the painters pole until the tongue becomes active again.  

• You can avoid this by remembering that, when you need to turn the Gutter Viper 180 degree to come back along the gutter, always begin the turn by moving the front of the Gutter Viper towards the house.

• It's sort of like flying a kite - it becomes second nature not to get one's lines twisted. 

If the black ripstop nylon tube bends does that prevent air getting to the Gutter Viper?

• No.  This is because the pressure generated by the leaf blower keeps the tube open and also supplies air to the Gutter Viper. 

What's the yellow stripe along the black ripstop air supply tube for?

• We put it there for you to use as a visual "telltale" - to help you check that the black ripstop nylon tube that supplies air to the Gutter Viper from your leaf blower isn't twisted.  This is helpful when you (set up the Gutter Viper, and (when you are using the Gutter Viper. 

What's the mirror on the underside of the Gutter Viper for?

• Two uses: 

• 1) To allow you to check from the ground whether that particular gutter even needs cleaning.  If not, you can skip to the next gutter and save yourself time!   Hint: Start checking from the down spout end - that's where the most debris will be because of the slope of the gutter. 

• 2) To allow you to check if the gutter is clean and also whether the mouth to the downspout is clear. 

Do I have to hang the leaf blower from my shoulder?

• No.  If there are no tree branches to get snagged on, you can put the leaf blower on the ground behind you, set the length of the black ripstop nylon air supply tube to its maximum length, and walk along the gutter to clean it.  If you the black tube limits your progress, just move the leaf blower in that direction so you can reach the rest of the gutter.  

• If there are tree branches to get snagged on then its best to hang the leaf blower on your shoulder and shorten the black nylon tube to the length of the telescoping pole. 

Do I have to keep the ripstop nylon tube perfectly straight for good air flow?

• No.  Your leaf blower pressurizes the inside of the tube to hold it open even if the tube bends in an arc.  For example, you will see the black ripstop nylon tube bend when you leave the tube at its full length, placing the leaf blower on the lawn behind you, and walk along under your gutters to clean them as far as the tube will reach.  

• Is it easier to clean wet or dry leaves from a gutter with the Gutter Viper?

• It is so much easier to clean dry leaves from the gutter! It's like the difference between mowing dry or wet grass, or short and long grass.  You can mow wet or tall grass, but it will take you much longer.  So give the gutters a chance to dry out, then clean the leaves on a dry day.