Are there any decent battery powered leaf blowers?

Leros

Lifer
Jul 11, 2004
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My dad wants a battery powered leaf blower for Christmas, but I'm a bit suspicious if battery powered leaf blowers are any good. It doesn't need to be super powerful (he has a battery powered edger that he's happy with). Thoughts?
 

Pneumothorax

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2002
1,181
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My dad wants a battery powered leaf blower for Christmas, but I'm a bit suspicious if battery powered leaf blowers are any good. It doesn't need to be super powerful (he has a battery powered edger that he's happy with). Thoughts?

Considering that decent quality gasoline hand-held leaf blowers made by echo/stihl/husqvarna are adequate for super dry leaves, and leave much to be desired with wet leaves, gives me the opinion that battery powered blowers are going to be next to useless except blowing dust out of your computer case lol.

I personally will only use gasoline backpack leaf blowers, everything else is a waste of time.
 

Zorander

Golden Member
Nov 3, 2010
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I personally will only use gasoline backpack leaf blowers, everything else is a waste of time.
X2 on that.

I had an electric blower/vacuum that caused a lot of frustration due to its lack of power. Changing over to a petrol-based one was a revelation. I cannot begin to imagine how much worse a battery-powered unit is.

Get him something else. If the lawn yard is not too large, a long-handled leaf rake with accompanying leaf bag can do wonders.
 

Leros

Lifer
Jul 11, 2004
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I would imagine the corded ones aren't too bad. He just wants something to clean up his grass clippings with.
 

arrfep

Platinum Member
Sep 7, 2006
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You might want to check out the Black & Decker 36v LiIon blower. I haven't used it, but do own the rotary trimmer from the same tool "family." Battery's pretty light and packs a ton of power. I can easily edge my whole lawn (average suburban lot) a good 3 times before needing a recharge.
 

velillen

Platinum Member
Jul 12, 2006
2,120
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I have the ryobi 18V leaf Blower. This one
http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Recond...pr_product_top

Note that one doesnt come with battery.


But i use it for very basic things. Blowing grass off my riding lawn mower before putting it away is one. Also blowing out the garage of dry pine needles. For blowing lighter and smaller things that are DRY it does a decent job. Dont expect it to move tons of stuff but it works ok. But once things start getting wet it will struggle. It wont move a pile of wet clumped up grass.

Hope that helps give ya an idea of what it is capable of! I got mine for free with a battery powered weed whacker
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,096
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If he's going to use it to blow dry feathers, it will be fine.
Unless they are ostrich feathers.
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
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tbqhwy.com
yea id suggest against it as others have said. I have a corded one (was free) and it works on dry leafs that are not too thick and grass clippings, TBH its easier to just rake
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
687
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I have the Black and Decker blower (an 18 V model) and for my needs, it is fine. I use it to blow grass off the sidewalk and driveway after I mow and in the fall, leaves off my patio. I have several batteries that I use (I also have the trimmer and one of those saws on a pole that use the same battery) and keep them all charged so I can swap out as needed.

I'd say for blowing grass, it is perfectly fine and I can generally do it with a single charged battery. For leaves, it depends on how many and the size of the surface. My patio is 1000 or 1100 sq. ft in size and a willow is next to it and if you know anything about willows, you know they're very messy. I generally require 2 full charges to full clear the patio. Willow leaf piles tend to have a lot of vine-like branches, so they're a little more difficult. If you had oak or maple next to a big surface, you could probably do it with 1 charge. I'm surprised at how strong the blower is to be honest.
 
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weadjust

Senior member
Mar 28, 2004
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I have a Black and Decker 18 volt. I bought it really cheap on clearance at Home Depot to get the two batteries & charger that came with it. Battery life is really short. I usually use two batteries to blow out the two car carport and back patio. It is handy for blowing leaves out of the gutters while walking on the roof because it is much lighter than my Stihl gas powered blower. Overall is underpowered, discharges the batteries quickly, and is for light duty sweeping/blowing only.
 

tynopik

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2004
5,245
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yea id suggest against it as others have said. I have a corded one (was free) and it works on dry leafs that are not too thick and grass clippings, TBH its easier to just rake

I found that the corded blower worked quite well IF used as part of a 2 person team.

1 person with a rake gets the leaves lifted out of the grass and then once they're in the air, the person behind them with the blower pushes them quite nicely, makes it a super-quick job, like a quarter of the time raking or blowing alone.
 

NetWareHead

THAT guy
Aug 10, 2002
5,847
154
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Just dont do it and get him a gasoline powered leaf blower instead. I'd rather rake than try to accomplish leaf blowing with a batter powered blower.
 

tortillasoup

Golden Member
Jan 12, 2011
1,977
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The Lithium-Ion EGO is the most powerful leafblower at 56V and can be found at Home Depot. I believe it uses a brushless motor which makes it more powerful and efficient. While at 500CFM it won't equal to even the lowest tier gas blower, it does a very admirable job and is way lighter and quieter.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/EGO-480-...ery-and-Charger-Not-Included-LB4800/205163086

My neighbor has one of these, works pretty well especially for a battery powered unit.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,739
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You might want to check out the Black & Decker 36v LiIon blower. I haven't used it, but do own the rotary trimmer from the same tool "family." Battery's pretty light and packs a ton of power. I can easily edge my whole lawn (average suburban lot) a good 3 times before needing a recharge.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DE...Electric-Blower-DISCONTINUED-LSWV36/203190225

This one? (not sure why it says 40v, it's a 36v per model number)

I have it and it's terrible. The trimmer is quite nice but this product is terrible. It's discontinued for good reason as far as I'm concerned. It was only useful as a vacuum, and only then for dry grass and such. As a leaf blower it was worthless.
 

swanysto

Golden Member
May 8, 2005
1,949
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I have a corded Toro leaf blower and the thing picks up wet and frozen leaves(live in Chicago). It works fantastic. Just make sure you get the one with the metal blade if you are going to suck up the leaves, cause the plastic blade breaks pretty easy. I have been using it for 3 years now without issue. I would suggest getting a decent 16ga cord as well.

As far as the battery blowers, I would stay away from them. They get decent power, but the batteries drain pretty quickly, and they also don't last very well over time. And the batteries aren't cheap.
 

Carson Dyle

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2012
8,173
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I wouldn't mind a followup from the OP. What did he end up buying and did it work out?

For blowing grass clippings off a sidewalk or driveway, I'd think that just about anything would be capable of doing the job.
 

Leros

Lifer
Jul 11, 2004
21,867
7
81
I have a corded Toro leaf blower and the thing picks up wet and frozen leaves(live in Chicago). It works fantastic. Just make sure you get the one with the metal blade if you are going to suck up the leaves, cause the plastic blade breaks pretty easy. I have been using it for 3 years now without issue. I would suggest getting a decent 16ga cord as well.

As far as the battery blowers, I would stay away from them. They get decent power, but the batteries drain pretty quickly, and they also don't last very well over time. And the batteries aren't cheap.

I have a similar Toro corded leave blower and vacuum. I love it.