Cordless leaf blower recommendations?

[Thomas L Carpenter]

I have several of the Black and Decker cordless products and thought I'd pick up a cordless leaf blower but the reviews are not good? I bought the B & D weed wacker and really like it. Also have the cordless jig saw - pitiful and the cordless trimmer - haven't used it yet and thought I would piggy back on the B &D batteries i have but the poor reviews have turned me off. Any suggestions for one to basically blow leaves off the driveway and occasionally blow out the work shop. Thanks.

[Tom M King]

We bought a Worx, a couple of years ago, for my Wife to use in the dog yards. It does okay, but the batteries don't last long. I expect there are better models now, and bigger is definately better, as far as blowers go. We use a corded TORO a lot at work, and those are very good. I bought a new, stronger TORO corded last week, but haven't taken it out of the box yet.

[Doug Dawson]

I have several of the Black and Decker cordless products and thought I'd pick up a cordless leaf blower but the reviews are not good? I bought the B & D weed wacker and really like it. Also have the cordless jig saw - pitiful and the cordless trimmer - haven't used it yet and thought I would piggy back on the B &D batteries i have but the poor reviews have turned me off. Any suggestions for one to basically blow leaves off the driveway and occasionally blow out the work shop. Thanks.

I had the B&D cordless leaf blower, for blowing off leaves from around the pool deck. Even with that light use, the motor burned up after a few months. It was nearly useless for anything else.

I replaced it with a Hitachi gas-powered blower, no comparison in power (of course,) it's been very reliable, and it's barely heavier than the B&D. And it makes quick work of blowing leaves from the driveway and lawn, something the B&D could only dream of.

As to whether you'd use it in the workshop, that depends on whether it has a garage door. In a "sealed" shop, the B&D probably couldn't compete with a shop vac.

[Dick Mahany]

I bought an EGO 110 MPH 530 CFM cordless blower and very impressed with it although it was on the expensive side. I use it daily to clean my patio pavers, courtyard and driveway. I've used it to blow out the shop as well. It is relatively quiet and if one keeps off the turbo boost button, it gets reasonable run times. I liked it so much that I just added the EGO cordless hedge trimmer a few months back and will not go back to gas. It is nice now having two batteries so I don't worry about running out of power. It is very well balanced and gets good reviews.

I previously had the Toro corded blower w/ optional vac and mulcher attachment, but the trip hazard was too much for me. It did have more power, but it was also louder and I never needed the full max power for what I typically do. I gave it to my son.

[dennis thompson]

I have a Redmax backpack gas blower and am very happy with it. I've had electric blowers in the past , The Redmax is far better.

[Dan Friedrichs]

+1 to Dick's suggestion of the Ego. I also have their lawnmower and snowblower, and they're great. The "Teslas" of yard work :)

Makita also makes blowers that work with their LXT batteries, if you're in that system.

[Dave Zellers]

I have the Makita MAKITA XBU02 and it's amazing. I am "in the system" as Dan said so I have lots of batteries. It is powerful, but 2 batteries will need to be replaced after about 20 minutes. Terrific for around the home but maybe not in a commercial use.

[Frank Pratt]

Milwaukee's big M18 blower is decent. Its specs are slightly below that of the Ego at 450 CFM & 120 MPH. I've got one & it sure clears the dust out of the shop in a hurry.

[David Powell]

I replaced a corded blower with a Stihl HSA 56. Right now Stihl has a program where a second battery can be purchased for 1/2 price. I use it for both leaves and for blowing out the shop.

[Dave Lehnert]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bswCWVuvzJs

[Doug Dawson]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bswCWVuvzJs

Wow! That was some balloon boy theatrics! I don't doubt his sincerity. But all I can say is (misquoting Patrick Henry,) give me gas, or give me debt.

[Brian Elfert]

I wouldn't use any blower that uses a single 18 or 20 volt battery. The blowers with 40 to 80 volt batteries tend to be more powerful. I would consider what other battery operated outdoor equipment you might buy and get everything with the same battery platform. I happen to have Ego, but mostly because I got my Ego stuff for a bargain at a store that sells stuff returned to Home Depot stores.

If you like to collect huge piles of leaves with a blower you might be better off with gas, but your neighbors will be happier if you go battery. I used to live on a property with many trees. I tried a leaf blower and I had so many leaves it took hours. I switched to collecting with a mower with bag and it was faster.

[william watts]

I'm also very happy with the EGO blower. It uses a 56 volt battery and has plenty of power to blow our small city lot 3-4 times before needing recharging. It's quieter than gas, no need to keep oil, gas, and starting fluid on hand. I also use a push mower to mow our small patch of grass.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I supervise a group that has a large green area and a lot of leaves.
I had one staff member put unoiled gas in the unit and made a 3 month old Stihl junk.
bought an 18V Milwaukee and never looked back.

[Jason Roehl]

I have two of the smaller EGO blowers at work. They really shine when you dual-wield them. Point one low at the sidewalk to get the leaves off the pavement, then point the second parallel to the pavement, and they will really send the leaves flying. But, the two together end up being about as effective as the Husqvarna gas backpack blower I have, with only a fraction of the runtime--they're just far more convenient if I only need to blow out an entryway instead of working on the whole property.

As for the video..did it grate on anyone else that the guy kept saying "amps" (instantaneous current flow--a motor rating) instead of "amp-hours" (current flow for time--a battery/storage capacity rating)? I doubt any of those units have a motor rating on them, but they do tend to advertise the battery capacity.

[Dave Cav]

I have a corded Ryobi that I use almost exclusively for blowing out my dust collector filters a couple of times a year. My wife wanted a reasonably inexpensive, LIGHT cordless blower for yard and driveway cleanup (not bulk leaf removal) and I got her a Roybi RY 40460 40 volt model at HD. It seems powerful enough and the battery lasts as long as she needs it, and it's easy for her to handle.

[Ronald Blue]

I just bought the Ryobi 40 volt back pack blower. I've only used it once for maybe 5 minutes thus far. I stayed with Ryobi because I have their 40 volt push mower, string trimmer, and chain saw as well. I've been pleased with them so far. I didn't realize it until I was putting it up that the blower is set up for two batteries at once. The push mower stows a spare but this has contact for the battery to mate up with. I don't know if it makes a huge difference or not. It's rated at 145 MPH and 625 CFM. I've been pleased withntheir performance across the entire lineup. I don't need a chain saw often and a gas powered one would be more trouble than it's worth. With the cordless there is no issues with bad gas. It's ready to go whenever I need it.

[Mark Blatter]

If you like to collect huge piles of leaves with a blower you might be better off with gas, but your neighbors will be happier if you go battery. I used to live on a property with many trees. I tried a leaf blower and I had so many leaves it took hours. I switched to collecting with a mower with bag and it was faster.

That is what I do each year. I will rake the heavy patches, mostly for the excercize, but also to keep the bags from filling in 2 minutes. Then I mow the rest. Works great.

[Lee DeRaud]

I have a little 20V Ryobi One+ for blowing out the garage (same batteries as my drills, trim saw, and string trimmer) and a 40V Greenworks for yard work (same batteries as lawnmower and hedge trimmer). The GW mower was about half the price of the E-Go and plenty good enough for my tiny back yard.


+1 to Dick's suggestion of the Ego. I also have their lawnmower and snowblower, and they're great. The "Teslas" of yard work :)And I still haven't figured out how Tesla let that "E-Go" trademark get away...just way too good a fit for their CEO and customer base. :)