Cordless leaf blowers (also known as battery powered lead blowers), offer users a number of advantages over other types of leaf blowing machines.
If you are looking for the best leaf blower, a cordless model might be the best choice for you – especially if you have a fairly small area to clear and you want a lightweight, hassle free tool to do the job.
The following should help you buy the best cordless leaf blower for you and your property’s needs.
Size and power of cordless leaf blowers
Cordless leaf blowers use electrically powered motors to do their work.
These motors get their power from rechargeable batteries.
Typically, the smaller cordless leaf blowers are less powerful than corded electric or gas powered models, so you need to be confident that one of these is powerful enough for you before you buy one.
Cordless leaf blowers are rated for power in terms of voltage. Most of the home use machines are rated between 15 and 25 volts, which is enough power to handle most blowing jobs. Although some of the ‘Pro’ models, such as this Greenworks machine are rated up to 80 volts
The main advantage of using a cordless leaf blower is its small size and light weight. These machines can be taken anywhere, and most of them weigh less than ten pounds.
The tradeoff is that the battery only lasts for a limited time before it requires recharging. Regardless, a cordless leaf blower with a fully charged battery is a powerful and easy to operate lawn and garden tool.
A word about battery power
Battery quality is critical to the usefulness of battery operated power tools – and battery technology is changing all the time. Not long ago, most cordless tools were power by nickel cadmium batteries, but now Lithium-ion batteries are pretty much the standard.
Batteries are often rate by Amps, Ah (amps per hour) and/or Volts. Volts represent the amount of potential power the battery has. Ah is the amount of current that may be drawn from the battery in 1 hour. The amount of current that can be drawn from the battery depends upon the load (or resistance). The lower the resistance, the higher the current drawn.
Thus, for example, a battery rated a 2 Ah will theoretically last for one hour if drawing a constant current of 2amp over that period (or two hours if drawing 1 amp). If the machine has to work hard (e.g. a battery-powered lawn mower having to cut long grass) more current will be drawn. In simple terms, therefore a high Ah rating should mean a longer run time. But the way batteries are designed, including protections that are included to prevent overheating, means that a 4Ah battery will not give double the power or run time when compared with a 2Ah battery. That said, in broad terms, higher Ah ratings values should mean longer runtime and additional power.
As far as battery life is concerned, most lithium ion batteries should last two to three years or 300 to 500 charges. Battery life can be diminished if the battery gets too hot, so keep your equipment in a cool place to prolong the battery life.
How do the best cordless leaf blowers compare to corded electric, gas powered, and backpack leaf blowers?
These are the main points of comparison between cordless leaf blowers and the other kinds of models:
- Cordless leaf blowers are most similar to their corded counterparts. Both types of machines run on electricity, and both types are very lightweight and quiet. The difference is that corded machines use power that comes from an electrical outlet, whereas cordless leaf blowers are battery operated. The main drawback with cordless leaf blowers is that the batteries only last for a limited period.
- Cordless leaf blowers are generally not quite as powerful as corded units, but they are infinitely portable. Corded models must be kept within range of an electrical outlet, but cordless blowers can go anywhere.
- Gas powered leaf blowers are more powerful but they are also loud and damaging to the environment. They have even been banned in some areas.
- Cordless blowers are less powerful, but they are just as portable, if not more so. Also, they are incredibly quiet compared to blowers featuring gas engines, and these days, given advancements in battery technology, the best battery blower will rival gas blowers or home use.
- While gas powered machines need to be filled with fuel from time to time, cordless blowers must be recharged between uses. Cordless leaf blowers will require much less maintenance than gas powered machines, as well.
- Backpack leaf blowers used only to be available in petrol/gasoline models. Cordless backpack blowers are bow available but and they are designed for more time-consuming jobs that involve covering larger areas and are therefore more expensive. They are ergonomically designed so that the weight of the machine is spread out over a large area of your body. But they are probably overkill for situations in which a cordless leaf blower would be adequate.
Features to look out for in cordless leaf blowers
These are the main features to think about when buying a cordless leaf blower:
Battery type
Perhaps the most important feature to consider if you have decided to buy a cordless leaf blower is the battery.
The battery will determine how long you can use the machine at one time and it will have a significant impact on the machine’s total power. Lithium ion batteries tend to be the standard nowadays and you should definitely make sure you should try to find a cordless leaf blower that features a lithium ion battery instead of a nickel cadmium power source.
Lithium ion batteries are lighter, plus they offer a longer running time than other batteries. Also, lithium ion batteries will not cause the power to fade as you use the machine. You should be able to get consistent power out of this type of battery, so be sure to look for models containing the latest in battery technology.
Battery and charger included or not
You need to check whether the battery and charger is included when you are deciding on the best cordless leaf blower for your needs, or whether they are sold separately. The latter is the case, for example with this Greenworks model which means that the total price you’ll pay will be more than it might seem at first glance.
Some manufacturers make the batteries for their cordless equipment interchangeable, so this may mean that you can save money if you already have a suitable battery.
You should bear in mind that most batteries won’t run for more extensive periods when under the constant load required to power a leaf blower motor at full speed. Some may last 20 minutes or less.
You should therefore also consider whether you want to buy more than one battery. That way you can always have one on charge, ready to be swapped over when the battery in use runs out of power.
Ease of handling
You should try to find a cordless blower that is easy to hold while you use it. The main point of cordless leaf blowers is their portability, so most are fairly lightweight, but some of them are lighter and better balanced than others.
Vacuum option
Some cordless leaf blowers offer a leaf vacuum option, where the air flow is reversed and debris can be sucked into a bag. Frankly, I’ve yet to see a cordless blower model where this works efficiently.
Sufficient power
Finally, you will want to make sure you are buying a unit that has enough blowing power to get your job done properly. Some cordless blowers are light and inexpensive, but are weaklings when it comes to clearing debris. You should find a blower that offers air speeds of at least 120 miles per hour, if possible.
Backpack leaf blower option
Some leaf blowers can be strapped to your back like back pack, with the blower pipe extending around to teh side so that you can direct it where you want the force to go. These options are good if you have a lot of leaf blowing to do as they can take the strain from your arms, shoulders and hands. These backpack leaf blowers used to be mainly gas powered machines, but now cordless models are available, like the one below.
The best uses for cordless leaf blowers
On the whole, these battery operated blowers are not intended for large projects. They are best suited to clearing grass clippings or leaves in relatively small areas, home yard or garden situations.
However, as mentioned above, you can increase the usability of the best cordless leaf blowers by having two or more batteries. This you can always have spare batteries charged up ready to be swapped out with the spent battery when needed.
Portability is the main selling point of these units, so they are great for taking to jobs away from the home, as well.
Summing up
Cordless leaf blowers are really simple to operate while still being powerful enough to handle light to moderate blowing or sweeping work.
However, they not all models are going to be adequate for all jobs, so don’t expect them all to handle a large lawn with a thick covering of heavy wet leaves or to keep going for long enough to sweep the driveways of a large property. Look out for the more powerful ‘Pro’ models for this kind of use and/or stock up on spare batteries.
Nevertheless, cordless blowers are quite inexpensive, which means that you can purchase one without making a huge investment.
Certainly, cordless leaf blowers are not for everyone, but they are terrific tools to have around and they can help you take care of jobs that would otherwise require the much harder work of raking and sweeping.
Best cordless leaf blower recommendations
Best cordless leaf blower: US buyers
The blowers listed below are are the current Amazon best sellers and cover the range from moderate price and power to higher price and power. So these are certainly worth exploring further.
[amazon bestseller=”cordless leaf blower” items=”10″ link_id=”609″]
Best cordless leaf blowers: UK Buyers
UK buyers can find a similar selection here:
Martin Cole has been an avid plant lover and gardener for more than 20 years and loves to talk and write about gardening. In 2006 he was a finalist in the BBC Gardener of the Year competition. He is a member of the National dahlia Society.
He previously lived in London and Sydney, Australia, where he took a diploma course in Horticultural studies and is now based in North Berwick in Scotland. He founded GardeningStepbyStep.com in 2012. The website is aimed at everybody who loves plants or has been bitten by the gardening bug and wants to know more.
Gardening Step by Step has been cited by Thompson and Morgan, the UK’s largest mail order plant retailer, as a website that publishes expert gardening content.
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