Cordless Garden Blower, Your Guide to Choosing the Best for a Pristine Yard

You are outside, on an Indian-summer day, with a scent of sappy leaves in the air, and everywhere you look is a vast blanket of yellow, red or brown leaves, falling from the recently turned trees, covering the grass and shrubs, hiding any beauty and surrounding your house.

And you are afraid. ‘What do I do?’ you ask yourself. The cordless garden blower. It’s that simple. Don’t leave home without it! The leaf blower, or a leaf blower, is the measure of a man. And the modern man sure has a lot to live up to. cordless garden blowers eliminate all those hassles, giving you tremendous freedom of movement and allowing you to pile up debris in piles far away from building walls, without straining your back and diving for cords to get all the debris around the house and garden.

Cordless garden blowers are changing the face of yard cleanup as well, allowing you to put seasonal chills to best use. Regardless of whether you have a lawn, a driveway or a garden overrun by fallen leaves, twigs and other chaff, cordless garden blowers have become the new best friend of homeowners. This tutorial will teach everything you need to know to pick the right one for your needs so that you can focus on enjoying your yard, and not irritatingly blowing up leaves. This article was written by Kevin Rhone, and was last updated on 9 October 2019.

Exploring the Realm of Cordless Garden Blowers

Before we look at the different types, here’s a quick explanation of what each design means for you, the user: Cordless garden blowers can be divided into three basic designs: handheld, backpack and hand-held wheeled.

Leaf Blowers: The Powerhouse for Quick Cleaning

These are the classic cordless lawn blowers, designed with a single purpose – to blow leaves and debris away at supersonic speed. Think of a vacuum cleaner almost perfectly merged with a leaf blower: the action of a very powerful wind blowing leaves off your yard and across your driveway, which makes them perfect for:

• Large yards: Covering vast areas quickly, saving you time and energy.
• Heavy debris: Powerful enough to handle dense piles of leaves and twigs.
• Clearing pathways: Quickly and efficiently clearing walkways and driveways.

Leaf Blowers with Vacuum and Mulching Capabilities: Versatility at Your Fingertips

These novel tools take us a step further than just blowing material clear by combining the leaf-blower principle with the vacuuming capacity of a collection bag. Models with larger bags can be powered by a cord connected to an electrical mains, or, for more portability, with a small petrol engine, which are preferable to the high-maintenance, noisy, and polluting backpack vacuums used by professional landscapers to collect lawn clippings. Some also combine the function of leaf blowers with a mulching capability.

• Composting: The smaller leaf pieces decompose faster, producing rich compost for your garden.
• Reduced waste: Mulching significantly reduces the volume of leaves you need to dispose of.
• Neat and tidy: vacuuming into a bag doesn’t leave your yard littered and prevents flies from blowing the leaves around.

Unveiling the Features that Matter

Given the wide range of cordless garden blowers available in the market and their varying price points, it is important to take time in choosing one as this will largely affect the quality of the gardening services you get in the future. Below, we will explore the vital features.

1. Battery Power: The Fuel for Your Blower

The engine of any cordless tool is its battery voltage, expressed in volts (V). Batteries with higher voltage generally translate to longer runtimes and more power. Here's a quick snapshot:

• 18V: Offers good performance for smaller yards and lighter debris cleanup tasks.
• 40V: Provides increased power and longer runtime, suitable for larger yards and heavier debris.
• 80V The most power (and runtimes) for demanding jobs and large yards.

Keep in mind that longer run times don’t tend to equal more power either – ample as it will be – so carefully re-evaluate your yard’s size and the type of debris it will take to cut through. (Maybe you have enough left over to share your stash with a less fortunate rake bro.)

2. Airflow Speed: The Force Behind the Clean

Airflow speed, measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM), is the first indicator of how much air a blower can push. This directly relates to its cleaning power. Greater airflow speeds are vital to: 1.

• Heavy debris: Pushing through thick piles of leaves, twigs, and even small branches.
• Large yards: Moving a larger volume of debris with ease.
• Wet leaves: Clearing wet leaves, which are often heavier and more difficult to blow.

For light debris and small yards i would recommend a low to medium airflow speed blower. For heavy debris and large yards i would recommend a high speed airflow blower.

3. Weight and Ergonomics: Comfort in Every Blow

A cordless garden blower can be brutally heavy if you have a large battery, so a lightweight model that offers good ergonomics is key. Look for features designed for comfort:

• Balanced weight distribution: Maintaining the object’s weight in equilibrium to lift it using the fewer muscles needed, as well as causing less strain to your hands and arms.
• Comfortable handles: Grip-friendly handles with soft materials provide a secure and comfortable hold.
• Adjustable speed controls: Allows you to change the power of the blower to match the situation at hand.

A properly-tuned blower will function as an extension of your arm. It will help you to appropriately tame your landscape in such a fashion as not to wear yourself out with excessive and perhaps half-assed labour.

4. Noise Level: Harmony in Your Yard

Although a large advantage of cordless garden blowers is their awesome power, some of them are quite loud. If you have a close neighbour, or if you cherish your quiet, then this issue is likely to concern you. Consider the noise if:

• Noise sensitivity: You are sensitive to loud noises, especially during prolonged use.
• Close neighbors: You want to avoid disturbing others with excessive noise.
• Low noise: You’re likely to mow early in the morning or in the evening – and therefore with low noise.

Look out for models with integrated noise-cancellation features, like silent engines or silencers.

Cordless Leaf Blower vs. Gas Leaf Blower: Weighing the Pros and Cons

If you want to buy a leaf blower, you may be wondering whether to go with a cordless one or a gas blower. For different reasons, each has its pros and cons.

Cordless Leaf Blower Advantages:

• Convenience: No cord to get tangled or tethers to restrict your movements, making it a good choice for large yards or hard-to-reach spots.
• Quiet operation: Generally quieter than gas-powered blowers, making them better for noise-sensitive neighborhoods.
• Environmentally friendly: No emissions, reducing your carbon footprint.
Courtesy The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
• Ergonomics: Lightweight, large and easier to manipulate than heavier versions; it would have been less tiring to use them for extended periods of time.

Gas Leaf Blower Advantages:

• More power: Gas-powered blowers often offer higher power output for clearing heavy debris.
• Longer runtime: No need to recharge, making them ideal for very large yards.
• Lower upfront cost: Generally less expensive than cordless options.

Choosing the Best Cordless Leaf Blower: A Final Summary

With so many cordless leaf blower models out there, it can be hard to know how to choose the right one for your yard cleanup needs. But by considering your specific needs and deciding on your priorities, it’s easier than you might think to find the cordless leaf blower that’s right for you. Before you rush to the store or order online, consider the size of your yard, the types of debris you’ll be blowing away, your budget, and the cordless leaf blower features that are most important.

In the end, the best cordless leaf blower for you will be the one that delivers the power, runtime, and convenience to help you keep your outdoor spaces clean and enjoyable. Therefore, take your time, do some homework, and pick the cordless leaf blower that fits your needs and style. With a heavy-duty cordless lawn blower, you can make your yard a pristine paradise that you can enjoy all year round, effortlessly and happily.