Raking is a hassle. While you might have fond memories of the kids jumping into leaf piles while you stand laughing, rake in hand, the chore itself is not the fun part. Leaf blowers used to be more expensive, but these days it’s easy to justify spending a few extra bucks to make your fall months that much easier.
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These three models offer an easy and convenient way to take care of all the debris that starts to cover your beautiful lawn at the end of September. Each device has its specific advantages and disadvantages, and we’ll try to look at all of them to help you determine which one will be the best addition to your tool shed. One thing they all have in common is electric power, which is a big improvement over earlier gas-powered models both in energy savings and ease-of-use. Blast your way through the leaves without hurting your back bending over – you can even still make leaf piles for the youngsters.
Power
Greenworks 80V Cordless Blower
80V is a powerful amount of power to throw at leaves. Gone are the days when electricity couldn’t compete with gas. With a max wind speed of 125 mph and air volume movement of 500 cubic-feet-per-minute, you’ll have no trouble at all clearing your yard and still have most of Saturday to spend on the porch with a coffee.
Black+Decker LSW221 20V Max Cordless Sweeper
This model has significantly less power behind it, but still manages to blow 130 mph – that’s five mph faster than the Greenworks model. But there’s a catch. Because of the narrower blower design, it will also be moving significantly less cubic-feet-per-minute than either of its competitors: 79. A narrow nozzle produces enough pressure to blow fast but you’re trading in a significant amount of blast area for that speed.
DeWalt DCBL720P1 20V Max XR Brushless Blower
Conversely, this model sacrifices speed for volume. The wide blower mouth on this device can move 400 cfm, but only reaches 90 mph. With 20V of electric power, it packs the same punch as the Black+Decker but uses this power in a much different way.
Verdict: The Black+Decker and DeWalt models distribute their 20V differently, offering consumers a choice of speed or volume. The Greenworks, on the other hand, sacrifices nothing – it simply provides you with enough power to both. This 80V device outshines both of its competitors when it comes to pure power.
Weight
Greenworks 80V Cordless Blower
Weighing in at 8.9 pounds, this is a relatively easy device to cart around the yard or up and down the sidewalk outside your house. Keep in mind, however, that if you have a large area to cover, your arm might start getting tired towards the end of your job.
Black+Decker LSW221 20V Max Cordless Sweeper
Don’t worry about your arm with this model; at 4.35 pounds, you’d be hard-pressed to tire yourself out on even the biggest jobs. While the lightweight design sacrifices some power, this is a perfect weight for those with bad backs.
DeWalt DCBL720P1 20V Max XR Brushless Blower
This blower is the heaviest of the bunch at 9.7 pounds. With no power advantage to show for the extra weight, the task of carrying almost ten pounds of the machine around your yard seems a little frustrating, but we’ll see if this model packs any other features to offset this problem.
Verdict: Lighter is better for yard work, and the Black+Decker is lighter. None of these blowers will be an enormous strain on your body, but it’s nice when a manufacturer provides a design that lightens your yard workload.
Speed Settings
Greenworks 80V Cordless Blower
With three speed settings and a variable speed trigger, this model has been designed for maximum flexibility. Whatever the job is, you’ll be able to adjust the wind speed appropriately and avoid blowing a huge pile of leaves into your neighbor’s yard.
Black+Decker LSW221 20V Max Cordless Sweeper
It may be light, but this device’s lack of control over windspeed is a major point against it. Consistently hovering around the 130 mph mark, this model does not provide for adjustments against any special situations such as carefully edging a pile or clearing a delicate flower bed.
DeWalt DCBL720P1 20V Max XR Brushless Blower
While it doesn’t offer special speed settings, this model does provide a sensitive variable speed trigger, allowing you to be as careful as you need to be when clearing your lawn and garden. The speed is varied depending on the pressure you put on the comfortable hand trigger, so you’ll have complete manual control over this model’s airflow.
Verdict: The Black+Decker’s single-speed operation keeps it from competing effectively in this category. Both Greenworks’ and DeWalt’s offerings provide flexibility so that you can tailor windspeed to the job at hand, but Greenworks provides the most control of the two. With three different settings and a variable speed trigger, you’ll be able to approach any blowing task with the appropriate amount of force.
Conclusion
Whenever you’re considering adding a new tool to your yardwork arsenal, it’s important to consider all of the variables so that you can find the device that’s going to get the job done the way you want it. It’s also important to think about how you’ll feel using it – saving time and energy is one of the main reasons we use power tools, after all. Any of these blowers will clear your yard of debris, but the one that you take home has to offer something a little extra.
We looked at power, weight, and speed settings, and the blower that comes out ahead is the Greenworks 80V. While the Black+Decker and DeWalt either sacrifice windspeed for blow area or vice versa, this model excels in both categories. It might be a little on the hefty side, but the power it packs more than makes up for this slight disadvantage.
Additionally, it’s highly flexible speed variability makes this device ideal for almost any situation. With a terrific combination of strength and versatility, the Greenworks offering distinguishes itself from its competitors and easily takes first prize in this comparison.
Corded Leaf Blower | Recommended
Last update on 2024-03-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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