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Cleaning Your Garden in One Blow: The 5 Best Brands of Electric Leaf Blowers
Meta Description: The best electric leaf blower is difficult to determine because different homeowners have different needs. Some require a blower with vacuum or mulcher capabilities. Others require a powerful blower, while still others need a blower that operates quietly. The five brands listed here include models that meet every need.
Comparison Table | ||
|---|---|---|
Toro |  | |
WORX |  | |
Black+Decker |  | |
DeWalt |  | |
Greenworks |  | |
Homeownership carries a lot of advantages, but the constant upkeep required, both inside and out, can take its toll. Anything that makes a routine maintenance chore a little easier is a welcome addition to your garage. When it comes to outdoor chores and lawn maintenance, a leaf blower is a huge improvement over the traditional rake, requiring less physical labor and cutting down on the time you need to invest in yard work. Some leaf blowers also have vacuum and mulching capabilities, allowing you to handle multiple jobs with the same tool.
When it comes to leaf blowers, homeowners have several different options available. There are gas-powered blowers, corded electric blowers, and cordless blowers with rechargeable batteries. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. This review will attempt to determine the best electric leaf blower available for sale, and also attempt to answer the question of who will best benefit from an electric leaf blower.
Frequently Asked Questions About Electric Leaf Blowers
These are the most common questions that consumers have about electric leaf blowers, particularly in comparison with the other types of leaf blowers on the market.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of electric leaf blowers?
Compared to gas-powered blowers, electric leaf blowers tend to be less expensive, more lightweight, and quieter. They are easier to operate in that you do not need to worry about refueling or mixing the right amounts of fuel and oil, as required by a gas-powered blower.
Electric power also means that you do not need to worry about the emissions that the blower may be putting out, nor do you need to worry about exposing your lungs to fumes from the blower's motor.
Another advantage of electric leaf blowers over gas-powered blowers is that electric leaf blowers vibrate less, making them more comfortable to operate and posing less risk of negative health effects such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Compared to cordless leaf blowers, electric leaf blowers are not only less expensive but also have more stamina; they maintain a constant level of power as long as they are plugged into an outlet, as opposed to cordless blowers that have brief battery life and can only be used for a relatively short period of time (approximately 20 minutes) before having to be recharged again.
However, electric blowers tend to be less powerful than gas-powered blowers, which may mean that they require more manual effort on your part to move debris that is damp or matted down.
Another disadvantage of the electric leaf blower compared to other kinds is that, because of the necessity of keeping the electric blower plugged in, your freedom of movement is more limited with a corded electric blower, and you will need to be careful not to tangle the cord around outdoor fixtures.
Who will most benefit from buying an electric leaf blower?
Electric leaf blowers are well suited for homeowners who have small yards, for whom the limitation of the cord is less of an issue because they don't have far to go anyway. Those who are not mechanically inclined and prefer "plug-and-play" lawn equipment will also appreciate the simplicity of not having to mix oil and fuel in order to keep the blower going.
People with relatively few trees in their yard may also benefit, as fewer trees means fewer leaves and therefore a smaller job to tackle. Because electric leaf blowers tend to operate more quietly than their gas-powered counterparts, they are a good option for people with damaged hearing or sound sensitivity, as well as homeowners who live in communities that impose noise-level restrictions on outdoor equipment.
What is the difference between air velocity and air volume?
These are two specifications that manufacturers typically publish to give an idea of how powerful the leaf blower is, and because the two terms are similar, consumers may be confused by them. Air velocity is the speed at which air exits the blower and is typically measured in miles per hour. Air volume is the amount of air that the blower puts out and is measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM).
While more miles per hour in air velocity may sound impressive, it is actually the air volume that indicates how powerful the leaf blower is. A higher CFM of air volume indicates more power, while a lower CFM indicates less power because less air is coming out of the blower. Think of it as the difference between a water pistol and an ocean wave. A water pistol emits a low volume of water at a high velocity; an ocean wave breaks much more slowly but has a much higher volume of water. Which is more powerful?
Do you need to buy any extra accessories?
Almost everything that you need to run your electric leaf blower should be included in the box, with the crucial exception of an extension cord. Very few, if any, electric leaf blowers come with their own power cord included, so you will need to purchase an outdoor-rated extension cord if you do not already own one.
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This is actually to your advantage, however, as this way you can choose the length of your extension cord based on your own needs and not be stuck with a cord that may be too long or too short. The length of extension cord that you require will depend on the size of your yard, but you'll probably need a cord at least 50 feet long. Budget anywhere from $10 to $50 to purchase the extension cord.
How We Determined the Best Electric Leaf Blower Brands
In ranking electric leaf blowers, we considered criteria that we determined to be the most important to consumers, which we deemed to be price, power (as measured in air volume), weight, noise level, and versatility. By versatility, we are referring to blowers that also function as vacuums and mulchers.
www.toro.com
We also only considered corded electric leaf blowers for this list. Yes, technically battery-powered cordless leaf blowers are also considered to be electric, but we feel that the cordless models are different enough that there is not a sufficient basis of comparison and that cordless models, therefore, warrant their own separate review.
Electric Leaf Blower Overall Price Range
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The most economical electric leaf blowers, with the fewest settings and options, will only set you back about $25, while the newest and most versatile electric blower could cost as much as $110. The majority of electric leaf blowers cost somewhere in between $40 and $80. Spending more money will typically get you more power, as the less expensive blowers also tend to be the ones that put out less air volume. If you want a multipurpose blower with vacuuming and mulching capabilities, expect to pay more for the extra versatility.
The Top 5 Best Electric Leaf Blower Brands
For our list, we looked primarily at brands of leaf blowers rather than individual models, but for each brand, we have included one or two specific models that represent the best that each particular brand has to offer.
Toro
Best Model(s): 51619 Ultra Blower Vac, 51621 UltraPlus
Key Features: In addition to blowing, these models also offer vacuuming and mulching capabilities. Their metal impellers are capable of reducing mulched debris down to less than one-half inch.
PROS
CONS
PRICE | WARRANTY |
|---|---|
$70 to $105 | Full, two-year warranty |
WORX
Best Model(s): WG520 Turbine; WG510 Fusion Leaf Blower, Mulcher, and Vacuum
Key Features: With air volumes ranging from 500 to 600 CFM, WORX models are among the most powerful electric leaf blowers you can buy, rivaling their gas-powered counterparts.
PROS
CONS
PRICE | WARRANTY |
|---|---|
$45 to $75 | hree-year warranty |
Black+Decker
Best Model(s): LB700, BV6600 High-Performance Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher
Key Features: The BV6600 is built for precision with a nozzle reducer for narrow spaces. The LB700 is an economical choice with approximately 30-50 CFM over its closest competitor in price.
PROS
CONS
PRICE | WARRANTY |
|---|---|
$25 to $65 | two-year warranty |
DeWalt
Best Model(s): DWBL700
Key Features: The DWBL700 comes with three different nozzles: one standard round nozzle and two concentrator nozzles (one flat and one round) to get into tight spots.
PROS
CONS
PRICE | WARRANTY |
|---|---|
$99.00 | three-year warranty |
Greenworks
Best Model(s): 24012
Key Features: This economically priced, one-speed blower is among the lightest on this list at 4.5 pounds. A cord lock prevents the unit from accidentally coming unplugged.
PROS
CONS
PRICE | WARRANTY |
|---|---|
$27.00 | 4-year warranty |
Final Verdict
Because different homeowners have different needs, rather than choosing a best electric leaf blower overall, we've chosen a best vacuum/mulcher, most powerful blower, and best budget pick.
Best Vacuum/Mulcher
Toro 51619 Ultra Blower Vac
Most Powerful
WORX WG520 Turbine
Best Budget Pick
Black + Decker LB700
About the Author Emily Taylor
My name is Emily Taylor, gardening is my passion and I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone. I know that there are millions of people out there want their backyard and garden be attractive just like their front yard, so I am here to help you create your own backyard paradise.