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With the onset of autumn, the number of worries for the owner of a personal plot or summer cottage, perhaps, reaches its maximum limit for the entire year. This includes the pleasant chores associated with collecting, processing and storing the crop. But what area in Russia would be complete without fruit or ornamental trees and shrubs, as well as numerous flower beds and flower beds. And all of them require special attention on the eve of winter - some plants need to be covered and insulated, others even need to be dug up, and traditionally, all accumulated plant debris, especially those obtained due to abundant leaf fall, is removed from the garden. Many people simply burn this garbage, others act wiser - they put it in compost heaps or use it as mulch in their garden beds. But this process is very labor-intensive, even if there is a small area in 6 acres. And what can we say if you have 10, 15 or even 20 acres.
In the modern world, technology comes to the aid of people. And even in such a matter as cleaning a garden area, devices have already appeared that are ready to significantly facilitate human labor.If previously there were only powerful units that could only be used on an industrial scale: in parks, on streets and squares, now small devices have appeared called garden vacuum cleaners or blowers, which even women and teenagers can easily use. Their power is usually small, but they cope with the volume of work on personal plots quite easily. For example, battery blower Bosch, with low power and a battery voltage of only 18 V, can remove fallen leaves and even small twigs from the entire paved yard and garden paths on an area of 8 acres in literally 20 - 30 minutes. Of course, to clean the lawn, and even in wet weather, you need more powerful models and with a wider range of functions, but there is so much choice now that it’s time to look at blower mechanisms in more detail.
Leaf Blower vs Vacuum Cleaner - What's the Difference?
Often, in the offers of even reputable companies, such units are called blowers-vacuum cleaners, although this is far from the same thing and, moreover, does not always correspond to their true essence.
The fact is that all garden devices of this type can have three functions:
- Blowing air at high speed;
- Suction of air with all accompanying elements;
- By grinding collected/sucked plant debris.
The first function is the simplest and at the same time quite universal. Devices that can only blow air are commonly called blowers. They cannot suck up leaves and other plant debris, although their name often consists of two parts: blower-vacuum cleaner.This is nothing more than a trick of advertising managers, so when purchasing, carefully read the instructions for the corresponding model.
The second function is more reminiscent of a regular home vacuum cleaner, with the only difference being that it is designed to collect leaves and organic dirt of a larger volume from the yard area. It should be noted that if the blower has a suction function, its power, as a rule, is reduced compared to models designed for blowing only. Judge for yourself, if a garden vacuum cleaner sucks up everything at a tremendous speed, then large clods of dirt and even pebbles will not escape, which can adversely affect the operation of the engine. True, reputable manufacturers of blowers, like Makita or Garden, usually solve this problem in the following way: they make several speed switching modes so that they can be used when changing functions.
Shredding often comes complete with a vacuum cleaner function and will be very interesting for those owners who prefer to use the collected plant debris in the future to increase the fertility of their garden.
For example, the Greenworks gd 40 bv battery blower successfully combines all three of the above functions in its operation. It has a brushless motor with high torque, quite comparable in power even to gasoline engines.But this blower does not require special maintenance, and the level of noise and vibration emanating from it is incomparable with its gasoline counterparts. The most important advantage of this blower model is that it is battery-powered, that is, it does not depend on an electrical wire and can be used in any place on your site that is furthest from your home.
Classification by engine type
As you probably already understood, all leaf blowers also differ in the type of motor that is used to operate them.
The most popular for use in small private gardens are electric leaf blowers. Their advantages include relatively small size and weight, low noise and vibration levels, as well as ease and safety of control. Typically, the cost of such leaf blowers is relatively low, and their use has minimal impact on the environment. Most of the world's most famous brands, such as Gardena, Bosch and Makita, have launched a whole series of electric leaf blowers of various capacities. The disadvantages of such blowers are also obvious - you are tied to the length of the electrical cord, so these blowers are not suitable for large areas.
Gasoline garden vacuum cleaners are designed for large and complex objects, are more powerful, and with them you can quickly clean an area of any size from plant debris. In addition, they do not overheat like their electric counterparts. But they are very noisy, pollute the environment and are characterized by a high level of vibration. In general, these are machines more likely for professionals than for homeowners.
The most interesting compromise option is battery-powered leaf blowers - vacuum cleaners.On the one hand, they are not tied to sockets, therefore they are very mobile and maneuverable, on the other hand, they are lightweight, silent, easy to operate and environmentally friendly to use. But charging the battery of such blowers lasts from 15 minutes to one hour for the most advanced models, an example of which is some battery-powered Makita blowers. Most cordless leaf blowers need to be charged fairly frequently. Therefore, you will constantly have to be distracted from work to recharge the batteries.
However, since they are the most suitable tools for cleaning small garden areas, it makes sense to take a closer look at the available models of leaf blowers from the most famous manufacturers, such as Bosch, Dewalt, Makita and Gardena.
Cordless blowers
Among garden cleaning units powered by batteries, the most common are blowers with only one operating mode, blowing, without a suction function, although, as mentioned earlier, they can be called a battery blower - a vacuum cleaner.
The vast majority of blower models are powered by one or even several lithium-ion batteries. They began to be used in blowers relatively recently. They have high energy density and, naturally, greater capacity compared to other types of batteries.
Therefore, they can be charged without even waiting for the final discharge.
The battery capacity of different models of leaf blowers varies.Some models have one charge for 15-20 minutes of continuous use, which is quite enough to remove leaves from the path or freshly fallen snow from the roof. Such, for example, is a battery Stihl leaf blower bga 56 set. Its battery capacity of 2.8 Ah is enough for approximately 20 minutes of operation.
Other models of leaf blowers can work continuously on a single charge for about an hour, but they usually use several batteries, and their cost is much higher. An example of a good relationship between quality and price is the Dewalt dcm 562 p1 cordless blower. Its battery capacity reaches 5 Ah, so this unit is capable of operating without recharging for up to 50-60 minutes.
Battery blowers differ in the maximum speed of air blown out of the pipe opening. It can range from 40 to 75 meters per second. With high air flow speed, you can sweep away even small pebbles and branches.
Because despite all the similar technical indicators, the blower model you choose may not be intended for garden work.
An example is the Bosch gbl 18v 120 blower model, which has a high flow speed of 75 m/s and an average battery voltage of -18v, but due to the very small battery capacity, it can only operate for 5 or 9 minutes without recharging.
All blowers are very light - their weight varies from 1.5 to 3 kg, and this is convenient because they can be held suspended even with one hand.An example of one of the lightest models, which is not much inferior to others in terms of performance, is the Gardena Accujet 18 li blower. Its weight, including the battery, is only 1.8 kg. Despite such a small weight, the air flow speed of this blower reaches 190 km/h, and it is capable of clearing leaves from an area of about 300 square meters with one battery charge. meters. The designation 18 li in the model abbreviation indicates the use of a lithium-ion battery with a voltage of 18v. Additionally, this leaf blower comes with a battery level indicator.
Therefore, when selecting a charger, be guided by the battery voltage according to the blower data sheet, which can be equal to 14v, 18v, 36v or 40v.
Cordless garden vacuum cleaners
Battery models leaf blowers and other plant debris are quite rare. Unfortunately, neither Bosch, nor Gardena, nor Dewalt, nor even Makita produce this kind of model.
Among the less well-known brands, in addition to the already mentioned Greenworks model, there are only Ryobi RBV36 B and Einhell GE –CL 36 Li E blower-vacuum cleaners.
Of course, the Ryobi RBV36 B can be considered the most powerful and reliable among them. This blower-vacuum cleaner even has wheels located on the suction pipe, which allows it to achieve great efficiency when sucking up plant debris.
The article examined battery-powered models of leaf blowers in particular detail, since they are the ones most in demand for most owners of small suburban areas.But, everyone should choose a garden assistant, first of all, based on their needs and capabilities.
