Content
It is convenient to remove mown grass, fallen leaves and just litter from paths and lawns with a special blower. This type of garden tool has long “taken root” abroad. In our country, most homeowners still use the usual rakes and brooms, without appreciating the advantages of automation. But really, using a blower you can clean the area very easily and quickly, saving effort and time.
The market offers a huge range of garden vacuum cleaners: from the simplest options to highly functional models. The cost of the tool depends on the performance and equipment of a specific piece of equipment, but in general, the average Russian can easily afford to have such a machine on their household. We will try to talk about the types, advantages and disadvantages of blowers in as much detail as possible, so that everyone can navigate the variety of models and choose the best one for themselves.
Functional Features
When choosing a garden blower for your garden plot, you need to decide what functions it should perform.Indeed, in addition to standard blowing, a garden machine can have the function of suction and grinding:
- Blowing allows you to clear paths of dust and small stones, and remove leaves from the lawn using a powerful air flow. This function is basic for all blower models. The strength of the air flow depends on the engine power of the machine itself. Some versions of this technique are capable of moving even halves of bricks.
- In addition to blowing, a garden vacuum cleaner has a suction function, which is very convenient when working with leaves and other organic matter. Such models are equipped with a special bag into which the sucked litter and foliage are collected. This storage tank is included with the blower and can be easily cleaned when it is full. Garden vacuum cleaner for cleaning leaves has a button that allows you to switch the machine from blowing mode to vacuum cleaner mode and back.
- The shredding function can complement garden vacuum cleaners. Leaves and fine grass fill the main volume of the bag most effectively, because crushed organic matter takes up 5 and sometimes 15 times less space than non-processed organic matter. Compost made from such plant litter quickly rots.
It is worth noting that in some models the grinding function is turned on simultaneously with the suction function and cannot be turned off. However, there are blowers equipped with three separate functions. You need to pay attention to this point when buying a garden vacuum cleaner.
The functionality of blowers largely determines the cost of garden equipment: the more equipped the unit is, the more expensive its cost.But there are exceptions, for example, the domestic manufacturer Zubr offers a powerful garden vacuum cleaner for collecting leaves, equipped with all the latest functions, for only 2.5 thousand rubles. The cost of foreign-made machines of similar functionality can exceed the indicated figure several times.
How does a blower work?
The design of garden leaf blowers varies slightly depending on the functionality. The standard equipment of the simplest units includes a blower pipe and a motor. If we are talking about a garden vacuum cleaner, then such a machine will be equipped with an additional bag for collecting garbage. The manufacturer uses special knives to grind organic matter. The operating principle and conventional design of a garden vacuum cleaner with a shredding function can be seen in the picture below:
The photo shows a double pipe. One channel in such a device is designed to supply air flow during the blowing process. The second channel operates in vacuum cleaner mode and draws in debris through itself. This design is advantageous, while many blowers have only one channel in the nozzle for operation in two modes.
Advantages and disadvantages of blowers with different types of drive
The technical characteristics of the blower and the ease of use largely depend on the installed motor. Thus, the blower can be powered by a gasoline or electric motor.
A blower with an electric motor has a number of operating features:
- A significant advantage of electric-driven blowers is the compactness of the installation and its low weight (2.5-4 kg).
- When working with electrical equipment, no exhaust gases are released.
- Compared to a gasoline machine, an electric leaf blower produces less noise and vibration.
- The unit can only be used in direct access to the power supply. Working with such equipment is characterized by low mobility. Because in addition to the garden vacuum cleaner itself, you need to monitor the movement of the extension cord.
- The cost of electricity may exceed the cost of gasoline fuel for processing areas of equal area with machines of the same power.
Analysis of the operation of gasoline garden blowers allows us to highlight the following nuances:
- Gasoline blowers are mobile and can operate regardless of the location of the power source. This allows the units to be used for cleaning large park and garden areas.
- The presence of a tank and a gasoline engine makes the unit massive and heavy.
- During operation, a gasoline blower creates a high level of noise and vibration and emits environmentally polluting gas.
When choosing a garden vacuum cleaner or blower, you need to evaluate the existing conditions in which you will have to work with the tool. If the area of the site is small and there is unhindered access to the electrical network, then you can safely give preference to a unit with an electric drive, since it is the one that can make work comfortable. The gasoline analogue is more often used for cleaning large garden areas.
Classification of blowers by type of use
To make the work of garden vacuum cleaners easier, equipment manufacturers are trying to equip their tools as much as possible with holding devices that will take the load off the body of the working person.So, according to the type of use, blowers can be classified as follows:
- The handheld garden vacuum cleaner and leaf blower does not have any holding devices. This tool is convenient to use for cleaning leaves in small areas. As a rule, blowers equipped only with a blowing function are produced without special fastening devices.
- The mounted leaf blower vacuum cleaner has a belt that can be thrown over the shoulder, which partially removes the load from the worker and frees his hand.
- Backpack blower has two shoulder straps. Professional gasoline garden vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning large areas are often equipped with such a holding element.
- A wheeled blower vacuum cleaner is less mobile than the above proposed garden equipment options, but it allows you to completely free the worker’s hands, which is also important. At the same time, it is worth noting the high productivity of wheeled blowers, because in one pass they are able to clean a strip of lawn with a width of 40 to 80 cm, but such a unit will not be able to get into a secluded corner “behind the barn” if the kit does not include an additional nozzle in the form of a hose.
It is worth noting that all versions of the blower, with the exception of wheeled models, are quite compact, fit into a special case and will become literally invisible on a shelf in the pantry. A wheeled garden vacuum cleaner is bulky and massive; there is only room for it in a spacious barn.
You can see the operation of garden leaf blowers with different drive types and technical characteristics in this video:
This review will help you further decide on the choice of the required model.
What points should you pay attention to when purchasing?
Each blower, in addition to its basic functionality, has specific technical characteristics. So, for garden gas blowers, the main indicator is the speed of the output flow. Ideally, it should be between 300-320 km/h. If this parameter is less than 270 km/h, then you should understand that such a unit will have difficulty cleaning leaves.
The flow rate and air pressure depend directly on the engine power. A high indicator of these characteristics indicates good equipment performance. However, when choosing an electric garden blower, you should remember that a motor power of more than 2.5 kW will require a special cable with a cross-section of at least 1.5 mm2.
In addition to power and pressure, when choosing a garden blower, you should pay attention to the following parameters:
- Leaf bags can have a volume from 40 to 80 liters. The larger the volume, the less often the bag will need to be cleaned, while large filled containers are quite difficult to move.
- Collecting leaves into one large and neat pile is possible only if it is possible to regulate the speed and pressure of the air flow. Otherwise, when approaching a cluster of leaves, the blower will simply scatter them.
- Some modern types of leaf blowers are equipped with stone protection, which extends the life of the garden tool.
- When working with gas blowers, a high level of vibration causes significant discomfort, because after only 10 minutes of operating the equipment, an unpleasant sensation will appear in your hands. Therefore, you should also pay attention to the vibration parameter when purchasing a blower.
- The presence of wheels on the suction pipe makes it easier to control and move the main element of the blower, resting it on the ground.
If, when purchasing garden equipment, you take into account all the listed criteria and choose a high-quality assembly, then blower application will be as comfortable and convenient as possible, and the equipment itself will last for many, many years.
Garden leaf blowers: myths and reality
Some sources contain a lot of misinformation about the capabilities of garden leaf blowers and vacuum cleaners. We will try to dispel some myths and highlight the real capabilities of air guns:
- Garden vacuum cleaners are really capable of collecting small construction debris, such as wood shavings, dust, and pieces of foam.
- Pressurized air flow can be used to accelerate drying of walls after painting and treatment with various liquid substances.
- With the help of a garden leaf blower, you can successfully clean the inside of your car.
- Snowy, unstayed cover, up to 10 cm high, can be removed with air pressure.
- Cleaning the lawn using air flow allows you to saturate the plants with oxygen.
- It will not be possible to remove leaves covered in moisture with a garden vacuum cleaner.
- When the hose of a garden vacuum cleaner gets too close to the surface of the ground, it picks up dust and sand, which contaminates the internal components of the installation.
- Leaf collection bags can allow dust to pass through, so you may see a gray cloud during cleaning.
- Gasoline engines of garden leaf blowers are power hungry.
Results
Thus, we have tried to provide the most truthful and reliable information about various garden blowers.Now, having assessed the proposed facts and become familiar with the prices on the market, potential buyers will be able to choose the best model for themselves or completely abandon the idea and use a broom and rake the old fashioned way. At the same time, numerous reviews claim that returning to a traditional tool after such automation tools is quite difficult, because a person quickly gets used to everything good.
