A leaf blower or simply a blower is a power tool that can be held and operated with one hand. There are many different blowers to chose from, but today I want to talk about the highest rated leaf blowers. All leaf blowers have a primary job of blowing air to move leaves, small sticks or other debris.
There are different sizes to chose from among the highest rated leaf blowers, starting with small battery powered blowers, on through the standard hand held blowers, and then the large powerful backpack leaf blowers. Each of these have an engine, either gas or battery which forces large volumes of air through a narrow tube that is aimed in the direction we want to blow the debris. Most of the air tubes have a round nozzle at the end, but sometimes the nozzle can be flat for a wider but not as high force of air.
Highest Rated Leaf Blowers For Ease To Use
The battery powered leaf blowers have really grown in popularity over the last few years as they are small, lightweight, and very easy to use. Even better they use the same battery as a compact cordless tool set, so you may not need to buy extra batteries or charger. Everything is much simpler if all the tools use the same size batteries.
Some of the highest rated leaf blowers among the battery lineup can compete with the handheld gas blowers in wind speed and the more important, cubic feet of air per minute. While the m.p.h. of the wind is important as well, the more c.f.m a blower has makes it able to move more debris at once.
These battery leaf blowers are excellent for blowing grass clippings from recent lawn mowing. With very little effort the grass clippings on the sidewalk or driveway are blown back into the lawn!
A few advantages of a battery leaf blower is how quietly they run. You won’t need earplugs or disturb the neighbors. I can tell you firsthand how far and loud the noise of a gas leaf blower travels during the stillness of evening. Peaceful quite in the woods is ruined by somebody in the distance blowing leaves from their yard or driveway!
With an electric engine there is very little maintenance needed, pretty much just put the leaf blower away when you are done and then when you need it again you can fully expect it to be running smoothly. Also, another advantage is there is no pull rope to start it, simply just a button or throttle to fire it up and get to work!
Handheld Gas Blower – My Favorite Of The Highest Rated Leaf Blowers
In our Tree Pruning and Removal business we use a handheld Husqvarna blower. It has a gas engine, but for us that is not a drawback. That is because our chainsaws use the same gas. A gas can is in the truck for whenever the blower needs refueling.
The Husqvarna leaf blower we use is one of the highest rated leaf blowers in the industry. Its built tough enough for commercial use, we have been using ours for several years now and it is holding up well.
I especially like the compact size of our blower and it still does a tremendous job blowing debris. Most of the time we are using the blower to clear sawdust, wood chips, small sticks, and leaves from the lawn, flowerbeds, or driveways. But it gets used for other things. You can pretty much use you imagination for the numerous task a handy leaf blower can do.
A single handle mounted directly on top of the machine makes it easy to change the blowing direction by simply turning my wrist. The overall length is reasonable, plus the blowing tube can be adjusted to different lengths. A shorter length is especially helpful when blowing leaves out from under shrubbery in a crowded flower bed or working in tight spaces.
Another nice feature is the throttle has a cruise control, meaning it can be set and locked for the longer periods of blowing. That can be helpful so I don’t have to constantly keep my finger on the throttle trigger.
Backpack Blowers – The Biggest Carriable Blower
No discussion of highest rated leaf blowers would be complete without mentioning the true workhorses in the leaf blower family. The backpack family of leaf blowers are worn on the back, held there by straps similar to a normal backpack.
We have a pretty big backpack blower that gets taken to some jobs, but it doesn’t get used as much as our handheld blower. Its bigger and bulkier so we usually only take it with to a job that we can use the backpack blower. Also, the weight of the blower is heavier than the handheld blower.
Most times we are only using our leaf blower for a few minutes at the end of each job. It doesn’t make much sense to carry the big blower with just to save a minute of time.
However, some jobs have a lot of debris to blow, then the biggest or highest rated leaf blowers cubic feet of air moved per minute is needed. During spring cleanup when the lawn needs to be cleared a big powerful blower can blow sticks, leaves and other debris from the grass.
In the fall when leaves are falling from trees there is an easier way than the hard work of using a leaf rake and raking the leaves onto piles to be hauled out. Pull out the backpack blower and start making leaf tornadoes! Blowing the leaves onto a pile or along the road can be an option. But first be sure the township has a truck that comes along to collect them! Or sometimes it is better if we load the leaves into our truck and haul them away ourselves so the leaves don’t have a chance to scatter in the wind! It is a letdown watching stray leaves blow back over the clean lawn!
Using The Highest Rated Leaf Blowers During Winter
Did you know a blower can be used for clearing snow from sidewalks, porches, and other areas that have foot traffic? It sure can! Usually the bigger the blower the better for blowing snow, but a smaller blower will work, just will go slower and not be able to handle deeper snow.
We’ve used our backpack blower quite a bit blowing snow from sidewalks at properties we do snow removal. A coating of snow is easily cleared just by walking down the sidewalk blowing snow as I go. An inch of snow can be blown off but will take a bit more time and persistent aiming of the nozzle. At a certain point, probably when the snow depth climbs above a couple inches it is best to put the blower away and get out a shovel or snowblower made to remove snow from sidewalks.
A handheld leaf blower or battery leaf blower will be enough to blow small amounts of snow from your homes sidewalk or deck. Although they are a bit small to use for commercial snow clearing.
Don’t forget to wear gloves when outside blowing snow. Without warm work gloves the hand holding the blower usually gets cold first because it is gripping the blower and not moving enough to keep itself warm.
Storage For A Leaf Blower
Like everything else you will need a place to put the leaf blower when it is not in use. Often a shelf is a great place to set them, or perhaps a hook to hang it on along a wall or from the ceiling. An outdoor shed or garage is an ideal place that way no unwanted fumes from a gas blower can escape into the house.
At home my leaf blower is stored under a shelf in an outdoor shed. At work our handheld leaf blower has a designated spot in the truck toolbox so we always know where it is and so the leaf blower goes with to each job.
Do you have any questions about leaf blowers? Be sure to ask me in the comment section below and I will be happy to answer them!
Your Arborist Friend: Justin