September 2007
Leaf blowers
Electric power blowers outperform gas models
LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMP Toro's $70 Ultra Blower Vac was best among handhelds and, at 7.5 pounds, is easy to handle.
The best handheld electric blowers have long beaten their gasoline-fueled competitors with comparable power and less weight
and noise. This year's electrics are an even better value.
Three new corded electric blower-vacs outperformed our highest-scoring handheld gas model at about half the price. The top-scoring model includes a metal impeller that should stand up to vacuumed twigs better than the typical nylon version. Yet at $70, it costs $15 less than the model it replaced. (See our Ratings for specifics, available to subscribers.)
Need the greater range of a gas blower? Manufacturers are cutting costs on larger backpack models by using the smaller impellers from their handheld machines. And nearly all gas blowers we tested meet this year's tougher emissions requirements for sale in California.
You'll also hear more claims about quietness as a mark of the best power blowers as communities increasingly crack down on gas-blower noise. Other features promise easier gas-engine starts with less fussing and fiddling. But our weeks in the field blowing and vacuuming leaves and other yard debris showed some of those boasts to be overblown.
Three new corded electric blower-vacs outperformed our highest-scoring handheld gas model at about half the price. The top-scoring model includes a metal impeller that should stand up to vacuumed twigs better than the typical nylon version. Yet at $70, it costs $15 less than the model it replaced. (See our Ratings for specifics, available to subscribers.)
Need the greater range of a gas blower? Manufacturers are cutting costs on larger backpack models by using the smaller impellers from their handheld machines. And nearly all gas blowers we tested meet this year's tougher emissions requirements for sale in California.
You'll also hear more claims about quietness as a mark of the best power blowers as communities increasingly crack down on gas-blower noise. Other features promise easier gas-engine starts with less fussing and fiddling. But our weeks in the field blowing and vacuuming leaves and other yard debris showed some of those boasts to be overblown.
Making Mulch Blower-vacs can downsize leaves to about half their volume, despite claims of up to 16-to-1 reduction. Still, that’s plenty
of mulch. Our Web site GreenerChoices.org offers more advice on composting.
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