Leaf Blowers & Blower Vacs

Blower or Blower-Vacuum? Jet fan or Centrifugal fan? There are a few things worth knowing before choosing your next blower or vacuum.

What to consider Features
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Are you still using a rake to clean up the yard and garden mess? A leaf blower will shave hours off cleaning up your deck, driveway and backyard. 

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What to consider

A trim lawn and neat garden beds

Size and type of garden

Let’s face it, every outdoor space has to contend with leaves, whether or not they’re yours! If you have lots of material to move, and maybe some distance to move it, you’ll need a blower with power and mobility. If you have narrow paths or a smaller backyard, you’ll want a blower with more control. And if you don’t want to blow leaves in your pool, a blower vac is a great option.

Autumn leaves

Material you need to shift

The type of material you need to shift or remove will help determine what type of blower or vacuum you’ll need. Damp, dense debris requires a blower with more air speed than if you need to move dry leaves or grass clippings. And if you want to mulch leaves to return them to the garden, you’ll need a blower vacuum that mulches.

Features

A diagram showing the difference between axial and centrifugal fans

Axial vs. centrifugal fan blowers

Axial fan models (aka jet blowers) are great for moving lots of mess in large areas and are best used for shifting dry materials in a general direction. But if you have tighter spaces that require more directional control, like narrow paths, a blower with a centrifugal fan will be more suitable – they also remove stubborn materials better than axial fans because they ‘focus’ the expelled air.

A Ryobi leaf blower with variable speed control

Variable speed & cruise control

A cruise control function is a great addition to a blower or blower vacuum, especially when you have a large area to clear and don’t want to have keep holding down the trigger. Variable speed allows you to better control where you want the material to go … into the garden or into a pile.

Turbo function on a Ryobi leaf blower

Turbo function

Blowers with a ‘turbo’ or ‘boost’ button offer that extra burst of power when you need it – like when moving a large pile of leaves or damp material. This mode uses a lot more battery power, so best to use it only when you need it.

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