With advice from Laura Simonett as well as hands-on testing during several months, I compared each leaf blower for their value for money, power, usability and whether they blow, vacuum and mulch. Here are the best leaf blowers available right now. Drying your car – leaving your car wet after washing can cause spots to form and spoil the appearance of the paintwork and glass. Using a blower to dry your car will save you the effort of drying it with towels and give you a streak and spot free shine. Clean or replace you air filter. Air must be able to move in and out of the engine for the blower to start – this is normally done through an air filter. If the air filter becomes clogged with dust and dirt it will stop the air flowing, therefore preventing the blower from turning on. Clearing up fallen leaves or grass cuttings is one of those garden jobs few of us enjoy, especially when the weather is cold and damp. But a leaf blower can make short work of the task, creating big piles of garden detritus that’s ready to be scooped into the garden waste bin or composter. Gumtree.com Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of CarMoney Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 674094. Gumtree.com Limited is a credit broker, not a lender. Introductions are limited to motor finance, CarMoney Limited will pay us a fixed commission per paid out deal.

Aside from being an absolute hoot to use, the best leaf blowers can be a handy bit of kit for anyone with a garden or patio prone to drifts of dead leaves. The premise is simple: blow all the leaves (and other small, light debris) together and collect; or you might opt for a model with a built-in vacuuming or mulching modes, which will gather the leaves in an attached bag. These are especially useful for tidying up autumnal leaves, but can be used in any season. While petrol is more powerful (though it releases smoke), electric models are lighter and cheaper. If you’ve a small garden, a corded electric blower will suffice. For a large garden, a rechargeable cordless leaf blower would be better. It’s essential that you wear ear defenders and eye protection when using a petrol blower, as the noise level can be as high as 115 decibels. The practicality and ease-of-use of a four-stroke engine is clearly felt in Makita’s BHX2501 4-Stroke Petrol Leaf Blower. Removing the necessity to mix oil and fuel (a requirement of two-stroke engines), this leaf blower saves time and reduces effort. It also runs quieter.RYOBI 40-Volt Bare Tool Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Variable-Speed 125 MPH 550 CFM Jet Fan Leaf Blower GEN4 (Tool-Only), Green The downside to a larger tank is that too much fuel will make your leaf blower a lot heavier – which means you may need to take regular breaks anyway! A: A Ryobi Leaf Blower is a cordless tool for blowing leaves and debris in your garden or yard. Q: What does “cordless” mean about a Ryobi Leaf Blower? At just under 90dB, it’s a little noisier at its maximum setting than some leaf blowers, and also a little heavier – however the ergonomic handle and well-balanced design still allows you to comfortably operate it single-handed. It works with Bosch’s 36V Power For All batteries in lieu of the more common 18V variety, and the 4A battery we tested it with persisted for around 25 minutes of strenuous garden maintenance before sputtering out. If you’re not overly fussed about vacuuming and mulching, this is the best cordless leaf blower to buy.

There are three main types of leaf blowers – Petrol, corded electric and cordless electric. As a general rule, Petrol blowers offer the most power at the expense of being heavier and noisier and than their electric counterparts, and typically come at a higher price.With 3-in-1 functionality, the leaf blower can blow, vacuum and mulch leaves. It comes with a spacious 40 L collection bag for gathering leaves and it can also mulch leaves to use as fertiliser or add to the compost heap. The downside of a petrol blower is that they can be harder to start, expensive to maintain and heavy to use. You might find it difficult to use a petrol blower sustainably over a long period, plus they tend to be very noisy. Electric Leaf Blowers Many leaf blower vacuums have either a twist attachment or clips to keep the collection bag in place. In a Which? member survey, around one in six respondents reported having issues with a broken bag attachment. Any downsides? Well, there are just a couple: the 0.5 L petrol tank is reasonably small so you won’t be able to use it for long before needing to fill up. The other issue is that, due to the leaf blower’s design, it’s not well-suited to left-handed users. This 26 cc McCulloch petrol blower is equipped with both a vacuum and blow function. It comes with a 45 L vacuum bag (one of the largest on this list) and it also has the capacity to mulch leaves at a radio of 16:1.

A handheld leaf blower will generally be lighter and therefore easier to manage. However, they’re still not that light and can get uncomfortable to hold after even a short period of time. If you’re looking for a handheld petrol leaf blower, make sure that it weighs under 5 kg. The P21081A is the next blower on the list and is one of the most muscular 18V models offered by Ryobi but also the most affordable.To pile up waste, such as fallen leaves, determine where the pile should be. Then walk to the distant side of the area and use a steady, low sweeping motion to move the leaves towards the bank.

Key specs – Type: Leaf blower; Power source: Battery; Weight: 2.5kg; Blow speed: 177km/h; Battery and charger included in the price: No; Battery compatible across manufacturer’s range: Yes; Warranty: 3 years eSkde’s Petrol Leaf Blower strikes a good balance between weight and how much work you can get done before needing to stop to refuel, thanks to its 1.2 L tank. Refilling and maintenance have also been considered and this petrol leaf blower comes with both a mixing bottle and tool kit included. Keeping your dryer vent clean – a build up of lint in your dryer vent is a fire hazard, so use your leaf blower to blow through the pipe and clear out all the dust and lint. With a variable-speed engine, and available ‘cruise control’ function, you can simply switch between more and less powerful settings depending on the task’s requirements; working carefully around flower beds or more intensely on tarmac as necessary. This petrol blower has variable speed control, so you can reduce the speed and fuel consumption for lighter jobs. The speed can be held with cruise control, meaning you don’t need to hold the trigger down, reducing the strain on your hand over long periods.Yes, this Makita petrol leaf blower is more expensive than some other petrol blowers, but the extra money gets you a compact and powerful machine as well as a 4-stroke engine that ultimately cuts down on fuel consumption and releases fewer emissions (compared to a two-stroke engine). This leaf blower is a great mid-range model, designed for smaller areas and domestic tasks. It has a maximum air speed of 170 mph. This should be fast enough to dislodge most stubborn leaves and garden debris. This petrol leaf blower is also reasonably lightweight, weighing just 5 kg, which makes it easy to handle and use in small areas. Leaf blowers are versatile tools that can be used in many different ways. Here’s a list of suggestions for when a leaf blower can come in handy: