How to Buy a Cordless Leaf Blower – A Beginners Guide

 In a world where we have access to a wide range of options and endless possibilities, it’s easy to become overwhelmed if you consume a lot of information at once. This guide is here to help you discover how to buy a cordless leaf blower. You will avoid that overwhelmed feeling so that you can be able to pick the best option for your needs. So, if you’re looking into buying tools for yard work, or more specifically, a leaf blower, you’ve come to the right place.

 Do I really need a leaf blower?

First of all, do you really need anything when it comes to lawn care? No, you can let your property become overgrown and not even bat an eye, but let’s face it, having a clean and beautiful piece of property is something to take pride in. Imagine how proud you would be if someone complimented your property and you could say, “Thank you, I did it myself!”

Although fall foliage may be beautiful and the colors are bright for a brief period, eventually most of the leaves fall and take residence on your lawn as small, brown, and crispy nuisances. If you’re the kind of person who prefers to always keep your lawn clear, you’re in good company. However, it goes without saying that doing this yard work, regardless of the size of your property, can be taxing on your body, making it even more dreadful.

Yes, you can hire a landscaping company to come and clean up your property from all the remnants of fall, but that can be pricy. For those who are more interested in taking care of their property and the aforementioned leaves that litter it, this process isn’t so easy. If you choose to rake up the leaves, you then have to bend over to scoop all the leaves into a large garbage bag. As if that wasn’t difficult and annoying enough, you may also have to deal with fighting to keep the bag open or the wind scattering the leaves that you just cleaned up. This is not usually a process that homeowners look forward to. If you had a leaf blower, you could clean this mess up much faster.

Why should I buy something I’ll only use briefly in the fall?

Although it’s the only example that I have provided up to this point, leaf blowers serve a purpose outside of the fall months. In fact, they are also useful throughout the year!

It can be just the tool you needed if you’re working on a new project and need to blow away sawdust or the dust that is usually left behind and covering all surfaces after you sand something.

Not the DIY type?

You can also clear away sand that is left behind after your beachy summer days, blow off your walkway or porch when dirt seemed to get away from you while doing your spring gardening, or you could even use it for blowing that light, fluffy snow off of your car, driveway, or walkway.

Have I convinced you to buy one yet? If not, I’m about to knock down another one of your potential hesitations.

Leaf blowers are such a hassle!

Although this can be true, some people may have an idea in their head that operating a leaf blower means having an excessively long extension cord following you around your property and then having to find a new place to plug it in when you finally run out of slack.

Of course, there isn’t a warning that you’re about to run out of slack unless you’re checking every few seconds, and usually, you find out when you yank the cord out of its power source. If this hasn’t happened to you, consider yourself lucky that you were able to avoid that level of frustration.

Aside from the frustrations of a cord, there are also cordless leaf blower options that fall into two main categories: gas-powered or battery-operated. Maybe your past negative leaf blower experiences can be blamed on the fact that in the middle of your yard work, you ran out of gas and didn’t have any left on hand or even in the garage. What’s one way to ensure that you won’t want to finish a task that you didn’t want to do in the first place? A forced trip out of the house in order to finish the job. To me, that just sounds like a recipe for an incomplete job and a potential call to the local landscaper.

Why cordless? Advantages and Disadvantages.

The great thing about cordless, battery-operated leaf blowers? That’s just the thing. There isn’t just one great thing about them! Not only will you not have to worry about plugging one of these leaf blowers in or have that long extension cord that I mentioned earlier, but these tools are known for being light. That means that taking them around your property will be a breeze thanks to the freedom that you have and the fact that it won’t weigh down on your shoulders as much as others might.

Advantages

Cordless leaf blowers are also less expensive than other options. When you think about the trouble that you’ll be saving yourself, whatever money you spend will be well worth it. However, as with most things in the world, you get what you pay for, so you may want to spend a little more and buy a better model. But even the higher end of cordless leaf blowers is easy to digest compared to the price of another option of the same quality.

Another benefit to the cordless, battery-powered leaf blowers is that it is better for the environment and your health! Did you know that extended periods of exposure to the inhalation of gas can cause headaches and drowsiness, among other things?

While my goal is not to worry you, this is a factor to take into consideration. Not having to rely on gas to power your leaf blower means you won’t have to deal with the smell, nor will the smell stick to you, following your use of the tool.

Disadvantages

As much as I’d like to deny that cordless leaf blowers have disadvantages, I have to be fair and honest. The battery does have a limited lifespan before it needs to be charged again, so you stand a chance of running into a similar issue as I mentioned with gas-powered leaf blowers.

However, if you keep a second battery on deck, ready to be used if needed, this won’t be too much of an issue for you. This way, you can always have a battery with your leaf blower, and one on or near the charger, ready to go. One aspect that gas-powered leaf blowers have an advantage over battery-powered leaf blowers is the power that they have. Unfortunately, the battery-operated option won’t give you quite as much blowing power.

What should I look for in a cordless leaf blower?

Although there are some differences that are undeniable between gas-powered and battery-powered leaf blowers, it’s important to remember what you specifically are intending on using the leaf blower for.

While, yes, battery-operated leaf blowers aren’t as powerful, that may not be a problem for you if you don’t need all that much power in the first place. Just because there are things that gas-powered leaf blowers may do better, that is no reason to count battery-powered leaf blowers out. When you’re trying to decide, remember that it has to meet your expectations and your standards, since you’ll be the owner and you’ll have to pay for it.

There are plenty of people in the world that automatically resort to buying the highest model of whatever they can get their hands on simply because more money usually equates to higher quality. The problem with this mindset is that sometimes the only thing that comes out of shopping like that is wasted money and features or tools that aren’t even necessary for that specific person or situation. For example, if there was an option to get a flying leaf blower, that doesn’t by any means mean you need a flying leaf blower. Just because it’s deemed the best by the market, or some articles online, doesn’t mean that it’s the best for you.

Safety Tips

As with all tools, it’s important to know what practicing safety looks like with each tool. In this case, leaf blowers should blow leaves around your property, not anything that might be hazardous to the operator or anyone else in the vicinity. Not only can sharp things be blown around and flung towards people or fragile things like windows, but some dust can become hazardous if inhaled. If you can’t avoid dusty environments, prioritize wearing a mask that will keep you protected.

On a similar note, it’s also important to protect your ears and eyes. Leaf blowers aren’t exactly known for their soft and quiet hum, so invest in a pair of earmuffs that will protect you from the potential effects of the loud noise. Having protective eyewear can seem silly, but I promise you that your ability to see and the health of your eyes are more important than your appearance while doing yard work.

If you’re going to use your leaf blower to clear out your gutters, make sure that you are safe and stable on the roof or ladder. It’s also important that you’re not leaning over the edge of the roof or away from the ladder. Falling and getting injured will be much worse than having leaves in your gutter.

If you have long hair, tie it back so that it is away from any moving parts that could grab it.

It’s also recommended that you keep on top of your leaf blower’s cleanliness and maintenance. Before you work on the inside of your leaf blower to ensure that everything is good to go, make sure that you remove the power source. Make sure that any fans or filters that need to breathe aren’t being blocked by any debris and replace filters as regularly as needed in order to extend the life of your leaf blower.

Accessories

Believe it or not, there are a significant number of options for buying accessories for your leaf blower. For example, there are plenty of attachments available that can aid you in cleaning up leaves in the fall, and I don’t just mean by blowing it into a pile. There are accessories that will collect the leaves in a bag for you to make the process even easier and with a variety of hose options, you can figure out which is best for you. There are also attachments available that can help you clean out your gutter in a safer manner than I’m sure countless people have been doing and will most likely continue to do it.

Touching back on the safety aspect again for a moment, there are also plenty of options for protective gear such as eyewear, earmuffs, and masks that can keep you from having an unpleasant experience.

How do I know which one to buy?

When you’re trying to choose the right leaf blower, there are several factors that you should consider. Some variables that will play an important role in your decision have already been mentioned in this article, but to sum it all up in one place, here is a list of the top five things that you should consider when you’re looking to purchase any kind of leaf blower, corded or cordless.

1. How much power are you looking to have?

The way that you approach this question will have a lot to do with what you expect your machine to be capable of handling. If you are only going to be using it for minor tasks such as small yards, then you don’t need an excessive amount of power. If you’re going to be handling bigger jobs, you’ll want to have the ability to demand more of the power of your machine.

2. How much are you looking to spend?

If you’re looking to keep the amount of money that you spend on a leaf blower as low as possible, you’re obviously not going to end up with a heavy-duty leaf blower that can move mountains, which ties this point back into the first one. If you’re willing to spend whatever amount is necessary in order to get the power and quality that you want, your options will be very different from someone who only plans on using the leaf blower occasionally for quick little jobs.

3. What type of leaf blower are you interested in?

There are three types of leaf blowers, and depending on which one you prefer, your options will vary. Your leaf blower options are handheld, backpack, and walk behind. Of those three, you’ll have to pick one to start narrowing down your search.

4. What will you use it for?

Tying back into the last factor, the type of leaf blower you’re looking to purchase will vary based on what you’re expecting the leaf blower to be capable of and what you need it to do. If you’re planning on doing work that is more on the heavy-duty side, you’ll want your leaf blower to handle it.

5. What does maintenance look like?

Another thing to take into consideration is what you’ll have to do in order to take care of your machine so that it can continue to perform as well as possible, for as long as possible. If you do decide to make a larger investment when buying a leaf blower, odds are that you’ll want to do whatever you can to make sure that it lasts. Knowing what you’ll have to do to keep up with the maintenance is a great place to start. Some machines might be a little more “high maintenance” than others, so it’s important for you to decide beforehand what you’re willing to do.

6. Bonus Point! What is the manufacturer’s reputation?

For some buyers, this will be the first thing that they look at. A lot of people find a brand that they like and immediately become loyal enough that they will blindly trust the brand to never steer them wrong. However, maybe your favorite brand excels in one aspect other than the quality of their leaf blowers. Although it’s hard to leave the comfort of a brand that you’ve trusted for extended periods of time, it may be time for you to do some research and start looking at what other brands have to offer.

Although it can be a long process as you go through your rounds of eliminations, doing the research before you buy a leaf blower will prove beneficial. Your future self will thank you for doing your due diligence rather than buying impulsively and being unhappy with your choice.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, this decision probably won’t alter your life one way or another. That being said, if you’re someone that enjoys taking care of your property or even if you’re stuck between a rock (not wanting to have an overgrown property) and a hard place (not wanting to pay landscapers to come to the work), you may want to consider buying a tool that will make that aspect of your life easier. Taking an obligatory task and making it something that it’s half bad is a great way to deal with the undesirable responsibilities that life throws at you. Why not start here?

If you’ve already been thinking about buying a leaf blower, or even something similar, ask yourself why you were thinking about buying that particular thing and if it meets all your needs and desires. Excellent if it does! If not, find comfort in the fact that there are so many options and there is sure to be something for everyone.

Take some time to compare competing brands with similar products to see what the difference is. Read the reviews all the way at the bottom of the product’s page and see what other people have to say about it. Keep in mind that many people that leave reviews are on opposite extreme ends of the spectrum and either love or hate the product more so than reasonable. Ask people you know if they have any recommendations. If you’ve got some people that you’re close to, ask to try out their leaf blower to get a feel for what you might look for.

What better way to figure out where to start than by asking the people that surround you on a regular basis? Ask coworkers, friends, family members, and even employees at your local hardware store! Or if that’s out of your comfort zone, you can start with a google search and narrow your options down that way based on the factors that we covered earlier. Whichever way you plan on approaching your purchase of a leaf blower, know that you can refer back to this guide for clarity.

Making an investment like this shouldn’t be an impulsive decision that has zero thought behind it, so take the time to do your research and get what’s best for you. Once you have the right leaf blower, you’ll be glad that you didn’t settle for whatever was immediately available and finally enjoy your lawn maintenance.

Good luck, stay safe, and happy lawn care!