Leaf blower Archives - The Lawn Review

May 3, 2023March 15, 2024

5 Most Powerful Electric Leaf Blowers for Large Yards

The most powerful electric blower for your large yard is the EGO 765 CFM leaf blower. Electric leaf blowers can be great for large yards. Most folks think you can’t move big leaf piles with an electric blower, but they are simply wrong.

If you have a large yard, you can benefit from no fumes, a quieter blower, and no maintenance – then electric might just be the option. Let me break down why I switch from gas to electric then list out some of my favorite electric blowers I’ve used over the years.

Let’s get started! Here are the best electric blowers for large yards according to our thorough testing:

The Best Electric Leaf Blowers for Large Yards

There are hundreds of electric leaf blowers on the market, both battery-powered and corded electric. A bunch of them absolutely suck. So we’ve decided to give you the ones we know are absolute beasts when it comes to your large yard.

EGO 765 CFM Leaf Blower

Hands down, I have not found a better electric blower for large yards than the EGO 765 CFM blower. It is an absolute cannon in your hand with extreme power and usability that surpassed my experience with a popular handheld gas blower.

At 765 CFMs, this is best-in-class in the battery-powered blower world. This kind of air volume can move massive piles of leaves across large areas – quickly. With unmatched CFMs and a tremendous combination of MPH, this blower is built for large yards.

That’s an extreme combination of speed and power. When I first used this, it was a powerful blower, then I pushed the turbo button and I had to literally (yes, literally) fight against it because of how powerful it is. It has a brushless motor, is a part of EGO’s extensive 56V battery series, and is durable as heck.

You can grab it from Lowe’s or get it online at Amazon for a great price.

Toro PowerJet F700 Electric Blower

If you’re still with me after my gas blower comment, then I might finally lose you here. But yes – this is a corded electric blower – and it costs less than $100.

You don’t need all the flashy cool features and expensive batteries to put out a freakishly solid blower. This corded blower has 700 CFMs and a super wide nozzle, making light work of massive piles of leaves. This one was built for maximizing air volume, making it great for moving piles of leaves across large yards.

The only downside here is that you will be limited in a large yard by the length of the extension cord. But if you have easy electrical access and a great extension cord, this is the most budget friendly option – by a LONG SHOT.

The Toro PowerJet is available at Home Depot for a shockingly low price.

Makita 40V Max XGT Brushless Blower

I put Makita’s 40V Max blower on here because it is one of the best ones they have for large yards.

Here’s the simple truth about Makita: their tools are extremely high quality but also pretty expensive. When it comes to Makita tools, they have a bunch of really good power tools and have dominated the electric hand tool space for a long time.

Their 36V blower here is pretty powerful as well

So it was a no brainer when they jumped over to lawn tools. I love their 40V max blower for a few reasons:

A sweet brushless motor
A 40V battery that can span a bunch of their tools
It has more power than a lot of gas blowers
When “turbo” mode is engaged it has 565 CFMs – nice!
Their XGT battery series is supposed to be a “smart” battery that helps with overheating and delivers a better run time
A telescoping nozzle – lets you pick different lengths – pretty cool

This blower is on sale right now at Home Depot for a pretty deep discount.

Greenworks 80V 730 CFM Electric Blower

The Greenworks 80V 730 CFM blower is honestly one of the more powerful handheld blowers on the market. It is right there with the Ryobi 40V and EGO 56V blowers in terms of power, and has a true quality build.

The reason this one is lower on the list is that after I tested this one over the course of a few weeks, it started to develop a high-pitched squealing sound. For larger yards, this would result in a spectacular headache and angry neighbors. If you’re looking for power and quality – this blower has it. If you’re looking for a peaceful noise, this one does not.

All-in-all, this was a great blower and we spent a ton of time making a video review for it before the sound got all weird. You can watch the full video review here.

The Greenworks blower can be found on Amazon for a great price and is also at Costco.

Husqvarna 230iB Battery Powered Blower

THe Husqvarna 230iB is a new player in the game. Sure, we all know Husqvarna and their popular riding mowers, but battery-powered leaf blowers? You bet.

While they aren’t the leaders in electric tools yet, they did put out a really impressive blower that is great for large yards.

This blower has a few really great specifications:

A brushless motor
A whopping 650 CFMs
A wide mouth nozzle which delivers large volume of air at 136 MPH

One downside to this blower is that Husqvarna doesn’t have a huge 40V battery line yet, so you don’t quite get the economies of scale you would get from EGO’s 56V battery line, for example.

One thing I will give it credit for is digital controls for cruise control and a really nice grip that feels just like a power drill. It is well-balanced, futuristic and nice.

I imagine Husqvarna will have many good products to come in the future, but for right now they are still immature.

This is a great blower for those looking for a one-off blower and not a full suite of battery powered products. You can grab it on Amazon for a decent price with the battery.

What to look for in a battery powered blower

Cordless blowers come in a bunch of shapes and sizes but there are three basic things you need to understand:

CFM

Cubic feet per minute. This is a measure of air output on the blower. Higher CFM = more power, but not necessarily more miles per hour. High CFM with a wide nozzle = lower MPH. High CFM with a narrow nozzle = high miles per hour. Ideally, you want both a high CFM with a narrow to medium nozzle for most residential jobs.

Usability

What is the point of having a blower if it is hard to use? Have to get one that is lightweight, easy to start, and has some functions that make your life easier.

Motor type

Brushless motors reign supreme. Cooler running motors with more torque, a longer run-time, and last many more years. Brushless is a no brainer when picking a blower.

These are three things you need to pay attention to when looking through the specifications.

Why we review lawn tools

The reason we started this website in the first place was because we had so much trouble trying to find reasonable, understandable, honest reviews for lawn equipment. And it’s not cheap! After hours and hours of research, trying products and returning them, and messing up our yards – we started this site.

As people who had to learn the hard way, we want you to know exactly what you are signing up for before you purchase a piece of equipment. That’s why we are committed to providing honest, easy-to-understand reviews that mean something.

Why I switched from gas to electric blowers

I’ve always been a gas leaf blower fan – and I still own two. I own the Stihl BR 600 backpack blower and the Stihl BG 86 C handheld gas blower. Despite being really powerful and always getting the job done, I got sick of the maintenance schedule and the smell. After I had my first baby, the noise became unbearable as well – trying to use the blower around nap schedules.

All of that stopped when I got a battery-powered blower. My first battery-powered blower was the Ryobi 40V blower, which quickly changed my perspective. The truth is, a lot of these electric blowers are super powerful – even more so compared to handheld gas blowers. I’ll walk you through my favorites below.

How I tested these electric blowers

I’ve tested these electric blowers using personal experience with all of them. I’ve written extensive reviews of each of them and put them through the ringer.

For starters, I tested out their run times compared to the advertised run time. I did this by zip-tying down the trigger and seeing how long it goes for before dying. I also did some side-by-side comparisons to a handheld gas blower. I also compare the noise levels then the other bells and whistles, like turbo buttons.

April 24, 2023April 9, 2024

3 Leaf Blower and Vacuum Combos to Dominate Leaves

Leaf blower vacuum combos are low-key lawn tools that absolutely rule. In fact, I didn’t even know what they were until I saw my elderly neighbor walking around with what sounded like a blender.

It was a leaf blower with a big bag attached to the back of it. Before I jumped to conclusions, I asked him what the heck it was.

A leaf blower that doubled as a leaf vacuum. How did I not think of this sooner and become the world’s first trillionaire?

Anyways, I decided to get my hands on a couple and find out the best one. Here’s the list I came up with for the best leaf blower vacuum combos:

Makita XBU04PTV Brushless Leaf Blower Vacuum Combo
Worx WG512 Tri-Vac Corded Leaf Blower Vacuum Combo
Craftsman CMEBL7000 3-in-1 Leaf Blower Vacuum Combo

How I tested these tools

Ever since I saw, then subsequently borrowed, my neighbor’s blower vacuum combo I’ve been hooked. I grabbed one and then convinced my father-in-law and brother to buy one. They went different routes and got ones that I hadn’t yet used.

I’ve used dozens of blowers and reviewed and compared a bunch on my Youtube channel. There you can see me strap two to a spinny chair and see which one wins…

Ranking leaf vacuum and blower combos

I’ve given you my definitive ranking at the beginning of this article, but let me break down exactly why I chose each one. I pick certain characteristics that I like and ones that you need to absolutely keep an eye out for. Let’s get started with number one.

Makita XBU04PTV Brushless Leaf Blower Vacuum Combo

Makita makes some amazing leaf blowers – we reviewed a ton of Makita’s blowers. I like Makita’s brushless leaf blower vacuum combo for a few reasons. For starters, it is the only cordless leaf blower vacuum combo on this list.

Having a cordless leaf blower vacuum combo is a huge reason why I put this one at the top of our list. Makita knocks it out of the park with every single one of their lawn tools, which is why we have spent so much time with their lawn mowers and weed eaters.

Here are my favorite things about the Makita leaf blower vacuum combo:

Brushless motor – these are longer lasting, more durable, and provide more torque
Makita’s 18V batteries that can be used with probably 1000’s of other tools, lawn or power tools
473 CFMs, which means this thing moves serious air and has a wide nozzle to push big piles of leaves
A mulching function that not only sucks up the leaves, but finely mulches them into shreds. This has a 10-1 ratio which means it can fit mulch clippings in one bag that would normally take 10 bags unmulched. Wow.

This is the priciest combo on the list, but it provides a ton of value that the others don’t. In my opinion, it is well worth the cost because of how much time it will save you. Plus, you can buy the tool-only version if you already own Makita 18V batteries.

This thing goes on sale on Amazon for a great deal.

Worx WG512 Tri-Vac Corded Leaf Blower Vacuum Combo

If you’ve never used a Worx product, you’d be surprised at how nifty they are. They have a ton of cool lawn products, like this stand-up leaf mulcher and this 8-in-1 wheelbarrow. Worx is notorious for innovative products that are inexpensive.

Needless to say, they absolutely crushed innovation + inexpensive in their Tri-Vac leaf blower vacuum combo. This one is corded unlike the Makita one above, which means you have to keep it plugged into the wall with a long extension cord. This has pros and cons – it never runs out of power but limits where you can go and can tangle you with the leaf collection bag.

I love how easy it is to flip this one from blower to vacuum.

This Worx leaf blower vacuum combo is actually pretty dang sick now that I look at the specifications. My brother loves it, but I had never seen exactly why. It has a few things that set it apart from the Makita.

600 CFMs of power – which means this blower absolutely PUSHES leaves. This is great for moving big piles of dry leaves across a large area.
A super handy dial that changes it from blower to vacuum. No removing the tube and putting it on a different part, just twist the knob.
A 16:1 leaf mulching ratio which means it turns your leaves into dang dust.
The bag on this pops on and off really easily.

Whoever at Worx designed this has seriously tried out a ton of these before and was like “I’m going to go make the best”. It is almost perfect. If it was cordless, I’d be in love. Either way, this is a great option and an absolutely ridiculous price.

Right now it is on sale from Amazon for less than $90. Holy crap.

Craftsman CMEBL7000 3-in-1 Leaf Blower Vacuum Combo

Craftsman also has a pretty sweet contender in the leaf blower vacuum combo space. If you’ve never bought a Craftsman product before, I would be surprised. Craftsman makes EVERYTHING. You can walk around your garage and I guarantee you will find something from Craftsman. They aren’t a premium brand or anything, but they’ve got every type of tool and gadget under the sun PLUS accessories.

The Craftsman 3-in-1 leaf blower, vacuum, and mulcher is another corded option that actually puts out some decent power. It is a bit lower than the Worx product above, but it does still get you to 450 CFMs, which is decent.

At 260 MPH on the blower, you’re looking at extreme speeds. Surprisingly high speeds. Actually unbelievable speeds. I don’t know for sure, but that number doesn’t look right. That is a higher MPH than most, if not all, gas blowers and backpack blowers.

I am sure it is still powerful, but not quite THAT powerful.

One thing I love about this blower, vacuum, and mulcher combo is the backpack leaf collector. For many of the others, the bag hangs below the blower and sags, causes it to be heavy, or gets in the way. The Craftsman has a nice backpack strap that lets you simply carry it around without tripping.

The backpack collection feature is clutch.

This one is just under $100 on Amazon – for the price and usability it is a DARN good option.

What to look for in an electric blower

Cordless blowers come in a bunch of shapes and sizes but there are three basic things you need to understand:

CFM vs MPH on a blower

Usability

What is the point of having a blower if it is hard to use? Have to get one that is lightweight, easy to start, and has some functions that make your life easier.

Motor type

Brushless motors reign supreme. Cooler running motors with more torque, a longer run-time, and last many more years. Brushless is a no brainer when picking a blower.

These are three things you need to pay attention to when looking through the specifications.

Why we review lawn tools

October 6, 2022April 2, 2024

3 Strong Milwaukee 18V Leaf Blowers

My favorite Milwaukee leaf blower is the Milwaukee M18 FUEL leaf blower because it is great for every day use including around the shop, backyard, and even for drying your car.

But they’ve got three real options here and you can’t really go wrong with either. And we were lucky enough to get our hands on them for a nice side-by-side trial.

We were blown away (ha,ha).

So let’s check them out together.

SPOILER: Our favorite was the M18 Milwaukee 2724-20 Leaf Blower

You can grab it online from Home Depot or on Amazon by following those links.

The 3 Strongest Milwaukee Leaf Blowers

Milwaukee is known for their amazing quality but they are also known for having a limited selection. One shot, one kill, right? A good example of this is their M18 lawn mower. It is the only lawn mower they make but it is super high quality. Same with their M18 hedge trimmer. That’s why I was surprised to see 3 whole leaf blowers by them.

So we investigated and ranked them.

3. Milwaukee M12 12V Compact Spot Blower

At first glance, this tool seems like a nice-to-have accessory. Lo-and-behold I was super surprised to feel how strong it could blow.

Normally, compact blowers are good to use without a nozzle to dry your car after a detailed wash. While this Milwaukee blower is good for that, it also comes with three nozzles. The wide sweeping nozzle is great for truck beds and job sites. But it also comes with a rubber nozzle and extension nozzle. These take it to the next level and can downright replace your leaf blower at home altogether.

To put this into perspective, it measures at about 110 mph in a nice, direct stream. This is similar to most electric blowers on the market.

You can see the trigger up close with the lock.

Lastly, this bad boy has a ton of settings near the handle that gave me complete control over the job. Speed settings, a speed lock, and even a variable speed trigger were things that stuck out to us as putting this over the “compact blower” category and potentially into full blown “regular blower” territory.

This thing is dirt cheap, especially if you already own the M12 battery. It looks like Home Depot has it on sale for under $100 right now.

2. Milwaukee M18 Compact Multipurpose Utility Blower (0884-20)

You might need a concealed carry license for this Milwaukee blower. While it is pocket size, at just over two feet long, it actually is surprisingly powerful. I’d liken it to the Kimo handheld blower we reviewed, which we wrote about and did a nice lil’ video for.

In fact, they look like they’re made by the same parent company or something.

Either way, we loved that blower and we loved this one, too. In fact, we keep it in our coat closet right by our front door and use it to clean out the front walkway and patio before guests come over. It moves air at 160 MPH in an absolute laser.

While it definitely isn’t the blower for your backyard leaf clearing jobs, it is great for wet leaves, sawdust, tight spaces, and other quick uses.

It also comes with a little extension nozzle that takes it a bit further.

I ranked this number two because it doesn’t have a brushless motor and therefore won’t have quite the efficiency or durability when compared to brushless motors.

Either way, this thing is really slick and an awesome gift for dad.

You can get it on Amazon for a great price, with the battery included or at Home Depot – you should price compare.

1. Milwaukee M18 FUEL 120 MPH (2724-20) Leaf Blower

There is a reason this leaf blower is number one. The Milwaukee M18 FUEL series is sweet and features the top-of-the-line Milwaukee products.

Nice little trigger action on this bad boy.

Firstly, it has a nice brushless motor from their POWERSTATE brushless motor line. This gives this Milwaukee blower some extreme torque, allowing it to get to full blast in one second. Cool but doesn’t change that much. The real benefits to the brushless motor come in its long life and durability. Brushless motors provide a much cooler running motor than typical brushed motor.

Another thing I love about this blower is the higher CFMs. Whereas the other two blowers are high speed, but narrow streams – this blower will have high speed AND a wide stream. This is the ideal portfolio of a blower you can use to move all the leaves off your driveway or backyard.

This blower has all the bells and whistles as well – variable speed trigger, speed lock, and all comes in under 4 lbs.

This is a top of the line blower and if you go reference my “what to look for in a blower” paragraph at the beginning – the M18 blower checks all the boxes.

You can get this one from trusty old Home Depot for a great price.

Why we review lawn tools

About Milwaukee tools

Milwaukee tools have a long history of being tough and durable. Milwaukee is a brand that has been around for over 100 years, and it has a well-deserved reputation for making high-quality tools. Milwaukee tools are used by professionals all over the world, and they are known for being able to withstand heavy use.

Milwaukee makes a wide variety of tools, from hand tools to power tools, and they are used in a variety of industries, from construction to automotive. Milwaukee tools are known for being very versatile, and they can be used for a variety of applications. Milwaukee is a brand that is trusted by professionals, and Milwaukee tools are built to last.

We noticed that Milwaukee was starting to make a splash in the lawn tool industry, so we have been trying to get our hands on any Milwaukee products that we can, including Milwaukee’s M18 super powerful weed eater.

What to look for in an electric blower

Cordless blowers come in a bunch of shapes and sizes but there are three basic things you need to understand:

CFM – Cubic feet per minute. This is a measure of air output on the blower. Higher CFM = more power, but not necessarily more miles per hour. High CFM with a wide nozzle = lower MPH. High CFM with a narrow nozzle = high miles per hour. Ideally, you want both a high CFM with a narrow to medium nozzle for most residential jobs.
Usability – what is the point of having a blower if it is hard to use? Have to get one that is lightweight, easy to start, and has some functions that make your life easier.
Motor type – brushless motors reign supreme. Cooler running motors with more torque, a longer run-time, and last many more years. Brushless is a no brainer when picking a blower.

These are three things you need to pay attention to when looking through the specifications.