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With the onset of autumn, the number of worries for the owner of a personal or summer cottage, perhaps, reaches its maximum limit for the entire year. These are also pleasant chores associated with the collection, processing and storage of the crop. But what area in Russia would do without fruit or ornamental trees and shrubs, as well as numerous flower beds and flower beds. And all of them require special attention on the eve of winter - some plants need to be covered and insulated, others even dug out, and traditionally all accumulated plant debris is removed from the garden, especially those obtained due to abundant leaf fall. Many people simply burn this garbage, others do the wiser - put it in compost heaps or use it in the form of mulch in the beds. But this process is very laborious, even if there is a small area in 6 ares... And what can we say about if you have 10, 15 or even 20 acres.
In the modern world, technology comes to the aid of people. And even in such a matter as cleaning the garden area, devices have already appeared that are ready to significantly facilitate human labor. If earlier there were only powerful units that could only be used on an industrial scale: in parks, on streets and squares, now there are small devices called garden vacuum cleaners or blowers, which even women and adolescents can use. Their capacity is usually small, but they cope with the volume of work on personal plots quite easily. For example, rechargeable blower Bosch, with a low power and battery voltage of only 18 v, it can remove fallen leaves and even small twigs from the entire paved yard and garden paths on a plot of 8 acres in literally 20 - 30 minutes. Of course, in order to clean the lawn, and even in wet weather, models are needed that are more powerful and with a wide range of functions, but their choice is now so great that it's time to deal with the blowing mechanisms in more detail.
Blower or vacuum cleaner - what's the difference
Often in the proposals of even reputable companies, such units are called vacuum blowers, although this is far from the same thing and, moreover, does not always correspond to their true essence.
The fact is that all garden devices of this type can have three functions:
- Blowing air at high speed;
- Air suction with all accompanying elements;
- Chopping the collected / sucked in plant debris.
The first function is the simplest and at the same time quite versatile. Devices that are only capable of blowing out air are usually called blowers. They cannot suck in foliage and other plant debris, although their name often consists of two parts: blower-vacuum cleaner. This is nothing more than a trick of advertising managers, so when buying, carefully read the instructions for the corresponding model.
The second function is more like a regular home vacuum cleaner, with the only difference that it is designed to collect leaves and organic dirt of a larger volume from the courtyard area.It should be noted that if the blower has a suction function, then its power, as a rule, is reduced compared to models designed for blowing only. Judge for yourself, if a garden vacuum cleaner sucks in everything at a high speed, then large clods of dirt and even stones will not leave it, which can adversely affect the operation of the engine. True, reputable blower manufacturers, such as Makita or Garden, usually solve this problem as follows: they make several speed switching modes so that they can be used when changing functions.
Shredding often comes with a vacuum cleaner function and will be very interesting for those owners who prefer to use the collected plant debris in the future to increase the fertility of their garden.
For example, the battery blower Greenworks gd 40 bv successfully combines all three of the above functions in its work. It has a high torque brushless motor that is comparable in power even to gasoline engines. But this blower does not require special maintenance, and the level of noise and vibration emanating from it is incomparable with gasoline counterparts. The most important advantage of this blower model is that it is rechargeable, that is, it does not depend on an electric wire and can be used anywhere in your area farthest from your home.
Classification by engine type
As you probably already understood, all blowers also differ in the type of engine that is used to operate them.
The most popular for small private gardens are electric blowers. Their advantages include relatively small size and weight, low noise and vibration levels, as well as ease and safety of control. Typically, these blowers are relatively inexpensive and the environment is minimally affected. Most of the world's most famous brands such as Gardena, Bosch and Makita have launched a series of electric blowers of various capacities. The disadvantages of these blowers are also obvious - you are tied to the length of the electrical cord, so these blowers are not suitable for large areas.
Gasoline garden vacuum cleaners are designed for large and complex objects, they are more powerful, and with them you can quickly clear an area of any size from plant debris. In addition, they do not overheat like their electrical counterparts. But they are very noisy, pollute the environment and are characterized by a high level of vibration. In general, these machines are more for professionals than for home owners.
The most interesting compromise is battery blowers - vacuum cleaners. On the one hand, they are not tied to sockets, therefore they are very mobile and maneuverable, on the other hand, they are lightweight, quiet, easy to operate and environmentally friendly to use. But charging the battery of such blowers lasts from 15 minutes to one hour for the most advanced models, an example of which are some rechargeable blowers Makita... Most cordless blowers need to be charged quite often. Therefore, you will constantly have to be distracted from work by recharging the batteries.
Nevertheless, since they are the most suitable tools for cleaning small garden areas, it makes sense to look at the available blower models from the most famous manufacturers such as Bosch, Devolt, Makita and Gardena in more detail.
Cordless Blowers
Among battery-powered garden cleaning machines, most often there are blowers with only one operating mode, blowing, without a suction function, although, as mentioned earlier, they can be called a battery blower - a vacuum cleaner.
The battery in the vast majority of blower models is one or even several lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.They began to be used in blowers relatively recently. They have a high energy density and, naturally, more capacity than other types of batteries.
Therefore, they can be charged without even waiting for the final discharge.
The battery capacity is different for different blower models. In some models, one charge is enough for 15-20 minutes of continuous use, which is quite enough to remove leaves from the path or fresh snow from the roof. Such is, for example, a rechargeable blower Stihl bga 56 set. Its 2.8 Ah battery capacity is enough for approximately 20 minutes of operation.
Other blower models can run continuously on a single charge for about an hour, but they usually use multiple batteries and cost much more. An example of a good quality / price ratio is the Dewalt dcm 562 p1 battery blower. Its battery capacity reaches 5 Ah, respectively, this unit is capable of operating without recharging for up to 50-60 minutes.
The difference between battery blowers and the maximum speed of the air blown out of the pipe opening. It can range from 40 to 75 meters per second. Even small pebbles and branches can be swept away at high air flow rates.
For all similar technical parameters, the blower model you have selected may not be suitable for garden work.
An example is the Bosch gbl 18v 120 blower model, which has a high flow rate of 75 m / s and an average battery voltage of -18v, but due to the very small battery capacity, it can work only 5 or 9 minutes without recharging.
All blowers are very light - weighing between 1.5 and 3 kg, which is convenient as they can be held even with one hand. An example of one of the lightest models, which is not inferior to others in terms of performance, is the Gardena Accujet 18 li blower. Its weight, together with the battery, is only 1.8 kg. Despite its light weight, this blower has a speed of 190 km / h and can remove leaves from an area of about 300 square meters per battery charge. meters. The 18 li designation in the model abbreviation denotes the use of a lithium-ion battery with a voltage of 18v. In addition, this blower has a battery level indicator.
Therefore, when choosing a charger, be guided by the battery voltage according to the blower passport, which can be 14v, 18v, 36v or 40v.
Cordless garden vacuum cleaners
Battery models leaf blowers and other plant debris are quite rare. Unfortunately, neither Bosch, nor Gardena, nor Devolt, nor even Makita produce such models.
Among the less well-known brands, in addition to the already mentioned model of the Greenworks company, there are only Ryobi RBV36 B and Einhell GE –CL 36 Li E blower-vacuum cleaners.
Of course, the Ryobi RBV36 B can be considered the most powerful and reliable among them, this blower-vacuum cleaner even has wheels located on the suction pipe, which allows it to achieve great efficiency when sucking up plant debris.
In the article, the battery models of blowers were especially considered in detail, since they are the ones most in demand for most owners of small suburban areas. But, everyone should choose their own garden assistant, first of all, based on their needs and capabilities.
