This time and labor saving machine was introduced in the 70’s to remove leaves, grass mulch and general debris from your driveways, sidewalks and your landscaping, and can even clean gutters and do a bit of light snow removal.
Manufacturers discovered shortly after that many consumers were leaving only the blower behind, while removing the chemical dispensing parts from the device. It was then the potential to improve their invention as a common garden maintenance tool. Blower-vacs also perform nicely in removal of dead leaves from awkward nooks and crannies. It probably saved labor by 10 or more times. With only a flip of a switch the blower-vac can switch to a vacuum to suck up leaves for mulching them.
Some electric blower-vacs are cordless that use rechargeable battery. With these models can be avoided a complete hassle of using an A/C outlet and messing with a cord. These machines are unbelievably stable and have enough power to clean wet leaves and thick debris with ease. They’re also ideal for removing lawn refuse from expansive surfaces like parking lots or motorways. Leaf blowers are commonly used among homeowners because they can collect all dead leaves into a big pile for the yard waste bin. Some electric or gas powered blower-vacs can be sometimes uncomfortable.
The noise that gas-powered blower-vacs produce concerns many consumers, so corded blowers are now more powerful than ever. Many of them are surpassing their gas driven “relatives”. Electric blower-vacs are also much lighter. Their biggest drawback is that you can’t walk away too far from the plug socket (maybe 100 feet or so). Some cities have noise restrictions so quietness rules needs to be checked first.
Electric engines provide plenty of power, are 50 - 70% quieter than gas powered leaf blowers and emit no air pollution. If yardmen used electric leaf blowers to vacuum up and mulch yard debris, it would eliminate virtually all the air pollution problems and greatly reduce the issue of noise.
Most of the newer blower-vac models are rated up to 70 decibels at 50 feet at full throttle. And, unlike people for landscape maintenance, who need hearing protection because of exposing themselves long hours to sound coming from a machine only a few feet far from their ears, residents and homeowners can hear a leaf blower sound for only a few minutes a week at much biger distances.
Several factors have to be kept in mind while you are looking for a blower-vac:
1. volume (cubic feet)
2. weight
3. class
The volume determines how many cubic feet can blower-vac cover per minute. Some of the leaf blowers can convert to shredders or mulchers, from blowers to vacuums or vice versa.
My advice is to try any blower-vac before you buy it and, while operating in the backyard, do wear the recommended safety gear for a safe leaves blowing.