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80 volt battery-powered leaf blowers for professionals?

dankdank Posts: 10
in Tools and techniques
Has anyone found any battery-powered leaf blower that can really replace a gasoline-powered unit?

I just hired a good gardener/landscaper to keep my hedges trimmed, lawns mowed, sprinklers working, weeds pulled, etc. every week or two.  He has gas-powered tools; I have battery-powered tools.  He's trying out my electric ones.  So far, he likes the hedge trimmer, but the leaf blower isn't strong enough.  The one I got for myself was the Black & Decker "LSW36 cordless sweeper", rated at 90 CFM.  It's fine for blowing leaves off smaller areas or areas that require a gentle touch, but can't match the gas-powered one for large jobs.

Looking around a bit, I see that Greenworks has good looking 60 volt and 80 volt leaf blowers, but only the 80 volt one is described as being able to replace a gas-powered tool.  So maybe I'll spring for one of those and see if it suits him.
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Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Rake?
  • dankdank Posts: 10
    Rakes sound nice, but they would take much longer.  Gardeners roundly reject the idea.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    forgive me if I'm wrong, but this looks like a very thinly disguised advert
    Devon.
  • dankdank Posts: 10
    edited March 2018
    Sigh.  It's not at all an advert.  I am also looking at other brands, like Snapper and Kobalt.  But I was in a hurry and did not look up their offerings yet. 
    I suspect only 80 volt units are truly gas-equivalent (efficiency goes up with voltage), so I'm only looking at those now.

    Lessee...
    Snapper's is SXDBL82K 82V 550 CFM, $292;
    Kobalt's is KHB 400B-06 80V 500 CFM, $199; and 
    Greenworks' is GBL80300 80V 500 CFM, $220.

    Those three brands are the only 80v ones I could find in my quick search.

    Having trouble deciding.  I may go with whatever the local big box store has in stock.  I think all three brands offer lawnmowers etc. that use the same batteries, which is important because the dang batteries are so expensive.
  • glasgowdanglasgowdan Posts: 632
    edited March 2018
    If you're in the USA then we won't be familiar with most of the brands available to you as this is a UK-based site
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    I'm also confused as to why the OP is looking at spending money to provide a gardener/landscaper with tools.  If the gardener is happy with his petrol/gas powered tools what is the reason for trying to persuade them to move to electric?
  • dankdank Posts: 10
    Several reasons. 
    1) my neighbor doesn't like the noise of the gas-powered leafblower.  (I don't, either.)
    2) gas-powered leafblowers are technically illegal in this city, though the ban is only loosely enforced, as good substitutes were not really available until recently.
    3) Our city has about 100 days a year of unhealthy air that doesn't meet federal standards, and small off-road motors are an increasing share of the cause.
    4) I'm on the neighborhood council's sustainability committee, and we're interested in helping the city move off of fossil fuels in an economical way, both for healthy air and a healthy climate.
    5) The cost of a blower is kind of small compared to the cost of the ongoing gardening.

    Anyway, I think I've settled on the cheapest 80V unit that my local hardware store carries.  I'll report back on whether the gardener thinks it's good enough to use instead of the gas unit.
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Thanks for the explanation dank.  That still doesn't really explain why you, rather than the gardener / landscaper are paying for it.  If gas powered blowers are illegal surely he's going to have to get a replacement anyway.
  • dankdank Posts: 10
    edited April 2018
    Like I said, enforcement is spotty; it's essentially ignored.

    I'm unhappy with the status quo.  I want to reduce noise, smog, and climate change.  And if I want it to happen, I have to make it happen.

    I'm trying to change the world here, using my gardener as a test case.
    If he likes the electric equipment, then I'll see if I can get the city to switch to electric equipment for its own landscaping.
  • dankdank Posts: 10
    Sweet jeebus the 80 volt one packs a punch.  The 40 volt one I already had is kind of like the lady version; it's ok for smaller areas and if you're not in a hurry.  The 80 volt one is for when you don't want to mess around, you just want all the leaves - and anything else not nailed down - gone.
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