Presented and Written by Adam Woolcott / October 2022
Adam has 30 years of experience as a professional gardener and has many accolades, but is probably best known for his four Gold Medals at The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show and his three BBC/RHS People’s Choice Awards at the show (of which he is particularly proud) which he won as one half of Woolcott & Smith.
Clearing Away the Autumn Leaves
"No son you’re better off just sticking with brooms and rakes!"
When I was first self-employed, I used to work with my late Dad, and I remember working with him one day and seeing another gardening company who were using blow/vac machines. I remember saying to my dad at this point we ought to use those machines they look amazing, but my dad replied no son you’re better off just sticking with brooms and rakes, they’re simple and cheap to use!
I took a lot of advice from my dad, but I think he would have forgiven me for ignoring this bit of advice because purchasing blow/vac machines changed my business forever! No more arduous hours of raking leaves and trying to tease them out from under shrubs, awkward corners and gullies, no more sore elbows, and aching shoulders, no more sweeping and sweeping and sweeping!
One of the great things is that all the machines we’re talking about today can go very easily from blowing mode to vacuuming mode with just some simple and easy adjustments. Sometimes we find it’s easier to blow the leaves into a corner or heap and then suck them up into the bag where the mulching facility can reduce their volume by up to ten times! The vacuuming mode is also great for lifting leaves off rockery areas or from in-between shrubs or plants, in fact, you’ll find many ways of using the machines to get your garden looking clean and tidy and even safe, with no more slippery leaves on steps and pathways.
Today there’s a brilliant choice of machines from cordless, to corded to petrol-powered all with fabulous functions for different tasks and sizes of garden and all of them provide quick, thorough, and easy results from enjoyable and simple machine use.
Best Value Blower/Vacuum for a Small/Medium Garden
The Handy THEV3000 3000w Garden Blower, Vacuum and Mulcher Shredder with its 10.1 mulching ratio and blow speed from 93-167mph will give just as brilliant results as the larger machines and is lightweight, made with durable ABS plastic and is simple to use with its ample 10m power cable and with the flick of a switch you can go from blow mode to vacuuming and back again in seconds! You can vary the speed on this model and the 45-litre collection bag will hold up to ten black bags of leaves due to the mulching function that reduces the volume by up to ten times. We trust and love this machine so much that we’ve given it a 2-year warranty, this is a fantastic machine offering great value and providing satisfying results.
"10.1 mulching ratio and blow speed from 93-167mph"
Best Budget Blower/Vacuum for a Small/Medium Garden
Similar to the Handy machine is the Q Garden QGBV3000167 mph (270 km/h) 3000W Garden Blower & Vacuum with its 1-year warranty, amazing features and ease of use this is a great machine to enter the world of bow/vacs with giving you great results but not breaking the bank in these tough times.
"With its 1-year warranty, amazing features and ease of use this is a great machine"
Best Blower/Vacuum for a Large Garden
If you want the freedom of a cordless machine and incredible power to cover very large areas, then the Webb WEBV26114 mph (183 km/h) 26cc Petrol Garden Blower & Vacuum with its 2-year warranty is another ideal machine. This machine offers great power but is still lightweight enough to use for long periods, 114mph blow speed will quickly clear leaves and all sorts of garden debris and with a mulching ratio of 12.1 then 12 black bags of leaves become one saving space in the garden bin or boot of the car. A 2-year warranty gives peace of mind, and the petrol mix is simple to create, and remember you can simply alternate between blow and vacuum mode as you need.
"114mph blow speed will quickly clear leaves and all sorts of garden debris"
Best Cordless Blower/Vacuum
With the incredible advances in battery technology, the cordless machines are the most recent on the market and the Greenworks GWGD24X2BVK4X Cordless 48V (2 x 24V) Blower & Vacuum is staggeringly impressive with a blowing speed of up to 200mph, even the wettest and stickiest leaves don’t stand a chance. Two 24V lithium-ion batteries give an amazing 48V of power between them and can be charged in around an hour and with a 10.1 mulching ratio the leaf bag will suck up an almighty number of leaves before it’s easily emptied onto the compost heap or garden bin.
If you want a modern, powerful machine that you can take anywhere that will allow you to blow and vacuum leaves, grass clippings, pine needles, dust, and general detritus then the Greenworks machine is worth every penny especially as it comes with a 3-year warranty.
"Staggeringly impressive with a blowing speed of up to 200mph"
Save Time and Have Some Fun
At work or in my garden I would never be without a blow/vac now, these machines save time, and strain on your arms, shoulders, and elbows as there’s no boring and strenuous manual raking and sweeping and they just do such a thorough job.
These machines are also fun, enjoyable, and easy to use and if you go with the prevailing wind direction even easier and don’t just think about leaves what about all that cherry and magnolia blossom in the spring or grass clippings and rose petals in the summer, all year round you’ll find uses for these machines so go on give them a blow.
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