leaf blower run time on the battery: Any data?

lumen aeternum

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I have the 1st gen Ryobi 18v blower, not enough oomph. I see a newer gen 18v with an axial fan that can use the standard 4Ah battery, and a 40v model with a 2.4 Ahr battery. The DeWalt has a 20V 5 Ah battery, but its 18v under load.

The mph and CFM depend on the size of the nozzle, so can't really compare that data.

But none of this is enough data to tell which has the longest runtime; they don't tell you how much the motor draws!

My corded red Toro is great, but I can't drag it up on the roof to blow off leaves & clean the gutters. I think it is rated at 400 CFM, 100 or 150 Mph.
 
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Sp@rky

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Not sure how high your roof is but have you seen the pipe attachments to clean gutters from the ground? I haven't found an affordable cordless leaf blower that has quite enough power for really soggy leaves yet.
 

Lynx_Arc

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I have the 1st gen Ryobi 18v blower, not enough oomph. I see a newer gen 18v with an axial fan that can use the standard 4Ah battery, and a 40v model with a 2.4 Ahr battery. The DeWalt has a 20V 5 Ah battery, but its 18v under load.

The mph and CFM depend on the size of the nozzle, so can't really compare that data.

But none of this is enough data to tell which has the longest runtime; they don't tell you how much the motor draws!

My corded red Toro is great, but I can't drag it up on the roof to blow off leaves & clean the gutters. I think it is rated at 400 CFM, 100 or 150 Mph.
About the only way I could tell you to find out is to get at the power switch and get an ammeter on the 10A scale and connect it there across the switch to see how much it uses. CFM shouldn't be related to the size of the nozzle as it doesn't change with pressure unless the nozzle actually limits air flow (restricts it) but MPH isn't a good indication as a narrower or wider stream or distance measured from the nozzle can make it impossible to compare one unit's performance to another. As for getting leaves out of gutters I think personally that most blowers aren't going to be able to handle that in every case. I've cleaned gutters manually and a few sticks and dirt and mud and water will make it so that even a tornado may not budge debris there.
 

Lynx_Arc

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Not sure how high your roof is but have you seen the pipe attachments to clean gutters from the ground? I haven't found an affordable cordless leaf blower that has quite enough power for really soggy leaves yet.
Not even water powered gadgets do the job either unless perhaps you have them attached to one of those blasters with a gas or electric pump behind them at 200psi etc and even then the supports can cause lockups of debris that have to be manually removed.
 

lumen aeternum

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I would buy the one that has lifetime replacement batteries from HD.


What brand does that?

I need to blow stuff off the roof BEFORE they wash into the gutter. But the original Ryobi blower does a decent job cleaning the gutters. Blows out dry stuff, pushes the wet into a pile so I can scoop it in chunks, so less working near the edge.

If the Ryobi 18v has a lot more "blow power" I'd be OK with that since I have lots of batteries for it & could carry a spare up if it took more than 1 to get the job done.

I see various VOLTAGES being touted for cordless tools, but I don't see why that is important. Do the brushless motors run more efficiently or get more power with higher voltage input? I think they are trying to display big numbers to the electrically illiterate.

EDIT: my blower is model P2102
 
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Str8stroke

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Not sure about your OP question. But, I thought I would throw this comment in them mix. I can tell you, I got the EGO 56 volt blower with a 4Ah battery. That thing is a beast. It blows away my gas handheld ECCO. And seems as powerful as my ECCO backpack blower. I have never timed it, but it seems to run for about 15 min on "Turbo" on full charge. I gave away/retired my gas blowers. I would not suggest the battery powered blowers for commercial use. Unless you have lots of batteries and rapid chargers.
 

Lynx_Arc

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What brand does that?

I need to blow stuff off the roof BEFORE they wash into the gutter. But the original Ryobi blower does a decent job cleaning the gutters. Blows out dry stuff, pushes the wet into a pile so I can scoop it in chunks, so less working near the edge.

If the Ryobi 18v has a lot more "blow power" I'd be OK with that since I have lots of batteries for it & could carry a spare up if it took more than 1 to get the job done.

I see various VOLTAGES being touted for cordless tools, but I don't see why that is important. Do the brushless motors run more efficiently or get more power with higher voltage input? I think they are trying to display big numbers to the electrically illiterate.

One reason for the higher voltage packs higher voltage is less affected by the battery and wiring and other resistances in the circuitry and motors of the device powered. Higher voltage also allows use of smaller wiring and contacts in switches don't have to be as big it can cut down cost over high current lower voltage packs.

EDIT: my blower is model P2102
It is all about what power is needed for the job. The more power a tool can exert, the more you can do. Batteries supply this power and power (in watts) equals voltage times current (amps). If you can't get higher amperage you can use higher voltage instead and motors can be geared down due to the higher voltage causing them to run faster converting the speed to torque.

To put it simply, to compare batteries multiply the voltage by the amperage keeping in mind that some battery makers use differing numbers for the "voltage" of their batteries like 20v instead of 18v but both batteries are the same type I'm pretty sure of it is a matter of measuring nominal vs no load voltage. Lithium Ion 18650s are 4.2v charged fully and about 3.6v "rated". Most 18v packs have sets of 5 of these batteries making for 21v max fully charged or 18v nominal. When comparing batteries keep this in mind as larger higher voltage packs usually are 40,60, even 80v or 18,48, and 72v.
Higher Ahr packs will last longer in use than lower ampere hour packs and at times they may last longer than the difference in ampere hours on heavy drain devices where these packs often have paralleled sets of batteries which helps reduce battery resistance allowing current to flow easier and less loss of power due to heating of the batteries themselves under loads compared to a single cell series pack.
 
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