We love our data, so we make sure to collect and analyze manufacturer specifications along with our own testing data. There are two main data points we collect on leaf blowers: the first is sound level.
As a contributing factor to restrictions placed on outdoor tools across the country, excessive noise can be a major annoyance. That’s why we perform a sound level test for each model, placing it at approximately the distance you would expect to find this type of product operating from your ear. We place it perpendicular to the sound level meter and record the results. You can see those results in the graph above, where it’s clear that Ryobi’s blower is by far the quietest of all the units we tested. Everything else is lumped together as they compete for the loudest leaf blower, a title currently held by the Enhulk Max Pro Series 58V.
This is where our jet cannon comes into play. Yes, we could have grabbed some leaves and some loose debris and thrown them around our test spaces, and said, “Hey, this thing blows leaves,” but we wanted to go a step further and see how the production of leaf blowers leaves translated into raw energy.
CNET’s Air Cannon for Leaf Blower Testing.
Steve Conaway/CNET
To do this, we built an air cannon primarily out of 3-inch PVC. Included amenities are an air door, so we can throttle each unit and release all the air in the cannon instantly, and a restriction plate, to prevent the projectile from entering the core of the apparatus. There is also a base for balancing and a 5-foot barrel for launching the projectile.
The projectile itself is a round plastic tube (similar to the pneumatically actuated tubular containers found at bank entrances) containing a sand mixture and weighs a total of 210 grams.
Here’s Eric from our lab demonstrating the air cannon in action. Each colored line represents the longest average distance achieved by each model; Of all of them, the Greenworks Pro leaf blower was the one that shot our weight the furthest. All of those high scores were achieved in the turbo mode of the respective blower, except for the DeWalt leaf blower, which only has one setting.
Ry Crist/CNET
We load the projectile into the barrel, secure the leaf blower nozzle into the inlet port, raise the leaf blower to its maximum power in the selected mode, open the air gate and foom. We measure the distance the projectile travels from its resting place inside the barrel to the initial impact point on the ground. We average this distance over multiple attempts. Done.
We tested each leaf blower on both the regular and turbo settings, and noticed that the DK2 leaf blower and the DeWalt Max Flexvolt 3 only offer a single setting. The colorful visualization above shows the average maximum distance achieved by each brand and makes it clear that our top pick from Greenworks blew away the competition when it came to air power, nearly blowing our weight up to the professional-level DK2 blower, which costs over $1,500. You can find the full results from both rounds of testing in the graph below.
The test results are interesting here when you start comparing specifications. Take Milwaukee and Craftsman blowers for example. The advertised specifications for CFM and mph are almost the same: 120 and 450 for Milwaukee and slightly lower numbers of 110 and 410 for Craftsman. Our test data shows that the Craftsman outperforms the Milwaukee by more than 12 feet in normal mode and by more than 10 feet in turbo mode.
