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| Photo Credit: Black & Decker Corp. |
| A leaf blower makes collecting leaves or clippings a breeze. |
Raking leaves is one of the great rites of fall, just as gathering grass clippings is a common task in spring and summer. If you’ve got a small yard, maintenance can be a somewhat pleasurable task. But if you have a large property – or a number of mature trees that dump leaves so thickly you can hardly see the grass – it may be time to consider a leaf blower or blower-vacuum.
Simply put, a leaf blower is like a monster-sized hair drier without the heat. It acts like a power broom to sweep or blow leaves or clippings into one spot so you can collect them more easily. In fact, even the lightest and least powerful of these power tools tout themselves as power sweepers or power brooms. And they’re fine if you just want to blow light yard debris and grass clippings off walks and driveways without pulling out a big piece of equipment. If you’ve got heavy-duty tasks to complete, however, you might look into a leaf blower-vacuum. This tool has two functions: It can blow, like a simple leaf blower, as well as suck up leaves. The fancier models even shred leaves to compact them and turn them into ideal material for composting. The most elaborate models also bag the leaves as they suck them up and shred them. (And the bigger the bag, the less often you’ll have to empty it into either your compost heap or lawn-waste bag.) As with most power tools, you’ll have to decide between electric and gas-powered models. Electric models tend to be less expensive (starting at about $40). They’re lighter, don’t pollute and are definitely less noisy. Of course, they’re also less powerful, and you may have to deal with a power cord of limited length. If you opt for a battery-powered model, just realize that the batteries can take a long time to charge, tend to die out permanently over time and run down more quickly with each use than you might prefer.
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