[Technology] Consumer advice - rechargeable garden leaf vacuums

[Norman Potting]

OK I have prefixed it "Technology" in the absence of "Sad" !

Any recommendations for this? Quite small but would like a device to suck up leaves and possibly the little red berries that drop of the trees onto our modest lawn and decking.

 

[CheeseRolls]

I have a ton of Ryobi stuff, all of which is very good bar the leaf blower, which is a big waste of space.

Please note, my advice should be qualified as I am an amateur and will likely burn my house down and decimate the entire neighbourhood.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Cheshire Cat]

There is a thing called a "brush", sometimes known as a "broom".

They aren't very expensive, and can be found in most good hardware shops.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Is there a leaf vacuum? All the ones I have seen simply blow debris about.

 

[mwrpoole]

I have a leaf collector gathering dust in the garage. Used it a couple of times and complete rubbish. It’s the rake and a sack for me.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Has Dyson produced a stupidly overpriced one yet?

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Does it have to be rechargeable? Do you have a suitable extension lead? Mine is excellent and I've had it for about 7 years. Sucks in to a large bag or blows away like a good'un. Still about £39.99 and can thoroughly recommend it. If you don't mind a cable, I'll look up the make.

Edit: Here's the link, it's The Handy. Sorry it's a tenner more than I thought, but mine has been excellent value:

//https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handy-THEV2600-Electric-Blower-Vacuum/dp/9800559280/ref=sr_1_20?crid=2GEOB169WUQQ2&dchild=1&keywords=leaf+blower+and+vacuum&qid=1602946418&s=outdoors&sprefix=Leaf%2Caps%2C180&sr=1-20"]http://https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handy-THEV2600-Electric-Blower-Vacuum/dp/9800559280/ref=sr_1_20?crid=2GEOB169WUQQ2&dchild=1&keywords=leaf+blower+and+vacuum&qid=1602946418&s=outdoors&sprefix=Leaf%2Caps%2C180&sr=1-20[/URL]

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Depending on how heavy the berries are your leaf vacuum might not have enough puff to hoover them up...

I love my leaf hoover. Very satisfying - just wish the rechargeable batteries would last a bit longer.

 

[swindonseagull]

I have a leaf collector gathering dust in the garage. Used it a couple of times and complete rubbish. It’s the rake and a sack for me.

We also have one gathering dust in the garage.....complete waste of money the vacuum is supposed to suck up the leaves and mulch them so they go in the attached sack.
REALITY....it sucks up ok but just gets blocked before the mulcher and to clear it means taking out 3 screws ( not even quick release fastners) it honestly blocks up every 2-3 minutes hence its not been used for 3 years and only used a couple of times in the first year.

SAVE YOUR MONEY BUY A RAKE.

 

[portlock seagull]

There is a thing called a "brush", sometimes known as a "broom".

They aren't very expensive, and can be found in most good hardware shops.

This. I was chuckling to myself the other day. This young maintenance lad spent 30mins trying to blow a pile of damp leaves from one side of the road to another, off a pubs property and into the hedges opposite. He could have picked them up in 10mins. Moronic behaviour. Especially when they blew back the next day.

 

[Jeremiah]

I have an electrical leaf collector which has a long lead and plugs into a socket , its about 10 years old.. Its quite good but heavy , newer versions may be lighter in weight now.

Any electrical equipment I have ever purchased which is rechargeable seems to stop functioning within a year so I steer clear of "Rechargeable" goods now.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

The Handy I mentioned earlier does everything that other posters have suggested it won't. It sucks up leaves, berries, twigs etc like a Hungry Hippo and as I said, I've used it regularly for about 7 years. If you put down decorative bark, just hold it a little higher and it will take all the twigs and leaves and leave the bark. If it grabs stones or gravel, just release the trigger and they roll back out. We have some decorative pebbles and I use it to hoover up dead blossom from them. It's a very satisfying task.

 

[Badger]

This. I was chuckling to myself the other day. This young maintenance lad spent 30mins trying to blow a pile of damp leaves from one side of the road to another, off a pubs property and into the hedges opposite. He could have picked them up in 10mins. Moronic behaviour. Especially when they blew back the next day.

Leaf blowers have become a real pet hate of mine. They have just become tools for lazy gardeners who don't want to do any physical work. You can't go for a walk in my neighbourhood without hearing the constant revving of petrol powered leaf blowers. They're ridiculously noisy, very polluting and utterly useless at doing the job they're supposedly designed for. In most cases a broom and/or rake can carry out the same task in the same amount of time (or quicker in a lot of cases).

This article sums my feelings up nicely
https://www.funnyordie.com/originals/2020/9/25/21456560/leaf-blowers-are-the-work-of-the-devil

 

[portlock seagull]

Leaf blowers have become a real pet hate of mine. They have just become tools for lazy gardeners who don't want to do any physical work. You can't go for a walk in my neighbourhood without hearing the constant revving of petrol powered leaf blowers. They're ridiculously noisy, very polluting and utterly useless at doing the job they're supposedly designed for. In most cases a broom and/or rake can carry out the same task in the same amount of time (or quicker in a lot of cases).

This article sums my feelings up nicely
https://www.funnyordie.com/originals/2020/9/25/21456560/leaf-blowers-are-the-work-of-the-devil

Totally with you though I do own one. I use mine sparingly, not for leaves either. Instead, for leaves I use those old fashioned tools called my rake and hands, it’s good exercise and a lot quicker. I listen to a podcast and reward myself with a cuppa at the end.

 

[Blue3]

The type of leaf blower you tend to see professional gardeners use are petrol driven and very powerful these can be used as leaf vacuums but never are they used as vaccums as the bags would become so full so quickly as to make life hard work.

I have a mains leaf blower / leaf vaccum which to be honest is pretty feeble it blows like an asthmatic granny and sucks much the same.

I also have a krarcher tub vaccum which is brilliant as a garden vaccum

 

[Billy the Fish]

https://www.sam-turner.co.uk/products/garden-machinery-stihl-blower-she71?fo_c=603&fo_k=79f0c40996588b0f3410d371a73762a9&fo_s=gplauk&gclid=CjwKCAjwrKr8BRB_EiwA7eFapneaoCE5kILKs0QaXmYc4_KfkBcR6l-dp1xlSzMNid4OUFeOiTd-ChoCV0oQAvD_BwE

I've got one of these bought from the retailer in the link.

Great bit of kit, I really like Stihl garden tools. I did quite a bit of research at the time and there were lots of complaints about leaf vacuums being low power or braking easily. This is still going strong after 3 years and definitely has the balls to sick up your berries.

 

[cloud]

I just use a rake and a broom. Much quicker and easier.

 

[The Clamp]

Just pay a local simpleton a few quid a week to do it for you. There comes a time in life when one really must down tools and get a man in.