A leaf blower clears leaves and light debris in minutes, but the right type depends on your yard and where you can plug in. Here are four top-selling leaf blowers, how they differ, and what Health Canada and Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority say to check before you use one.
Prefer to watch? Here is the video walkthrough of how to choose a leaf blower. Short on time? Watch the quick Short on protecting your hearing.
Quick answer
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Start with where you’ll plug in. With an outlet nearby, a corded blower is the simplest. Want to vacuum and mulch leaves too? Look at a blower-vac. Far from an outlet? A cordless handheld is easier to move around.
A simple place to start: the WORX Trivac WG512, ranked #3 in Leaf Blowers when we checked. It’s a corded 3-in-1 that blows, vacuums and mulches. For cordless, look at the Litheli 20V.
Four leaf blowers, by how you’ll use them
| Product | Best for | |
|---|---|---|
| WORX Trivac 3-in-1 (WG512) | Best for a yard with an outlet nearby and plenty of leaves. #3 in Leaf Blowers when we checked. A corded blower, vacuum and mulcher in one. The product page lists 600 CFM, up to 70 mph and a 1.4-bushel collection bag, and says it mulches leaves at a 16:1 ratio. Skip it if you want to work far from an outlet: it plugs into a 120-volt outlet. | See price |
| BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 blower-vac (BV3100) | Best for a small yard on a tighter budget. #4 in Leaf Blowers when we checked. A corded handheld blower, vacuum and mulcher in one. The product page lists 300 CFM, up to 210 mph, two speeds and a 10:1 mulch ratio. Skip it if you want more air volume or less hand carrying: it’s handheld and the page lists half the WORX’s 600 CFM. | See price |
| Litheli 20V cordless blower | Best for moving around with no cord. #10 in Leaf Blowers when we checked. A handheld 20V blower with two batteries included, 355 CFM, up to 85 mph and two speeds. The batteries also work as a USB-C power bank, and the product page lists a 3-year warranty. Skip it if you have a big yard: the page doesn’t give a runtime. | See price |
| BLACK+DECKER 7-amp corded blower (LB700) | Best for quick cleanup of a deck, driveway or walkway. #8 in Leaf Blowers when we checked. A light corded handheld with 180 CFM and up to 180 mph, 2 kg, and a 2-year limited warranty on the product page. Skip it if you want to vacuum or mulch (it’s a blower only), or if you don’t have an outdoor extension cord: the page says no cord is included. | See price |
Specs come from the retailer’s product pages and can change, so check the current page before you order.
Corded leaf blower, cordless or blower-vac: which one?
Corded blowers run as long as they’re plugged in and need an outdoor extension cord. Cordless blowers go anywhere but run on a battery. Blower-vacs add a vacuum and mulcher, which shrinks a pile of leaves into far fewer bags. CFM tells you how much air a blower moves, and mph how fast that air travels. The product pages list both.
How do you protect your hearing?
Health Canada’s advice on noise:
- Wear earplugs or earmuffs when you use power tools, lawn mowers or gas-powered leaf blowers. The page doesn’t give a noise figure for electric blowers, so use the same habit with any blower.
- A quick test: if you, or someone a metre away, need to shout to be heard, the noise is too loud.
- Ringing or buzzing in your ears afterwards, or muffled sound, are signs the noise was too much.
How do you use a corded blower safely?
Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) advises this for power tools outdoors:
- Use an extension cord rated for outdoor use. Choose one whose capacity matches or exceeds what the blower needs, with a grounded three-prong plug.
- Plug into a GFCI-protected outlet. If your outdoor outlet doesn’t have one, ESA suggests a portable GFCI adapter from a hardware or home improvement store.
- Check the cord for damage before each use.
How do you look after a cordless blower’s battery?
Health Canada’s lithium-ion battery advice:
- Charge it as the manufacturer says, at room temperature and where you can watch it, away from soft surfaces like a couch or bed.
- If you need a replacement charger, buy one from a trusted source or the original manufacturer, and look for a Canadian certification mark such as CSA, cUL or cETL.
- Store batteries in a dry place at room temperature, not in a hot or cold car. Don’t use one that’s swollen or dented.
Common questions
Which corded leaf blowers are in this guide? Two: the WORX Trivac WG512, a corded 3-in-1 that blows, vacuums and mulches, and the BLACK+DECKER LB700, a lighter corded blower only. Both plug into an outlet, so plan on an outdoor-rated extension cord (the LB700 doesn’t include one).
Do I need a cord for the BLACK+DECKER LB700? Yes. The product page says the blower doesn’t include a cord, so you’ll need your own outdoor-rated extension cord.
Can the WORX Trivac handle wet leaves? The product page doesn’t say, and the BLACK+DECKER BV3100 page doesn’t either, so wait for a dry day if you can.
How long does the Litheli battery last? The product page doesn’t list a runtime. It does list two batteries in the box and a 3-year warranty.
Before you buy
- Check where your nearest outdoor outlet is. If it’s a long way from your leaves, think cordless.
- Decide whether you want to vacuum and mulch too, or just blow.
- If you go corded, buy an outdoor-rated extension cord and a GFCI adapter if you need one.
- Buy earplugs or earmuffs at the same time.
- Also planning for winter? Our electric snow blower guide covers corded and cordless for snow.
Sources: Health Canada, Protect your hearing health; Electrical Safety Authority, Outdoor safety; Health Canada, Battery safety: Lithium-ion batteries. Product details come from the manufacturers’ and retailer’s product pages, so check the current page before you order.
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