Best Leaf Vacuum

One of the things that were super important when trying to find the best leaf vacuum was to not only find a product that was well-made, but also one that was multi-functional.

Best Leaf Vacuum

What you will find from the list is that each of the leaf vacuums actually works as blowers as well, which is great, as nearly always you will need both functions. Each of the products has been designed to clear and maintain your garden, saving you time and also the cost of hiring companies in, which can be expensive.

Toro Ultra Electric Leaf Blower / Leaf Vacuum / Leaf Shredder

The Toro Ultra is a top-selling, mid-range, multi-function garden tool. It comes with a selection of handy accessories to help you with your garden clearings tasks. These include a power insert tool and a concentrator nozzle which are both excellent for working in small or hard to reach areas like behind and between flower pots and fencing panels.

With a top blowing speed of 250 mph and excellent suction power, the Toro is a leaf blower, vacuum and mulcher all in one saving you lots of time and effort in the garden. You need to switch between 2 tubes to change from blowing to vacuuming but this is very easy to do.

The Toro has variable speed settings so you can alternate between low, high and medium power, depending on what kind of job you are doing. This is really handy if you are vacuuming up leaves from gravel or stony areas as on a low power, the vacuum will pick up the leaves and not the stones.

My only complaint about the Toro blower vacuum is that when used on full power, the machine vibrates a bit which is a little uncomfortable for hands and arms and at 9.5 lbs, it starts to feel heavy quite quickly.

This garden vac is corded so you don’t need to worry about recharging or losing power but you will need an outdoor extension cord so bear this in mind when you are purchasing the vac as it is not included.

The Toro Ultra Electric Leaf Blower / Leaf Vacuum is available on Amazon with free UK delivery.

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Greenworks 24227 Digi-Pro Blower & Vacuum

Greenworks gives you extra convenience in a rechargeable cordless vacuum, blower and mulcher. At 10lbs, the Greenworks is a little on the heavy side and it can be tough to use for long periods of time. Nevertheless, not having to deal with cords and extension leads is a real plus for gardening activities.

If you already have, or plan to buy other Greenworks cordless tools, this will be a great addition to your garden shed because you can use the same battery for multiple items. I was pretty pleased with the performance of this vacuum. It handled damp leaves well and when it did clog, it was very easy to clear.

With 40V of power, the Digi-Pro has great suction and it ran for 30 minutes without any loss of power as I cleared a week’s worth of autumn leaves from my medium sized garden. The manufacturer claims it will run for a solid hour which is long enough to complete most garden vacuum or leaf blowing tasks. The machine mulches very efficiently and I didn’t have to empty the storage bag until I was completely finished clearing.

Another bonus is the energy efficiency of this unit. The downside is that it is sold without the battery or the charger which you’ll need to purchase separately unless you already have other Greenworks cordless tools. I also found it a little bit tricky to switch between blowing and sucking but I guess you’d quickly get the hang of this if you were using the leaf vacuum on a more regular basis. The blow function is excellent with a top speed of 185 miles per hour and it works on damp leaves and twigs just as well as dry leaves.

All in all, this is a great machine with the added convenience of being cordless and rechargeable.

The mid-range Greenworks Digi-Pro Blower and Vac is available on Amazon with free shipping.

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Black & Decker GWC2500-GB Corded Blower Vacuum 2500W

The Black & Decker GWC3600L is an economically priced single unit with 2 tubes which easily change it from a blower to a vacuum. With 2200 W, this machine has excellent suction and blowing power BUT It’s also a very loud machine, producing a thunderous 107db . Black & Decker advises users to wear ear protection when operating it and you probably shouldn’t do so first thing on a Sunday morning!

Black & Decker says that the storage bag has a 40-litre capacity but many online reviews for this item complain about the zip on the bag. If you overfill it, this zip can break easily so be cautious and empty the bag when it’s 80% full and you shouldn’t run into any trouble. I didn’t have any problems with it, but I didn’t overfill it either.

When compared to some other garden vacs, the mulch that the GWC2500 creates is not as fine as some other models. Because the leaves aren’t as compacted, you will fit less into the bag and it will take longer to compost if that’s what you plan to do with the mulch. As with all garden vacs, if you suck up wet, muddy leaves the unit will become blocked.

At 7lbs, the GWC2500 is quite light. There’s a detachable shoulder strap to help carry it and the unit comes with a built-in 20-foot cable so you will need an extension lead, even in small gardens.

You cannot adjust the suction speed on this vacuum so be careful if you have gravel or small stones in your garden. If you hold the vacuum further away from the ground in gravelled areas this helps to avoid picking up stones. You can also use the blower to move the leaves away from the gravelled area and vacuum up the pile afterwards.

The Black & Decker GW2500-GB Corded Blower Vacuum is available on Amazon.

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Worx Trivac WG505E Garden Blower, Mulcher and Vacuum

The mid-range Corded Trivac is a mains powered 3-in-1 leaf blower, vacuum and mulcher. It’s one of the most powerful leaf vacuums on the market with a 12-amp engine that can handle large volumes of leaves, quickly and efficiently mulching at a rate of 16:1.

Worx promises that you can vacuum 63 litres of dry leaves per minutes and while I can’t confirm this rate, it did a good job of clearing my medium sized garden in a very short period of time. The machine has 7-speed settings so you’ve got a lot of control over what you are doing and it’s nice and light to carry.

I had no trouble operating the Trivac with one hand. The blower has a top speed of 210mph and its angled nozzle gives you very precise control over the direction you are blowing leaves. I like the fact that as the machine truly is a 3-in-1, you don’t need to change attachments for different tasks. You can switch from vacuuming to blowing by simply flicking a switch. The vacuum function will handle damp but not wet leaves so you will need to wait for the garden to at least dry up partially before using the vac.

The Trivac has a generous 50-foot long cable but you’ll still need an extension lead for medium to large sized gardens. An important thing to consider is the noise of this machine. The product comes with a noise warning and you are advised to use ear protection when operating as at full power it produces 90db of sound. If you live at close proximity to your neighbours, this might not make you too popular!

The Worx Trivac is available from Amazon with free UK delivery.

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Bosch ALS 2500 Electric Garden Blower and Vacuum

The economically priced 2500W motor of the Bosch Vac/Blower gives you powerful performance in the garden. It comes with two attachments; one for blowing, the other for sucking.

As a vacuum, the ALS2500 works fantastically with excellent suction. It shreds and compacts leaves quickly at a ratio of 10:1 which means that you are not having to stop work constantly to empty the bag which will hold up to 45 litres of leaf debris. It also makes for faster composting too as the leaves are in tiny pieces.

The Bosch garden vac gives you a lot of power and I really liked the lightweight design and the handy shoulder strap. It’s also far quieter than any of the other garden vacs I’ve tried which will score you brownie points with your neighbours!

Like most garden vacs, the leaves need to be dry or the machine will get jammed. The vac has a 30-foot cord and for my medium sized garden, I needed to also use an extension cable. For me, this machine was the easiest and most efficient to use although I would love if they’d make a cordless version!

It took me a couple of goes to figure out how to empty the bag but once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s easy. Just push down on the red catch at the nozzle and simultaneously tug on the bag. The downside to this machine is that because it’s so powerful, it can easily pick up twigs, soil and other debris that is lying around the garden. You can get around this by holding it further away from the ground so it doesn’t pick up things it shouldn’t!

The Bosch ALS 2500 Electric Garden Blower and Vacuum is available on Amazon and delivery is free with Amazon Prime.

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The Verdict

I was quite pleased with all the garden vacuums I tried but for me, the winner was the Bosch ALS 2500, particularly when the price of the unit is taken into consideration. The unit is powerful and quiet and although it doesn’t have the convenience of a cordless unit, it’s hard to find any other fault with this machine.

The Greenworks Digi-Pro also offered excellent performance but especially since I don’t have any other Greenworks cordless devices, I don’t think it’s economical or practical to have to purchase the battery and charger separately.

Choosing the best Leaf Vacuum for your Garden

Leaf blowers and vacuums come in three main categories; battery powered, electric corded and petrol operated. Corded electric devices have the advantage of never running out of power. The disadvantage of these is that you’ll need an extension lead for anything more than a balcony or patio garden and dragging a cable behind you can be annoying when you are in the garden.

Rechargeable battery-operated devices tend to be energy efficient but the battery may not last long enough for clearing large areas and rechargeable batteries don’t always last forever so you may find that you need to replace the battery after a few years.

Petrol operated leaf vacuums do exist, although there are not many models available in the UK. These can be very efficient, and you don’t need to drag cables around behind them. However, you will need to store petrol on your property which could be a fire hazard in some situations so bear this in mind.

How to Use a Leaf Blower / Vacuum

If you’ve never used a Leaf Vacuum before, there are a few simple things to take into consideration. First off, leaf vacuums are designed for dry or damp leaves. They generally won’t handle wet leaves and they definitely won’t manage large twigs, branches, gravel or heavy debris.

If you are clearing a dry, stone free surface like a patio or footpath of dry leaves, then you won’t need to use a blower before vacuuming. However, if you’re clearing under trees, in stony areas or in a garden where there is gravel, it’s a better idea to blow the leaves into a pile on a stone-free area and to vacuum from there.

Garden vacuums with variable power settings are useful for gardens with a lot of gravel or stones. Using these at a low power will only suck up the leaves, leaving the gravel behind. If your garden vac doesn’t have a low power setting, just lift it slightly higher and further away from the ground. This will have the same effect. Chances are, at some point you will pick up something you shouldn’t have and your machine will block. When this happens, don’t panic. All garden vacs will come with instructions on what to do in this situation. Consult the manual to clear the blockage and all will be well!

I hope these reviews and tips will help you to choose the best garden vacuum for your needs. Enjoy!