Author Topic: Oregon 40 V Cordless Leaf Blower  (Read 568 times)

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Offline Philbert

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Oregon 40 V Cordless Leaf Blower
« on: July 07, 2015, 10:25:16 pm »
I have had the opportunity to use the new, Oregon, battery-powered leaf blower for a few months now.  This blower is part of their PowerNow family which includes a chainsaw, pole saw, hedge trimmer, and string trimmers.  All products in the family share the same batteries, charger, etc.

Executive Summary

Positive:
- compact;
- powerful;
- convenient.

Negative:
- uses batteries more quickly than expected.

Philbert

Oregon 40V Blower (BL300) product page: http://oregoncordless.com/product/blower-bl300/

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Offline Philbert

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Re: Oregon 40 V Cordless Leaf Blower
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2015, 10:25:48 pm »
Initial impressions

I like the compact shape and clean lines.  Has a quality feel.  Rubberized grip is comfortable to hold with either Right or Left hand.  The blower has a variable speed trigger; and a 'Turbo' boost feature for additional cleaning power.

Very convenient to use, especially for small, light, clean-up tasks where I would be reluctant to drag out the extension cord for my Toro electric blower. I ran around the yard and tried blasting leaves, garden beds, sidewalk cracks, etc.

Sound level was pleasantly tolerable for this type of tool, even in Turbo mode.  But surprised at how fast I used up the first 2.4Ah battery.  Circuitry prevents the blower from operating in the Turbo mode if the smallest (1.25 Ahr) battery is inserted - it will only work in the standard mode with this battery.  And as the capacity of the larger batteries is depleted, the blower may operate only in the standard mode for the final moments.

I consciously focused on feathering the trigger, instead of running it full blast, and avoided the Turbo mode unless really needed, and started to get acceptable run times, but this is a tool where you will definitely want a second battery.

Philbert

Offline Philbert

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Re: Oregon 40 V Cordless Leaf Blower
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2015, 10:26:48 pm »
Cordless versus Corded

I tried some Spring clean up tasks side-by-side with my corded, Toro electric model for comparison; blowing leaves off of the lawn and out of the garden beds, etc. The blowers appear roughly similar in overall length.  The BL300 felt slightly heavier and weighed 2# 9 oz heavier (with 4.0 Ahr battery).

The Toro had noticeably more cleaning power, aside from any CFM or MPH ratings.  It just moved the leaves much better.  I never ran out of power with the cord. My thoughts were that I would prefer the Toro for large tasks, such as clearing leaves from the lawn, and for high power tasks, like blasting leaves from the garden. And I would prefer the BL300 for shorter, lower power demand, convenience tasks, where running an extension cord might discourage me from even pulling out the blower.

Philbert

Offline Philbert

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Re: Oregon 40 V Cordless Leaf Blower
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2015, 10:27:23 pm »
Continued Use

I have continued to use the BL300 and I like it.  It is hard to overstate the convenience factor.  Because it is so compact, and so easy to use, I grab it for lots of tasks where I would be reluctant to drag out my corded blower, shop-vac, or air compressor hose:

- I blew some mouse nests out of an old pair of RollerBlades that had been stored in the garage over the winter;

- I blow off the garage floor more frequently (non-Turbo mode);

- Use it to blow out chainsaw cases when cleaning saws;

- Used the blower to clean up messes from: orbital sanding, routing, or grinding tasks (including saw chains).

- My neighbor suggested that it would also be good to blow-dry motorcycles after wahsing them.

- I helped a friend remove some tree limbs overhanging his house, and it was very effective at cleaning the leaves off of the roof. The battery operation certainly was an advantage at elevation: no pull starting, and no cords to trip on.

- I have been doing a bit of 'landscape painting' (picnic tables, built-in benches, landscape timbers, etc.) lately and the BL300 has been handy for cleaning off leaves and other stuff before sanding, and clearing off the sanding dust before painting or staining for a smoother finish.

 Philbert

Offline Cut4fun .

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Re: Oregon 40 V Cordless Leaf Blower
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2015, 04:06:19 pm »
Thanks for the updating and read.

Reminds me I need to put back together the little guy on the shelf I stole a primer bulb from.

 

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