Verdict

It might be quite expensive but the Wolf Garten 72V Li-ION Power 24B Leaf Blower is the most powerful battery-powered model we've tested and perfect for larger gardens.

Pros

• Powerful
• Simple controls
• Well balanced

Cons

• Expensive

What is the Wolf Garten 72V Li-ION Power Leaf Blower?

While it’s generally accepted that petrol-driven leaf blowers provide the most power, the Wolf Garten 72V Li-ION Power 24B Leaf Blower is the exception to the rule: a hugely-powerful and fast battery-powered model. Despite it’s weight, this leaf blower is quite comfortable for all-sizes of gardener to use and the only downside is its relatively high price. Still, if you’re after the best, then this is the leaf blower for you.

Wolf Garten 72V Li-ION Power Leaf Blower – Design and features

All you have to do to get the Wolf Garten 72V working is slide the battery in place, then clip a nozzle on. There’s a short one and a long flared one to choose from. The long flared nozzle has a useful plastic rake on the end for scraping up stubborn leaves.

The controls couldn’t be simpler. There is a yellow power-pack release button at the back of the blower for when you want to take the battery out and recharge it. The yellow trigger under the handle switches the machine on and off and has variable speed control, and if you need turbo boost you simply work the yellow button on the top of the handle with your thumb.

The Wolf Garten 72V is very nicely balanced, with plenty of room to move your hand along under the soft-grip handle to alter the centre of gravity if needed. There is also a useful adjustable shoulder-strap. When this is on your shoulder the Wolf Garten 72V is at an almost perfect 45-degree angle, which makes it very comfortable to use. I found it had the best balance when both straps were clipped to the rear hook. This shoulder-strap made it easy for smaller people to work the machine, too.

The 72V 6Ah battery has a three-light display on it. If you press a small black plastic button beside this, the green display lights glow to show how much battery charge you have. The 72v Li-ION Basic Charger has a two pin plug on it, which I found inconvenient, as it meant I had to buy an adaptor plug. It took one and three-quarter hours to charge and gave me nearly 60 minutes of run-time.

Wolf Garten 72V Li-ION Power 24B Leaf Blower – Performance

This is a heavy leaf blower and weighs 4.5 kilos with the battery pack attached. Luckily the shoulder strap means you don’t notice the weight. When I blew a mixture of oak leaves and twigs along a concrete path it met its match when the pile of debris got about 250mm high.
The comfortable shoulder strap meant that I could use the machine for the whole hour of run-time without getting tired, and the long flared nozzle helped me get right down close to the ground without having to stoop. I used the plastic rake on the end frequently to scrape up sticky wet leaves. It’s a great extra.

The Wolf Garten 72V was so powerful and fast that it only took two and a half minutes on high power to clear damp leaves scattered over 40 square metres, and one and three-quarter minutes on turbo. It could move a pile of leaves nearly a third of a metre thick, just rolling them over and over, and blow wet leaves three metres away over grass. It also easily lifted leaves and debris over a four-inch concrete kerb.
The short nozzle delivers a higher volume of air than the long nozzle because what really shifts leaves is not air speed but air volume. So if you want the machine at its most powerful, use the short nozzle. By the way, on its turbo setting, the Wolf Garten 72V Li-ION Power 24B Leaf Blower is pretty loud, at 85dB; with turbo off, the leaf blower is still a loud 79dB.

Why buy the Wolf Garten 72V Li-ION Power 24B Leaf Blower?

If you have a big garden and a lot of fallen leaves the Wolf Garten 72V will sweep them away really fast. Its power is on a par with what you would expect from a petrol-driven motor, with the plus that you can use it well away from any power source. It is expensive (you’ll find cheaper options in the best leaf blower guide), but has a three-year guarantee.

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