I swear, maybe it’s the caveman in me or flannel-swaddled North-Easterner I am, there is something about Fall (and all the other seasons in their own wonderful ways) home improvement and ‘season-get-readiness’ I love. And yes, tools play a role in the love affair!
From battery run time to on-lawn performance blowing grass-clippings, dirt and debris, I’m impressed with the Troy-Bilt TB4300. Also, there is a reason I’m standing in a goofy pose.
A fully-charged battery runs on-and-off for about 20-minutes of what I’d consider heavy use for a handheld blower. That run-time works for me and is abundant energy for my typical post-mowing and post-project clean-ups. I used it to blow over-grown grass-clippings, leaves, mulch and dirt spills (some of which got nice and rained in when I didn’t have a blower) and other debris. Impressed. The battery slides in and out of both the tool and the charger easily, which I like and works better than some other tools in the category.
The unit costs about $280 (more expensive than gas) and comes with one battery (recharging it after use has not been a problem). It also runs quietly, never needs a drop of gas or oil or trip to the gas station, and there’s no time spent warming it up. I plan on using it to blow snow off my truck this winter, too.
The in-line design is excellent for home improvement and up-keep jobs I do all the time. Of the many handheld blowers I’ve owned, this one is the best at getting in, around—but mostly—under stuff like the truck. I can also manipulate the tool to get in nooks, crannies, corners and other hard to reach places. Which is also the reason for the goofball pose above.
It’s weird to think, but a blower is really a vacuum. The air it blows out is a function of the air it first sucks in, which it does with a fan or impeller. I’ve owned many blowers that, if used left-handed, grab my clothes. The Troy-Bilt fan is almost a 360-degree intake, so while I can feel it grab my clothes a little, it is nothing like other units I’ve used. Nice work here.
Finally, power. It’s quite good. Using the “Boost” button amps it up for tough messes. I like that you have to engage it by pressing it in use so the battery is automatically conserved for lighter-duty dust-ups.