CEL 18V cordless leaf blower September 2011

The new POWERblower BL2-PH10-S (£69.90 from CEL UK) comes with the CEL POWERhandle which is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. This makes it a light and flexible option compared with the much bigger petrol leaf blowers available, or a plug-in electric machine. 

CEL 18V POWERblower BL2-PH10-S

It’s designed to cope with leaves and light litter on paths and patios, is recommended as being good for winkling debris out of tight corners and has a scraper on the blower tube to help move anything that’s become stuck down. It’s also part of the CEL POWER range of tools, which means all the batteries in the range can be used in the handle supplied.

Easily directed 120mph airflow

We found the blower easily moved dry leaves that had fallen on a path and patio. Its size meant getting into corners and round the legs of a table and chairs where leaves had collected was straightforward, too.

Best for blowing leaves in short bursts

Holding the trigger down for any length of time soon became uncomfortable, but we found it was much easier to work in short bursts. The product manual suggests that the blower won’t be able to cope with wet leaves on soil or grass, and we found this to be true. 

Unfortunately, the manual also suggests it isn’t safe to use the blower on gravel because it might create a hazard. This was a shame, as it’s almost impossible to sweep a gravel area, and when we did briefly try the blower on gravel it seemed the ideal tool to move leaves off this surface.

Cordless leaf blower with 18v lithium battery

The battery took about 3.5 hours to charge fully and gave us about 20 minutes of blowing time. This might be enough to clear the patio in most gardens, but if you had a larger area you would then have to wait for another 3.5 hours before you could carry on with the job. 

If you have other POWERhandle tools, the batteries are interchangeable, so you might be able to have one in reserve. However, we felt that at £69.90 you might hope for something that would last a little longer in use.

Cordless POWERhandle system

The manufacturers claim that this is much easier to use than a petrol blower or having to contend with the cables of an electric machine. While we could appreciate the advantages of having a blower that was easy to start and flexible enough to reach into any part of the garden (we thought it could be used, for instance, to clear leaves out of a greenhouse or summerhouse), the lack of enough power to move wet leaves from grass or borders meant it couldn’t fulfil what we would think of as the primary job of a leaf blower. 

The relatively short battery life would also seem to limit the gains made by having a lightweight and flexible machine.

Performance when clearing leaves and garden debris

The blowing power was pretty consistent for most of the time we were using the machine, with no noticeable tailing off until the last couple of minutes of charge. There was plenty of blowing power for dry leaves that had recently fallen onto the patio, but wet leaves, especially those collected in piles, weren’t dealt with nearly as well. 

We didn’t try it on hedge cuttings, but, assuming they were dry and the biggest leaves had already been picked up, we felt this could do the job of collecting together the annoying little bits that always seem to be left behind at the end.

Which? Gardening verdict on the CEL cordless leaf blower

Pros: lightweight, easy-to-use, comfortable in short bursts, easily moves light and dry litter and debris.

Cons: short battery life, long charge time, expensive at £69.90 considering the limits on its usefulness.