RYOBI 40V Blower

We use our blowers for so many projects like clearing the driveway, cleaning the gutters, clearing leaves in the yard; and no two projects are the same. The more control we have over our blowers the better. Sometimes you need more speed, sometimes less. Sometimes you need to clear a wide area, and sometimes you need to keep the airstream very tight. The more options on a blower the better we can accomplish the task(s) at hand. This Ryobi 40V blower claims to have a lot of the features we want, here we’ll tell you if we were “blown away” (sorry, I just couldn’t resist).

RYOBI 40V Blower Overview

The 40V Brushless Cordless Jet Fan motor on this blower quietly packs a punch. It is designed to deliver up to 730 CFM (cubic feet per minute), yet runs at a “whisper-quiet” level of only 57 dB. The blower kit is available at Home Depot for $299. The kit includes the Ryobi 40V blower, two changeable rubber nozzles, two 40V 4.0 Ah batteries, and a rapid charger. For this review, I cleared a small area in front of my office. I ran the blower on and off for about 15 minutes, switching up speeds, using the turbo button, and switched out from no-nozzle to using a nozzle. The battery showed half power at the end. So with two batteries and a rapid charger, I think there is plenty of run-time to complete most projects.

RYOBI 40V Blower Features

Assembled with a nozzle and the 3 lb. 40V battery it weighs just under 10 lbs. and is about 43 in. long.  I thought it was well-balanced and comfortable to use.

The kit comes with two 40V 4.0 Ah lithium batteries and a rapid charger. It took about 30 minutes to fully recharge a battery, including a few minutes to let the warm battery cool before charging.

The intake is at the back of the blower. This design should help minimize collecting flying debris on the intake as you are working. This also allows you to use the blower on your left or right side. However, it did suck my gym shorts up to the intake panel a few times.

You have four wind velocity/airstream size output options. No-nozzle-attached will give you the widest airstream and lowest wind velocity, and I personally liked this set-up the best.  Or you can attach one of the two rubber nozzles included in the kit. You are supposed to cut these rubber nozzles to increase the output wind speeds to 160 mph or 175 mph. An uncut nozzle is to produce a top speed of 190 mph with the narrowest airstream. Switching between the two nozzles does give you the opportunity to get the right airstream size and speed for your task, but once you cut these nozzles, it is permanent.

You get a lot of speed options and control with this blower. It has a standard variable speed finger trigger but also has a cruise control feature that allows you to maintain your desired speed. And when you need a little more power, there is an easily accessible turbo button on top. The rubber-covered handle is comfortable and provides adequate grip.

RYOBI 40V Blower Performance

I hit this area with small chunks of mulch on the asphalt and it cleaned it up with no problem.

Then I tried it on some finer pine needles and was able to easily move them using a lower speed, without the needles flying everywhere.

Since it is the end of summer here in the midwest I didn’t have any wet leaves on grass to try to move. I feel this blower has the power to handle that unpopular task this fall since I was able to blow away some sticky cobwebs off of our brick building using an uncut nozzle and some turbo power.

RYOBI 40V Blower Value

This Whisper Series RYOBI 40V Blower might seem a bit pricey at $299, but it is touted as the most powerful cordless currently on the market. I did a little math; purchasing two RYOBI 40V 4 Ah batteries plus the rapid charger would run $377 at Home Depot.  So you could look at this purchase as $78 off two batteries and a charger with a free leaf blower. That makes it seem like a steal.

RYOBI 40V Blower Wrap Up

A great outdoor power tool can make chores a lot easier. This blower has almost every control feature and option I would need to easily complete the wide variety of tasks I use a blower for. The cruise control is an added feature that I didn’t know I needed but really liked. My only critique is since you could be using this blower for long periods of time, maybe up on a ladder, and it is on the heavier side at 10 lbs., a shoulder strap would have been a nice optional feature.

RYOBI claims this is the most powerful cordless blower currently on the market, and with up to 730 cfm and 190 mph, it just might be. The price for everything included in the kit is a good value. It is also the quietest blower I think I’ve ever used. So if you’ve been waiting for a good reason to update your old leaf blower, this might be the time. This new RYOBI 40V Blower really “blew us away”.