When shopping for a new blower, many consumers look at the "miles per hour" rating to assess the power of a blower. However, MPH is not always the best measure of power. In fact, it is possible for a blower with a maximum air speed of 190 MPH to have more power than a blower with a maximum air speed of 200 MPH. How is this possible? See the examples below:
MPH alone is not a good measure of power The nozzle opening of a blower could be reduced to the size of a straw and conceivably blow air at 300 mph. A blower like this would be good for clearing out cracks in the driveway because of the high pressure but it would perform poorly blowing leaves in your yard. While the small opening would increase pressure (i.e. miles per hour), it would result in a dramatic loss in air volume. Many of the tasks you expect to accomplish with your blower require both air pressure (MPH) and air volume (CFM or cubic feet per minute).
CFM alone is not a good measure of power The nozzle opening of a blower could be as large as a basketball and put out 600 CFM of air. A blower like this might work well sweeping dust and sand off a driveway but without sufficient pressure, it would have a difficult time moving anything other than the lightest debris.
You need both air speed and air volume The most powerful blower will be one that maximizes both air speed (MPH) and air volume (CFM). In recent years some manufacturers have simply reduced the size of the blower nozzle to achieve higher MPH ratings. In many cases, the result has been blowers with higher MPH ratings but less power. Toro engineers strive to provide an optimum balance between air speed and air volume to maximize the performance of our blowers and blower vacs.
What does more power mean? More power means your blower will help get your clean-up chores done faster and more effectively. In the end, this means you will have more time to spend doing other things!
