BLACK+DECKER LSW40C Review
Pros: Quiet, cheap
Cons: Pitifully weak
Manufacturer: BLACK+DECKER
Our Verdict
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 This Product
BLACK+DECKER LSW40C | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  | | ||
| Price | $124 List $99.99 at Amazon | $329 List $299.99 at Amazon | $299 List $259.95 at Amazon | $160 List $119.00 at Amazon | $130 List Check Price at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Quiet, cheap | Jam-packed with power, good battery life | Excellent power, solidly ergonomic, quieter than average | Much more affordable, exceptionally ergonomic | Inexpensive, great battery life |
| Cons | Pitifully weak | Could be a bit more ergonomic, quieter | Moderate battery life, has a high-pitched undertone | Not the most powerful, can be earsplitting to operate | Pitifully weak |
| Bottom Line | It doesn’t cost a lot but we thought also doesn’t do a great job at being a leaf blower | Delivering the best overall performance we have seen to date, it’s easy to see why the Ego claimed the Editors’ Choice award | The Snapper is an excellent leaf blower that can hold its own with the top models, all while costing quite a bit less | Pairing solid performance at a reasonable price, the Ryobi is a great bet for anyone on a tight budget | While the G-MAX might not blow your budget, we didn’t find it to be all that good at blowing leaves either |
| Rating Categories | BLACK+DECKER LSW40C | Ego Power+ 580 CFM | Snapper 82-Volt Max | Ryobi 40V RY40460 | Greenworks G-MAX 40V |
| Power (50%) | |||||
| Battery (25%) | |||||
| Ergonomics (15%) | |||||
| Noise (10%) | |||||
| Specs | BLACK+DECKER LSW40C | Ego Power+ 580 CFM | Snapper 82-Volt Max | Ryobi 40V RY40460 | Greenworks G-MAX 40V |
| Model Number | LSW40C | LB5800 | SXDBL82K | RY40460 | 24212 |
| Measured Weight w/ Battery | 4 lbs | 10 lbs | 8.7 lbs | 9 lbs | 6 lbs |
| Turbo Boost? | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Variable speed | No | Yes, trigger or cruise control dial | Yes, trigger or cruise control dial | Yes, trigger | Yes, dial |
| Included Battery Size | 1.5 Ah | 5 Ah | 2 Ah | 4 Ah | 4 Ah |
| Measured Charge Time | 3 hrs 28 min | 1 hr 30 min | 30 min | 2 hrs 45 min | 2 hrs |
| Measured Run Time on Turbo Boost | N/A | 19 min 17 sec | N/A | 18 min 5 sec | N/A |
| Measured Run Time on Highest Standard Mode | 25 min 10 sec | 36 min 53 sec | 15 min 17 sec | 26 min | 38 min 50 sec |
| # of Batteries Included | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Nominal Voltage | 40V | 56V | 82V | 40V | 40V |
| Measured Operator Sound Level Highest Setting | 73.6 dBa | 94.5 dBa | 83.9 dBa | 93.3 dBa | 84.3 dBa |
| Operating Modes | On/Off switch | Variable speed pulling trigger with turbo button | Variable speed pulling trigger | Variable speed pulling trigger with turbo button | On/Off switch with speeds 1-6 |
Our Analysis and Test Results
This cordless leaf blower is basically one of our least favorite models we have seen to date, as we essentially only found it to be useful for dusting small areas.
Performance Comparison
To find out which cordless blower topped them all, we researched and compared all the top models, then bought all the most promising to test out for ourselves. We divided all of our tests into four groups, with the BLACK+DECKER LSW40C's performance in each of them outlined below.
Power
Making up half of the LSW40C's final score, our leaf blowing power metric is the most important of them all. Unfortunately, this blower did extremely poorly, earning a 1 out of 10. This is based on the BLACK+DECKER's maximum useful range, the height at which it could levitate a beach ball, and how quickly and easily it could clear a parking lot.
This leaf blower could barely move sand that was 4.5' away, far less than the 15'-20' some of the top models could do.
It also could only float the beach ball to a height of 2", again far less than the 5'-7' the best blowers could.
After that pair of poor performance, we didn't really expect the BLACK+DECKER do much of anything when it came to clearing our parking area of different types of messes and we weren't disappointed. It took forever to clear even the lightest debris and our overall conclusion was that we would rather just sweep the pavement than try and use this product.
Battery
Next, we moved on to rating and ranking the battery system of the LSW40C. It did fairly well, earning a 6 out of 10 in this metric, which accounts for one-fourth of its overall score.
To score this, we started the BLACK+DECKER with a freshly charged battery, then timed how long it lasted on its most powerful setting. This blower's 40-volt, 1.5 amp hour battery made it for a little more than 25 minutes before calling it quits — handy, since it takes so long to clear any appreciable area with it.
Regrettably, the charger for this blower takes forever to replenish a fully depleted battery, taking almost 3.5 hours in our test, even though the claimed charge time is just 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Ergonomics
The performance of the BLACK+DECKER continued to improve in our next metric, with this cordless tool earning an 8 out of 10 for its solid ergonomics. This metric accounts for 15% of the LSW40C's final score and is based on the weight of the BLACK+DECKER, its balance, grip feel and comfort, and if it tried to suck in your clothes while in normal use.
The LSW40C is one of the lightest blowers of the group, weighing in at a measly 4 lbs.
The intake for this cordless blower is on the bottom, so it almost never tries to suck in your shirt or jacket.
This blower is quite balanced, with just a tiny bit of bias towards the front. However, this blower is so light that it takes almost no effort to lift, so you can easily compensate for that.
Noise
Our last round of tests focused on how loud the BLACK+DECKER is, with points determined by the noise level for both the person using the LSW40C and for a bystander at a bit of a distance away (50'). These account for the remaining 10% of the final score for this cordless leaf blower, which finished with an excellent performance that merited a 10 out of 10.
The LSW40C only registered about 73.6 dBa for the person operating it, with some passing cars seemingly generating more sound. This tapers off abruptly as well, only recording a little more than 64 dBa on our meter for any passersby.
Value
While the LSW40C is considerably less expensive than the premium products, it is also considerably less good, making it mediocre when it comes to value.
Conclusion
If you only need to do extremely light-duty work and are shopping on a tighter budget, then the LSW40C is an alright choice. Otherwise, we definitely would recommend a plethora of other products in this category over the BLACK+DECKER — practically any other blower that we have tested.
— Austin Palmer, David Wise, and Jenna Ammerman