Power sweeper

In the fall of 2022 my Cub Cadet ZTS1 46" zero turn mower arrive.  I immediately put it to use.  I found it loves to collect clipping everywhere.  Several youtube videos suggested using a air compressor to blow the clipping off the mower.  This is a great idea if you plan on using the mower near a compressor or if you have one in the first place.  A few videos used a leaf blower to clean mowers but they were plug in or gas powered units.  Recently I have started to see battery powered units being used as leaf blowers.  

I have a number of Black and Decker 20v cordless tools.  Some are amazing and others just get a focused job done tools.  I purchased the BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX 130 MPH 100 CFM Cordless Battery Powered Handheld Leaf Blower Kit with (1) 2Ah Battery & Charger from Home Depot in November, 2022.  Leaf blower is probably not correctly labeled but should be called a sweeper blower.  

BLACK+DECKER 20V Cordless Battery Powered Handheld Leaf Blower. 

Youtube has several videos showing the sweeper easily clearing leaves and clippings from hard surfaces like driveways, decks, and garages.  Leaves in lawns were a different story and not recommended for the unit.  The air speed up to 130 miles per hour or 100 CFM.  Noise rating (dB): 61 and half of most leaf blowers.  The unit comes with a Black and Decker 20V 2Ah Battery & Charger.  

Using the sweeper

The unit initially tested on garage floor.  The unit moved the dust, paper and small gravel but seemed weak on bigger objects.  I tried on a deck with about 1/2 inch snow.  The light snow was blown easily but fell between the cracks in the deck so made a mess below it.  

In the spring of 2023, power sweeper was put to the test cleaning a Cub Cadet ZTS1 46" mower.  The sweeper's nozzle needs to be near leaf clippings caught on mower deck.  Other areas of mower were easy to blow off if nozzle 12" away form the object.  Limited air flows from sweeper means focused cleaning and areas not easy to see or reach are not cleaned.  I do not lift the mower floor plate so some pulleys are missed.  Heavy clumps of mud and sticking plant material will not blow off the mower.  Nor does the sweeper have enough power to clean the mud from tires.   Does the job for which it was purchased but not the power of a leaf blower and clean everything situations.  

Sweeper works to clean clipping from the sidewalk, I found just as easy to run mower with blades engaged to blow paving and sidewalk clear.  

Sweeper works great to clean clippings from grave stones. 

In the summer 2023, sweeper was used to clean up after edging sidewalks.  When soil was dry the sweeper could easily move the dirt off the sidewalk.  If soil was super wet only the leaves were moved.   

In the fall 2023 used sweeper to blow dead grass clippings and leaves from potting shed foundation.  Worked well.   

Thoughts and Hacks

1. Tape down the max power booster button so it is on all the time when blower is on.  Not sure why they have two speeds given motor speed.