Operating mode
Operating modes provided in the design of the garden vacuum cleaner. Many models support more than one mode. Also note that, despite the common name "garden vacuum cleaners", not all units are capable of suction.
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Blowing out. This mode can be called “vacuum cleaner in reverse”: the device generates a powerful air stream, which can be used, for example, to remove debris from hard-to-reach places, or “sweep” garden paths.
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Suction. The classic mode of operation of the vacuum cleaner: drawing in air along with various debris that is sent to the bin. Suction is well suited for "uncomplicated" debris — leaves and small chips.
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Shredding. This mode of operation is similar to the suction described above, however, the garbage drawn in by the vacuum cleaner is not immediately sent to the bin (or “to the exit”, into an external container), but is preliminarily crushed. The meaning of this function is twofold: firstly, due to crushing, the volume occupied by garbage is significantly reduced (see “Chopping factor”), and secondly, recycled leaves and branches can serve as fertilizer.
Max. air flow rate
The highest speed of the air stream given out by the vacuum cleaner. The
higher this parameter, the stronger the thrust provided by the device, and the more efficiently it is able to pull or blow out debris particles from cracks and other hard-to-reach places (of course, if there is an appropriate operating mode — see above). At the same time, in most modern models, this figure exceeds 150 km/h — this is more than enough for work of small and medium complexity. Therefore, paying attention to a high flow rate makes sense only when choosing a powerful model for working in difficult conditions; we note that in the most “high-speed” vacuum cleaners, the indicators can exceed 400 km/h.
Air flow control
The ability to change the speed (and, accordingly, the intensity)
of the air flowissued by the vacuum cleaner. This function allows you to optimally adjust the operating parameters to the specifics of certain conditions — in order, on the one hand, not to waste energy / fuel and not wear out the unit, and on the other, to ensure proper work efficiency. For example, for collecting leaves from an asphalt path, high power is not needed, but for cleaning in thick grass, it can be very useful.
The ability to adjust is especially important for high-performance garden vacuums — these are the models that are most likely to find themselves in a situation where high power is unnecessary. And in models with a petrol engine (see below), this function is provided by default.
Air flow (suction)
Performance of the garden vacuum cleaner when working on suction (see "Operating mode").
As with blowing described above, this parameter primarily characterizes how large the area covers the vacuum cleaner when working:
high performance means that the device captures more air and draws debris from a larger surface. But this indicator is weakly related to suction efficiency: the ability of a vacuum cleaner to “pull out” debris particles from cracks, thick grass, etc. depends primarily on speed characteristics, not performance.
Mulching ratio
The ratio of shredding debris provided by a vacuum cleaner with the appropriate mode of operation (see above).
This parameter shows how much the volume occupied by garbage decreases after passing through the grinder. For example, the value "8:1" corresponds to a reduction of 8 times. These figures, of course, are quite approximate, because. in fact, much depends on the type of waste, and in different cases, the indicators will also be different. For example, bulky large branches are “packed” very tightly, and soft leaves initially take up relatively little space, and for them the difference in volume before and after the chopper may be small. Nevertheless, the claimed values quite reliably describe the capabilities of the vacuum cleaner for processing the collected garbage.
Garden vacuum cleaners with a grinding ratio of 1:10 can be classified as average; lower rates are typical for relatively modest models, larger ones for advanced ones.
Battery voltage
The battery voltage for which the powered garden vacuum cleaner is designed (see "Motor type"). For a powerful unit, usually, a fairly high voltage is required.
For the user, this parameter is important if the purchased vacuum cleaner is not equipped with a battery (see "Battery included"): in order to successfully select the battery, you need to know the required voltage. If the battery is included in the kit, then this indicator has a purely reference value, and can only come in handy when looking for a spare or additional battery.
Capacity
The capacity of the battery that the garden vacuum cleaner is equipped with the appropriate power supply (see "Motor type").
Capacity is essentially the amount of energy a battery can store. The more powerful the device, the more energy it needs to work and the higher the battery capacity should be so that it does not have to be charged too often. At the same time, capacious batteries have a large weight and dimensions, which significantly affects the convenience of work. Therefore, the power of battery units is relatively low — otherwise, too bulky batteries would have to be used.
To some extent, this parameter also determines the time that the vacuum cleaner is able to work without recharging. However, taking into account the fact that different models can differ markedly in power consumption, it makes sense to compare battery properties with each other only tools with very similar characteristics — and even then very approximately.
Note that the same tool can work with batteries of different capacities — it is enough that they are compatible in terms of connectors and operating voltage. Therefore, for units that are not equipped with batteries, this parameter is not indicated at all — the capacity is not critical for compatibility.
Compatible batteries
The name of the battery that is compatible with the device. It helps to buy a spare or find a suitable one in case of a breakdown of the main one.
Charging time
Time for a full (from 0 to 100%) battery charge.