# Ryobi 160mph 520CFM handheld blower vs. Ego 110mph 530CFM



## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-160-MPH-520-CFM-25cc-Gas-Jet-Fan-Blower-RY25AXB/206481707

Vs.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/EGO-110-MPH-530-CFM-Variable-Speed-Turbo-56-Volt-Lithium-ion-Cordless-Electric-Blower-w-2-5Ah-Battery-and-Charger-Included-LB5302/206584690

I'm really split on this. The Ego is quieter, no gas/oil mix, about same power (or is the MPH a big deal?) but some complaints are that it only lasts around 10-20 minutes in high/turbo mode.

The Ryobi is $60 cheaper, seems just as powerful or more, no worrying about downtime due to charging batteries

For anyone who's used a small 2-stroke engine like the Ryobi, about how much use can you get on a tank of gas? 
Which would you pick and why?


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## Khy (Jul 27, 2018)

Have you looked into Greenworks? I have the Greenworks Pro 60v and the thing could blow my skin off on max power

https://www.greenworkstools.com/shop-by-tool/blowers/60v-cordless-brushless-axial-blower-kit

It's a 250-470 CFM variable trigger, with a "turbo" button that kicks it up to 540 CFM max. 145mph. Battery lasts me on average around 30-40 minutes. Depends how much I use the turbo button. But I often only charge it every other use and it's really never died on me that way. If you charged every mow, I'd be shocked if this thing died on you unless you're blowing like 15k sqft with 10 maple trees on your property.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I own the Ego blower and think it's great. It has plenty of power for my typical post-mowing cleanup, and I like that I can blow off the sidewalks, patio, etc. between mows if I need to without smelling like a 2-stroke when I'm finished. I also own a couple other Ego tools, so I have a few batteries in rotation. That said, I am able to do all of my trimming, edging and blowing after I mow on a single charge of the Ego 2.5Ah battery.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I have the ryobi one. I like it. On full blast, it lasts about 1 hr. Much longer if you use half power. There is a 2 notch trigger lock so you don't have to hold the trigger. It is heavy so it does take some getting used to. It comes with a shoulder strap but it kept getting in the way so I tossed it. Be prepared for the weight. It gets heavy when you use it after an hour. I switch hands to make it more manageable. My buddy had the ryobi electric version and he said it lasted about 10 min on full blast so he got same gas one now. Yea, you need to mix gas but a quick refill gets you much more time. It is nice that the exhaust exits out with the blowing air so you don't any smell exhaust and don't reek of that odor. The drawback about that is I just roasted some baby grass. I guess it couldn't take the heat. Never had a problem on mature grass. I use it a lot in the fall to clean leaves. It is noisy so I wear ear plugs. Like using a string trimmer. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. If you need more power, I would get a 1000 cfm backpack blower. The ryobi starts to struggle moving leaves when they get closer to 1' tall piles. I don't like recharge times and filling gas is a 1 min task. Running at full blast is what I do most of the time and electric just drains too fast for me. If you have a gas mower already, buy a 1 gal can and add some gas from your regular can and add the oil. Shake it up. Gas is much cheaper than buying multiple batteries if you end up with quite a project. My take on it anyway.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I guess I'll add that I rely on it for leaf cleanups. If you are just blowing off extra grass and fert from sidewalks, the ryobi is overkill. For leaves though, oh man! Sometimes I wish I had a 1000 cfm blower. I guess I shouldn't wait so long between cleanups.


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## Khy (Jul 27, 2018)

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> Gas is much cheaper than buying multiple batteries if you end up with quite a project. My take on it anyway.


Eh, not really. Especially if you stick with one line. I'm all Greenworks products. So I'm up to like 4 batteries at this point. And if you search around on marketplaces like FB and LetGo you can often find people selling extra batteries and such cheap, I got a spare for $45 off someone on OfferUp a few months back. Said he bought a replacement string trimmer cause he ran his over with his car (no idea how) and didn't feel the need for another battery.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

Khy said:


> Suburban Jungle Life said:
> 
> 
> > Gas is much cheaper than buying multiple batteries if you end up with quite a project. My take on it anyway.
> ...


That's great if you buy into a system and use all their products. The OP has a gas mower. So, this may be their first purchase. If they need it soon and don't have the time to look for deals or used items, the cost of the unit is more and then if each battery lasts 30 min, which I think is probably optimistic, then a 2 hr job would need 4 batteries. It's not looking like much of a deal to me when the gas blower works just as well and a refill of gas doesn't mean buying more batteries. This is also assuming all the batteries work well and last that long.

On a small property and if you aren't doing leaf cleanups, then sure, I would definitely consider a battery operated blower. They are quieter and you don't need to store gas.

When you need it to just work (not forget to charge the batteries) and have a lot of work to do, I prefer gas. 1 gal of gas lasts me all season between my trimmer and blower. $3.00 for a gallon to me is much preferred especially if the tool is $60 cheaper to boot. Maybe the greenworks is cheaper than an ego depending on what brand one may go with.

I'm debating on picking up a 1000 cfm blower since I feel a 500 cfm sometimes just isn't enough. Using my ryobi at full steam the majority of the time, I can see why people would complain about battery usage as 10-20 min just is a far cry from an hour of use. In the fall, I deal with a 6' pile of leaves every 3 days. If it rains, forget it. The ryobi at full bore does medicore in that situation.

If you have a smaller property, electric is great. A larger property, especially with leaf cleanups, just needs a lot more run time and more power. I guess it really boils down to: What are you using it for?

To the OP, if you buy from home depot, you can try it for a few days and exchange it for the other one if you don't like your purchase so you aren't stuck with your decision.


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Hey thanks everyone, these are the replies I was looking for. 1 gallon the whole year is awesome because I was planning on buying the premixed quarts. @Suburban Jungle Life , you sold me more on the Ryobi, but the only thing I think I overlooked (and thanks for pointing this out) is the exhaust coming out the end. I just did a last minute backyard reno that is still sprouting (will post a journal soon, haven't had time). This was one of the reasons I was ditching the cord because I'm going to need a daily blower for the leaf accumulation. At least that's the reason I gave the wife  . I have 4 oaks (3 1/2 really) and they are going to drop a ton of leaves very soon. Ah well, I'll go take a look at both I guess tomorrow. What's the return policy on lawn tools, 1 month? thanks again everyone


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Ok so I went with the Ego. As soon as I picked it up I fell in love. The weight/ergonomics are perfect. I love it on high or turbo. That's where the good news ends. I put it to a test of cleaning up lots of acorns. On about a 50/50 mix of high & turbo I only got 10, maybe 11 minutes before it started intermittently shutting off on me. I'm assuming it was the overheating mechanism I read about? It would start up again and last maybe another 15 seconds before shutting down. after a couple of minutes of that it totally shut down with a red blinking light. So I would say 11-13 minutes of total use time. Totally unacceptable at this price range. It's an amazing blower for about 12 minutes, but I might be returning it back to depot.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

I've had the older Ryobi gas blower for 3 years now. It works great. Buy the premixed 50:1 and let it eat.


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## h22lude (Jul 24, 2018)

The turbo kills the battery. It will happen with any battery powered product. If you want a blower that can deal with acorns, go with the backpack blower.

I have their trimmer and blower. I can trim my 18k sq ft lawn and blow my driveway and mower off with 1 full battery and about 10% from another. I don't feel it is bad at all. I will also be getting the snow blower which comes with two bigger batteries which also work with everything else. Once you have a few batteries, you will never run out of juice.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

LIgrass said:


> Hey thanks everyone, these are the replies I was looking for. 1 gallon the whole year is awesome because I was planning on buying the premixed quarts. @Suburban Jungle Life , you sold me more on the Ryobi, but the only thing I think I overlooked (and thanks for pointing this out) is the exhaust coming out the end. I just did a last minute backyard reno that is still sprouting (will post a journal soon, haven't had time). This was one of the reasons I was ditching the cord because I'm going to need a daily blower for the leaf accumulation. At least that's the reason I gave the wife  . I have 4 oaks (3 1/2 really) and they are going to drop a ton of leaves very soon. Ah well, I'll go take a look at both I guess tomorrow. What's the return policy on lawn tools, 1 month? thanks again everyone


I'm sure it wasn't designed for this kind of duty. Probably really wonderful for blowing grass clippings and stray fertilizer but acorns and tons of leaves? Gas... I'm sure that'll change one day but...


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

For gas, I just use E10 from the pump and add stabil and oil. I shake the mix each time before I refill my tools. Had them a couple years now and still running great. Haven't needed to clean the carb yet. I try to fire them up once a month if I'm not using them. Sure, no ethanol in the gas is best but I'm cheap and there aren't any stations around me which sell that aside from race gas. I'm not putting in 117 octane nor do I wish to pay that crazy price.

For the baby grass, I've been holding it at waist/chest level and using it on the medium notch which is about half power. It doesn't come out that hot, maybe luke warm, and so far so good. I haven't cooked any new baby grass. Save full power until you have a few mows on the grass and the blades have thickened up a bit.

Sorry to Khy. I may have come off a bit harsh in the tone of my posts. I've had poor experience with electric tools and I'm still stuck on gas. Maybe I'm too hard on my equipment or maybe just too demanding. I want to really like electric but I feel it isn't quite there just yet. Cars on the other hand, I think are totally there! If I had the funds, I'd definitely get a tesla. Regarding tools, maybe if there was a backpack which housed the batteries and had a lot more juice, that might work.


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