Ifย you have decks, patios, porches, sidewalks and garages that need toย be swept a lot; then chances are that the Black andย Decker NS118ย 18V Blower might work wellย for you. With a cordless and compact design, this powered hard surface sweeper isย easy to maneuver and requires much less effort then a traditionalย outdoor broom.
Black and Decker NS118 18V Blower Feature
Whenย the Black andย Decker NS118 18-Volt Cordless Hard Surface Sweeper &ย Blower arrived at our facility, we immediately opened the cardboardย box and assembled it. Assembly was a cinch and minimal, consisting of merely snapping the blower nozzle together. We threw theย battery on the charger and plugged it into some power. After a quickย read of the specs, we were a little disappointed to find out that theย included 18V NiCd battery takes 8 hours to fully charge. We were later told that if you wanted a shorter charge time, a 2-hour charger (part number FSMVC) is available separately. The body ofย the sweeper and nozzle is made of plastic, which helps to contributeย to its light weight.
Weighing in at 4.8 pounds with the batteryย attached, it is light enough that you can easily wield it with aย single hand. We found that the balance was pretty good, too, sinceย they located the heavy Ni-Cad battery on the bottom of the back side,ย which is balanced out by the long nozzle on the front. The On and Offย switch is in a convenient location so that, when holding the handle,ย you just use one of your fingers to activate the large paddle-styleย switch.
Black and Decker 18V Hard Surface Sweeper Testing and Use
Likeย most places, our facility has plenty of hard surfaces that need to beย swept off every now and then. With sidewalks all around and someย large shop space with overhead doors, we have had plenty of leavesย that get blown around both outside and inside. Once the battery wasย charged up, we installed it onto the Cordless Hard Surface Sweeper &ย Blower and took it for a spin.
We found that when standing with oneย hand on the handle and our arm hanging at our side, the businessย end of the sweeper was just a few inches above the ground. This wasย the perfect height to blow the leaves and debris off the sidewalkย in front of our office. There was plenty of power and air movementย that the leaves were quickly blown out of the way. It was a slightlyย different story once the leaves got into the flower bed and theย grass, though.
Thereย was not sufficient power to continue blowing the leaves once they gotย into these areas. We also used the Black and Decker NS118 blowerย in our shop to clear theย dust, dirt, and leaves that got tracked in. With the overhead doorsย open, we just blew all the junk outside and across the driveway.ย Around this time, we noticed a dramatic drop in power and finally hadย to call it quits. On our first mission, we used the blower for about 9ย minutes straight before the battery needed to be recharged. Since our test model only came with one battery, we had to wait another day toย use it some more.
After a few more uses, we confirmed that the runย time is no longer than 10 minutes on a fully charged battery. Whileย this might sound like a total letdown, we found that we were able toย effectively sweep out our shop and the sidewalk in front of ourย building in this time frame. Using the Black and Decker NS118 Cordless Hardย Surface Sweeper & Blower was faster than sweeping by hand and didย not create much more dust in the process than using a broom.
Just aย note to all of you who might be thinking this is a leaf blower: You will be disappointed because it does not have the gusto or reserve power to really do a good job at this task. Weโd classify it as a light-duty broom replacement, which, given its name, is exactlyย how Black and Decker designed this product. For those looking forย greater blowing power, check out some of the companyโs more advancedย models.
Conclusion
Theย Black andย Decker NS118 18-Volt Cordless Hard Surface Sweeper &ย Blower is pretty much a broom on steroids. It really is not a leaf blower, at least one that you can use to clean up your whole yard. Ifย you do have a lot of hard surfaces around your home, like decks, patios, garages and side walks, this tool sure beats sweeping byย hand. If you already own some other Black and Decker 18V Singleย Source tools, then this is an even better tool to add to yourย collection (since you will have more batteries and the fast charger).ย
For our Performance rating we gave the sweeper a 4/10 since it reallyย is limited in its use, comes with a super slow charger and just oneย Ni-cad battery. For our Value Rating, we gave the sweeper a 4/10 dueย to the fact that, for its meager performance, it costs quite a bit.ย If you can find it on sale somewhere youโll get even moreย satisfaction out of this product.
