Ozito Brushless Blower Vacuum PXCBLVK-318

Frustrating performance – It repeatedly starts cutting out every few seconds after only running for a few minutes then stops altogether when the batteries are still showing half charge. The batteries run the drill and the hedge clipper without issues. The rigid tube makes it difficult to pick up leaves under shrubs putting great stress on the wrist. This is the second one I returned the first one for the same issue.  Show details

For $199, it needs to be a lot better than it is – We’d been persisting with a 20 year old corded Ryobi blower vac for quite a long time and when its motor bearings started to sound arthritic, we knew it was time to upgrade. Because I was already within the Ozito Power X-Change “ecosystem”, the brushless blower vac seemed like an obvious choice. There was a promotional kit for $199 being cleared… Read more

by Bunnings which included a twin battery charger, and 2 3.0Ah batteries. Win-win for me I thought, as I’d been wanting to get another battery for my other Power X-Change gear. Now I could get a new blower vac and TWO new batteries! Hah!

After assembling the blower and noting how flexible the plastics were compared to the old Ryobi one, I immediately put it to work. There were a couple of things that struck me (figuratively). One thing I noticed is how great it was to have cordless capability. No more unplugging extension cords and moving them around with you. The other thing was the really irritating trigger mechanism. Combined with the soft-start motor feature, when your hand begins to fatigue from having to keep the trigger squeezed constantly, the motor will cut out and when you squeeze the trigger again it doesn’t spin up straight away, preferring to “soft-start” its way toward blowing your leaves along which incidentally, it doesn’t do all that well, even on the highest setting. It is hopeless at blowing gutters out and for some stupid reason when it is switched to ‘blow’ it still sucks things up its pipe. Quite frankly, for 36 volts I expected it to be better at the job than it is.

Whilst I guess it accomplishes the job as stated on the box it does tend to flatten the batteries within 20 minutes and the aforementioned trigger will tire out your hand. When it is set to ‘vacuum’ I find that the seals (or lack of) between its various plastic housings drive dust out of all the joins in the plastic parts, covering the outside of the appliance with dust and often you, the operator.

The transparent window on the collection bag is a great idea and of course, because it uses the same batteries as my Ozito power tools, swapping batteries when they’re flat is a mere formality, meaning I can get back to work straight away instead of waiting for batteries to charge. The lighter weight of it compared with the old one makes it much easier to tote around, drag up onto the roof up a ladder and use one handed.

One thing I’ve noticed with Ozito tools over the years (bought my first one in 1995) is that their hand power tools are generally very good, but their power garden stuff often leaves a lot to be desired. The Power X-Change range seems to be no exception as the power tools I own are great, but this and the pole chainsaw I have simply don’t do a good enough job. Especially considering the price. For $199 I expected a lot better.

With a little bit more effort, this blower vac could be well worth the $199 asking price. I’d suggest Ozito need to investigate better sealing for the motor body as well as a couple of attachments for the blower nozzle to concentrate airflow and provide more oomph for blowing leaves out of gutters, as well as a total revision of the trigger mechanism.

Now, I wonder how much motor bearings are for 20 year old Ryobi blowers...