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 (blowing)
Performance of the garden vacuum cleaner when blowing (see "Operating mode").
This parameter determines the amount of air that the device distills through itself in a certain time. It should be noted that it depends not only on the speed of this air, but also on other parameters — for example, the diameter of the pipe. Therefore, two models with the same performance can noticeably differ in speed, and vice versa. You also need to keep in mind that the efficiency of "purging" bottlenecks with stuck debris does not depend on performance, but on the flow rate. On the other hand, good performance makes it easier to work on large areas, as allows you to simultaneously cover a large area with a jet of air.
Most modern garden vacuum cleaners in blowing mode provide up to 15 m / min;
higher rates are typical mainly for professional models.
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.
Motor power
Power of the garden vacuum cleaner motor, expressed in watts. This unit is by far the main one, it is used for both electric and gasoline engines (see "Engine type").
The
more powerful the motor — the more air the vacuum cleaner is able to pass through itself, the greater the speed it is able to give the air flow and the more efficient the chopper (if there is one at all — see "Operating mode"). At the same time, all these moments depend not only on power, but also on many other design features; and manufacturers select each motor in such a way as to provide the vacuum cleaner with certain performance characteristics. Therefore, when choosing, it is worth looking primarily at practical characteristics (flow rate, blowing and suction performance), and engine power is of secondary importance.
Shoulder strap
Shoulder
strap included with garden vacuum cleaner.
This accessory is found only in models of the manual type (see above): knapsacks, by definition, are carried behind the back, and other types do not imply transportation by hand at all. When using a shoulder strap, most of the weight of the unit is transferred from the hands to the shoulder; this improves wearing comfort and makes it easier to work with the vacuum cleaner for a long time.
Weight
The total weight of the garden vacuum cleaner. Usually, this paragraph indicates the "net" weight of the unit — with an empty dust container (or even without a dust container at all), without fuel and oil (in models with an internal combustion engine, see "Engine type"), without a battery (in the corresponding devices, also see "Engine type"), etc. This parameter is important primarily for models designed to
be carried "on oneself" — that is, hand-held and knapsack (see "Type").
