WORXAIR Blower Reviews

WORXAIR Blower/Sweeper: Product Review

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GPR Recommendation

Ease of Use
Quality
Performance
Final Thoughts

A terrific lightweight blower that makes quick work of everyday clean-up tasks

Overall Score 5

Available on Amazon

Buy It

 

This review applies to the following models: WG545, WG545.1, WG545.5, WG545.9, WG575, WG575.1

If you’re looking for a heavy-duty leaf blower, this isn’t the product for you. But if you want a cordless, lightweight, quiet blower that will easily sweep the patio, clean debris from your garage, or blow away dry leaves from between plants, then the WORXAIR is a good choice.

First, let’s set some expectations. This blower doesn’t have the power of a gas or corded model (it’s battery powered, after all). It won’t go endlessly on one charge; about 15 to 20 minutes is reasonable – if you need a blower that runs longer, get a corded or gas-powered model. And it won’t demolish that huge pile of wet leaves on your lawn – but it works well with lighter debris on hard surfaces.

What you do get is a compact and lightweight (it’s under 4 lbs) blower that makes many of those annoying sweeping and cleaning tasks easier and faster.

Charging the Battery

When you first unpack the blower, the Li-Ion battery may be partially charged. Don’t use it. Instead, insert the battery into the charger and let it charge for a full 12 hours.

Normally, you’d expect to see a light on the charger to indicate when the battery is charged. On the WORX charger, this light is on the part that plugs into the wall, not on the charger itself. The light will turn green when the battery is fully charged. Although this is a tool intended for outdoor use, common sense dictates that the charger should be kept in a dry location (I keep mine indoors). And don’t use the blower in wet conditions.

Q&A About the WORX MaxLithium Battery

I spoke with Brandon Martin, WORX Product Manager, to clear up the conflicting battery instructions in the manual, as well as to address the questions and comments seen online. Here’s what I found out:

How long does the WORX battery run for?

  • This isn’t a simple question to answer. There are no industry standards available for measuring run time because it’s affected by how you use the tool (e.g., letting it run continuously vs. turning it on and off, using attachments, restricting air flow such as by putting the nozzle right up against a pile of leaves). If you’re just blowing light debris and the machine is running continuously, it might go for 30 minutes.

Important: The WORX battery is a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery. Once these types of batteries get below a certain charge level, they stop working. You’ll have a decent paper weight but not much else. To prevent this, the battery has an automatic shutoff when it gets to a low level. When the blower stops working, DO NOT turn it on and off trying to get the last little bit of juice out of it – you’ll kill your battery.

How many years of use can I get out of a WORX MaxLithium battery?

  • WORX won’t give an estimate on this one, other to say that it’s designed to last for the full product life assuming that you use and store it correctly. The battery has a 1 year warranty and the blower is guaranteed for 3 years. So, with proper usage, the battery should last at least 3 years.
  • Replacement batteries are available at retail outlets, online (e.g., through Amazon), and directly from WORX.  There are many different models and voltages so be careful to buy the correct battery for your WORX tool.
  • If your battery is under warranty (i.e., you bought it less than 1 year ago), contact WORX directly for a replacement. Note that you could face a long wait time on the phone during their busy season so leave a message or send an email.

How long should you charge the WORX battery for the first time you use it?

The instruction manual is confusing on this topic so here’s the correct information.

  • The battery is not fully charged when arrives so you must charge it before using it. A normal charge takes about 3 hours BUT before first use you should charge it for a minimum of 12 hours. The battery will reach about 90% of a full charge and then turn itself off. After a brief rest, it’ll try to charge again. Eventually the green light will turn off, indicating that it’s ready to be used.
  • Note that the battery won’t be fully charged at this point. You have to fully discharge it 3 – 5 times and recharge it before it hits full charge. Just use it as you normally would and when it runs out, place it on the charger. After a few charges, it’ll hit 100%.

What happens if you leave it on the charger after the light turns green?

  • You’ve probably read a lot of articles and seen the warning in the instruction manual about overcharging batteries and damaging them. This is NOT a problem with the new WORX MaxLithium batteries. While it’s always safer to remove the battery from the charger when the green light goes off, you don’t need to worry about damaging the battery if you leave it on the charger for a while.
  • There ARE shutoffs in the WORX batteries on all of the active models available for purchase, although some of the older models didn’t have an automatic shutoff. It turns out that the message about overcharging is in the manual mostly for legal purposes – lead acid batteries can be overcharged so, even though that’s not what the WORXAIR uses, the wording stayed in the manual…

Does the WORX battery have a memory effect?

  • The WORX Li-ion battery does NOT have a memory effect (unlike NiCad batteries, which are not used in the WORX tools). Best practice is to place the battery on the charger after each use, even if it’s not fully discharged. That way, you’ll always have a fully-charged battery to work with.

The above information about the WORX MaxLithium battery also applies to the batteries used in the WORX GT2.0 string trimmer.

And for more details about Li-Ion batteries, see our complete FAQs on Lithium Ion Batteries for yard and garden tools.

Good Blowing Performance

WORXAIR Blower

The WORXAIR Blower comes with 8 attachments. The long nozzle (at right) is the most versatile and the one I use for almost all blowing/sweeping jobs.

According to the manufacturer, the WORXAIR “delivers 120 mph of maximum air speed.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds fast… much faster than what seems to come out of the blower nozzle. Still, the blower has enough “oomph” to easily clear dry debris from the deck, dirt from inside the garden shed, sand from the driveway, and more.

The nice thing about this blower (as compared to a typical leaf blower) is that you can blow dry leaves or grass clippings out of your garden beds without blowing half of the soil or gravel away. I use it to clear debris from a pea stone walkway.

WORXAIR Attachments

WORXAIR attachments for inflating, deflating, and blowing out small crevices.

WORXAIR attachments for inflating, deflating, and blowing out small crevices

There are eight attachments available for the WORXAIR, including a shorter blower tube (handy for getting into tight spaces), several brushes, a hose, an inflator nozzle (good for blowing up beach balls) and a deflator nozzle (I’m not really sure why you’d want that), and a wide nozzle (so you can blow water off your car – yes, really….).

The larger WORXAIR attachments snap in place

The larger WORXAIR attachments snap in place

Each of the attachments locks into place with either a locking mechanism (see photo) or by simply sliding it onto the the appropriate nozzle. Over time, as dust and grit builds up, it can be a little difficult to remove the attachments so be sure to keep them clean.

Some of the attachments are useful (like the inflator and short tube) but others seem like a reach. Would you seriously attach a tiny brush to the end of a long tube and use the whole contraption to blow dust out of your computer keyboard? No, I didn’t think so. If you’re considering buying the attachments (they’re sold separately), I recommend saving your money.

Recommendation

The WORXAIR Blower is a terrific little blower. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and makes quick work of lightweight blowing and sweeping. Don’t expect it to do more than it’s designed to do – it won’t do heavy-duty blowing or run endlessly. But if you want a convenient tool to clear off your deck, patio, walkway, etc., then the WORXAIR is a good option.

Update – October 2016: This blower is still going strong (I still have the original battery) and works like a charm. I use it several times a week to blow off the patio, remove leaves from the garden beds, blow debris off the gravel paths, etc. and have had absolutely no problems with it. This is one of my favorite tools – I can’t imagine not having it!

Where To Buy

The WORXAIR blower is available in many big box stores, on the WORX website, and on Amazon for between $99 and $119, depending on the model.

Buy on Amazon: WORX WG575.1 WORXAIR Lithium Multi-Purpose Blower/Sweeper/Cleaner, 32-volt

And now over to you – Which blowers have you used? What did you like or not like about them? Let us know in the comments below.

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Disclaimer – GPReview would like to thank WORX for giving us a free sample to review. There was no expectation that it would be a positive review and we received no compensation for writing it. All opinions expressed here are those of the author based on personal experience using the product.

Please note that the Amazon links (and only the Amazon links) above are affiliate links. Should you choose to purchase products through these links, GPReview will make a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that helps to support this website and our gardening product reviews. Thank you!

12 Comments on WORXAIR Blower/Sweeper: Product Review

  1. Boss

    I do prefer leaf blowers that are cordless and light to carry so I can easily carry it around the lawn. I’m not looking for a heavy duty but I do at least hope that this one doesn’t break easily. Could last at least a year or so. If it only last for a month, then it’s not really a good value.

    • I think you’ll find that this one lasts. I’ve been using it for a year (and it gets a LOT of use!) and so far there have been no problems. The fact that it’s so lightweight and convenient means that I use it frequently. My deck and front walkway have never been so clean!

  2. Jason

    This is a very thorough review! Very informative and useful post. After the 12 hours charging before first use, how long you charge it now for regular use? And how long does it usually take before it discharges?

    • Thanks, Jason! It usually charges in under 3 hours. I just put it on the charger at the end of the day, or when I’m done using it. But it will go about a week between charges, depending on how much you use it. A few minutes here and there won’t discharge it quickly.

    • Although leaving it charging isn’t going to hurt the battery, it’s safer to unplug it (or remove the battery from the charger) when the indicator light turns green. That advice would apply to any rechargeable battery charger. I tend to bring the battery inside after a few uses and put it on the charger until I remember to unplug it. After a couple of years, it’s still going strong with no signs of slowing down.

  3. Michele J Gisness

    The manual says it charges in 5 hours. That is a long time for only 20 minutes of use. I like the product but I feel the user time is way too short.

    • Hi Michele! A 20 minute run time on a 20V battery is pretty good, although I agree that if you have to wait 5 hours for it to recharge, that can be a bit of a pain. I can tell you that my WORXAIR Blower is still going strong after two years (still with the original battery) and I haven’t recharged it all summer even though I use it several times a week to blow off our patio and clear debris from between the plants. In fact, the blower is sitting on the potting bench outside (under cover but exposed to 100+F temperatures) and I’ve had no problems with it whatsoever. If you’re looking for a longer run time, I recommend moving up to a 40V blower with a 4Ah battery – that would probably come close to doubling run time but typically means a larger, heavier blower. I guess it’s always a compromise…

  4. Sherri Clark

    I love the Worx blower and I’m buying a 2nd one. (I think we killed the 1st one’s battery by trying to get the last bit of juice.) I’m looking at the model with a 32v battery, to get more runtime. I work at a commercial bldg. and we maintain both interiors and grounds. Gas powered items are prohibited inside, but this I can take in and out for 10-20 minute touchups. (Instead of the 45 min.+ involved in going in and out to a shed.) A householder with storage can buy a gas powered blower and it will definitely have more power, speed, and runtime. A corded blower also has more power and runtime, but you need a pretty long extension cord. So it depends on what you need. This is light, portable, fairly quiet, and would be the perfect power for moderate touchups, for city properties with decks and a bit of sidewalk. The lower power also makes it perfect for cleaning up the edges of a garage or shed. Higher power blowers also require you to wear safety glasses or risk severe eye injury – another plus with this machine. Safety glasses may be recommended with this blower – but the risk is less. We have gas blowers too – but this one rounds out our needs. Also, Lithium Ion batteries are a must – don’t settle for another type.
    Thanks for your review, Monica. Added my own…

    • Thanks for the review, Sherri! I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with the WORXAIR blower. We still use ours all the time – it’s such a practical tool.

  5. donald steele

    I just bought one from pecos tx today from gibsons hardware and the machine turns on and turns off right away what can you do to fix this issue or repair it

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