Makita UB181DZ Commercial Grade 18-Volt Cordless Variable Speed 179 mph Handheld Blower

The first thing that you notice about this blower is that it's much smaller than it looks in the photos. It's closer in size to your hand saw than it is to a standard leaf blower.

This has it's advantages and disadvantages. It's easy to set up, just twist the nozzle onto the front and plug the battery in the handle and you're ready to go. If you have a small outdoor job like blowing leaves or twigs off your front porch it works great. But being physically smaller in size than other blowers you don't move nearly the volume of air as a full size blower and sometimes you need to bend over and "push" the debris around with the air stream. The trigger style variable speed switch is great in that it allows you to dust off items that wouldn't survive a more powerful blast. It would be great for jobs like blowing sawdust out of your shop area as you could lightly dust the shelves and then sweep the floors full blast.

Even with an 18 volt battery the Makita doesn't have enough power to do the big jobs or work well on grassy surfaces. Even a large driveway would be a strain as it would require too much bending over and you would probably run out of power before you were done.

This blower is for hard surfaces and small jobs. In this role it is a mini powerhouse. It's build quality is high and it is light weight. It's designed for those "in between" size jobs.

It might even make a good blow dryer for a wet dog.

In summary, do NOT purchase this blower for regular yard work. Buy a full size.

DO purchase this blower for jobs of convenience and you will enjoy it. It is well built and nice to have when you're willing to start a five minute job but not a 20 minute one. :^)

Update: Dec 5, 2002 This morning I used the blower to blow off the powder snow that fell on my vehicle overnight. It took less than a minute and I didn't get my hands snowy just before I had to leave for work. Because you can whip this blower out quickly, there are a lot of different things that you can use it for that you might not think of otherwise.


A much better blower than expected   August 29, 2001
31 out of 32 found this review helpful

I read the only previously written review before I purchased this blower and I almost didn't buy it. However, it seemed to be the best available alternative. I was very happy that I did.
I use it around the patio and pool and it works very well. You'll need a battery and charger. Hint: buy the factory reconditioned 18 volt 1/2 inch drill for only a few dollars more
than the battery and charger. You'll get the drill, a charger and two batteries.


Great little toy !!!   August 30, 2001
Keith Bachmann (North Haledon, New Jersey United States)
32 out of 34 found this review helpful

This Makita blower is fantastic. It has a variable speed switch that sets the blower from low to high. Don't get me wrong, you can't blow a whole yard clean, etc...I would recommend the 18 volt because you will get about 12 minutes of full blower time with it before you have to re-charge the battery. The lower voltage models will give you less time before the battery runs out. It is rather expensive ..,, but it is worth every penny. I use it to blow the bed of my pick-up truck clean and to blow the debris out of our gardens. It also has a suction feature for quick vacuum jobs, etc..., and a bag to hold the debris in. Let's just say, it gets small jobs done fast !!! This little gem is environmentally friendly, not too noisy and there are no electric cords to worry about. It surpasses broom clean-up by 101% !!! Once again Makita proves to be the best !!!


Great light-duty blower   December 30, 2004
Jim
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I do woodworking on the weekends and bought this blower to clean up my shop. The variable speed on the blower is very useful; I can use the blower with just enough force to blow sawdust off of my tools and work surfaces without creating a dust storm in my shop. The 18 volt battery lasts for several days when used in this mode. My only complaint is that the blower won't stand upright when set on a flat surface. I wish Makita had built the blower with the weight distributed such that it would stand up when set on a surface.