Review: Black & Decker NS118, One year later

Overall Rating4.334.334.334.334.33

One year later

I have a medium-size suburban house sitting on about half an acre.

In the past year I’ve used this to:
-clear the walks after mowing and/or trimming,
-keep the garage floor swept out (great especially in the fall) and
-clear off my deck in less than a minute.

Great complement to the cordless trimmer in this family (the batteries are interchangeable).

Big plusses: light and simple to use; enough wind for small-to-medium jobs (get a gas-powered blower if you can’t use a rake for your leaves) and enough battery power for about 10-to- 15 minutes of blowing.

Minuses: Battery life a little short; not good for year-round outdoor use in the north (you shouldn’t charge this thing in temps below 40); no easy way to buy a charging station and extra batteries.

Be CAREFUL! This is does NOT necessarily use the same battery as B&D Firestorm products. Some Firestorm batteries are the wrong size and voltage. Others have a stub which fits into the handle; the compatible B&D 18v products look like a big fat black Advil tablet (sort of).

I will probably buy most of the B&D products that are compatible, eventually. They seem to work for me.

Update (9/8/2010): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen.

The featured review for this product, Black & Decker NS118 18-Volt Cordless Electric Broom Hard Surface Sweeper Lawn & Patio, was written by Terence McArdle.

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Reviews (3)

W. JOHNSTON

December 28th, 2009 at 4:43 pm    


Overall Rating55555

Perfect for those pinpoint quick clean-up jobs, especially around a pool !
We live in So. California with lots of cement decks and brick hardscape in both front and back. We also have a fairly large pool with many bougainvillea plants constantly in bloom.

Having used both a gas powered blower (too strong an airstream) and an electric in the past and not wanting to take a chance on dragging the electric cord thru the pool, we really wanted something that could pinpoint the stream a little better so as not to blow half the dust and leaves back in the water. The Black and Decker Cordless Broom fits the job perfectly.

Every morning about 8:am (the cordless blower is relatively quiet) I go out for my routine yard maintenance and in ten minutes the job is done and I then switch batteries from the charger so that the next day, it’s ready for duty.

Bottom line, it’s simply a wonderful little machine.


Anonymous

January 11th, 2010 at 10:27 am    


Overall Rating44444

Pretty good - but don’t get rid of your corded blower
I just bought the B&D NS118 blower along with the NST2018 cordless string trimmer. I have a corner lot with long parkways and a lot of sidewalk footage, and have grown tired of dealing with up to 175 feet of extension cables for my corded trimmer and blower. I’ve had a nice battery-powered mower for several years, and felt it was time to go all cordless. This new pair of tools seemed promising, particularly because of the removable battery design.After only one use I can say I’m reasonably satisfied, but not fully sold.Handling: This is probably one of the lightest blowers available and is easy to handle. But the way the nozzle attaches is not good at all. It’s difficult to remove, and the design invites finger accidents.Power: The blower is nowhere near as powerful as my corded one. B&D refers to this as a “broom” and that’s an appropriate description. It works well on surfaces where you might otherwise use a push broom. It’s not good at getting leaves out of grass or flowerbeds. But in a way, the lower airflow can be better for sweeping than a corded blower. My corded one, even at its low setting, can often send debris flying all over the place. This one calmly moves stuff where you want it to go.Battery: The batteries are compact. The blower comes with two of them, and I needed them both to complete one job. I guess I’m okay with this approach. It makes sense to lug around only as much weight as is necessary rather than carry a much heavier battery the whole time. If you buy this along with a trimmer as I did, you’ll have four batteries and two chargers available for swapping. And if you happen to have a FireStorm 18v drill, you can apparently swap batteries with that system as well.Quality: Build quality seems similar to most B&D stuff, meaning it will probably work for a few years.Overall: Going cordless does simplify my work and save me time, but this tool isn’t appropriate for all cleanup jobs. I have a month to make up my mind about keeping it. But even if it passes muster, I suspect I’ll want to hang onto my corded blower for the occasional heavy job.


Terence McArdle

February 5th, 2010 at 12:09 pm    


Overall Rating44444

One year later
Rated 4 stars.


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