EGO 650 CFM Blower Pegs 20.8 Newtons in Our Testing
The battle for the best cordless leaf blower is in full force! The EGO 650 CFM blower is one of the latest to throw its hat in the ring. We brought out our force meter to see if the EGO LB6500 could take over the top power position.
Pros
- Legitimate gas power
- 20.8 N max power in our tests (using a 7.5Ah battery)
- Cruise control dial
- Tapered and flat nozzles included
Cons
- More expensive than most battery-powered blowers
EGO 650 CFM Blower Power
Pushing the boundaries of power is the big draw for the EGO 650 CFM blower. As a quick recap, the EGO commercial blower briefly sat at the top of the charts with 18.2 N before the Ryobi 40V backpack blower pushed it to 20.0 N in our tests. Since then, only a couple of models have managed to break the 20.0 N mark using a battery for power.
The EGO LB6500 boasts 650 CFM and up to 180 MPH (160 MPH with the tapered nozzle). We first tested it with the 5.0Ah battery that comes in the kit. On high, it kicked out a pretty solid 11.4 N. Hitting the turbo button, it maxed out at 20.3N!
It gets even better, though. Since you can get more power out of higher-capacity batteries, we retested it with a 7.5Ah pack. That pushed the bar even higher to 20.8 N in turbo.
Those high impeller RPMs come at a noise cost, though. While the blower is still quieter than gas models, we measured a sound pressure level of 88 dB(A) at ear level (A-weighted, slow response). That drops to a quieter 84 dB(A) in high and a relative whisper-like 68 dB(A) in low.
EGO 650 CFM Blower Runtime
All that power asks a lot from the battery and it’s no surprise that runtimes are somewhat short in turbo mode. EGO tells us to expect up to 15 minutes of runtime with the 5.0Ah battery, but we actually got a little more – 16:34.
Pro Tip: To get the most runtime out of your battery-powered blower, only use as much power as the job calls for.
Here in Florida, the vast majority of our blowing is cleaning off hard surfaces after mowing, not blowing a mountain of leaves (although I’ll admit to using my EGO 530 CFM blower to push the blind mosquitos and mayflies off the porch and incite an all-you-can-eat buffet for the tree swallows). High is plenty of power for that and our runtime was a much longer 27:14.
We didn’t test runtime in low power, but EGO tells us to expect runtimes up to 200 minutes there.
EGO 650 CFM Blower Design Notes
In general, blowers are pretty basic on the feature side, but there are few really good talking points surrounding the controls. Primarily, you have a variable speed trigger to control how much power you use.
Like other EGO blowers, there’s a turbo button to kick you into the highest power level available. Having a separate button is helpful to make it a conscious decision when you use the most power-hungry level.
There’s a cruise control dial on the left side. It’s convenient when you’re blowing for more than a few minutes at a time. We also really like it when we’re trying to exercise some power discipline to extend the runtime. By setting it somewhere in the middle and only using the power we really need, we avoid the temptation to run at full throttle and seriously reduce the runtime.
The nice thing about the control design is that you can adjust any of them on the fly with one hand. With the cruise control dial on the left side, it’s easiest if you’re right-handed, but it’s not that much more challenging to use left-handed.
Additional Features
- Brushless motor
- Inline axial fan design
- Shoulder strap hardpoint
- Weather-resistant IPX4 rating
- Tapered and flat nozzles included
Weight
As a bare tool, the EGO LB6500 weighs 4.85 pounds without the tapered or flat nozzle installed (blower tube only). With the 5.0Ah battery, it’s 9.81 pounds and bumps up to 11.28 pounds if you prefer the 7.5Ah pack.
On its own, the weight really isn’t difficult to manage. However, you can add a shoulder strap if you like.
Even if you use the larger 7.5Ah pack, the balance stays weight-forward, keeping the nozzle pointed at the ground in front of you.
One thing we noticed in our testing is that you do get more thrust pushback than with other models. It can legitimately begin to fatigue your arm more than the weight alone if you’re running in turbo all the time. It’s really not a surprise considering the power level, though. Stick to high or lower and only kick into turbo when you need it and it’s not a big deal.
EGO 650 CFM Blower Price
The EGO 650 CFM blower is available as either a bare tool or a kit. The bare tool is $219. The kit with a 5.0Ah battery and charger is $299. Considering the battery is $249 on its own, the kit makes a solid value argument.
The price is near the top of the scale, but it’s not totally out in left field. Ryobi’s 40V backpack blower is $249.99 and the DeWalt FlexVolt blower is $299 and EGO exceeds both in performance. Looking at the power boost you get and the battery/charger combo that comes with the kit, $299 seems to be right on par.
The Bottom Line
The EGO 650 CFM blower is one of the most powerful handheld blowers we’ve tested to date. With the 20.8 N rating we got from our tests, it’s hard to imagine needing much more power from a handheld unit—gas or battery. Perhaps it’s time for EGO to turn its attention back to backpack blowers for the next power jump.
Buy it if you’re looking for the most powerful battery-powered blower that has a deep, reliable line of compatible lawn care equipment. Pass or go with a 2.5Ah battery if weight is your biggest concern.
EGO 650 CFM Blower Specifications
- Model: EGO LB6500
- Power Source: EGO 56V battery
- Max Airflow: 650 CFM
- Max Airspeed: 180 MPH
- Estimated Runtime: 15 (turbo) – 90 (low) minutes with 5.0Ah battery
- Warranty: 5 years
