BLACK+DECKER 40V MAX* Cordless Hard-Surface Sweeper with POWERCOMMAND (LSW36)

I bought this sweeper as part of upgrading all my yard tools from 18V to the 36V system.The sweeping function of this unit is really about the same as the 18V unit, as far as strength/utility. The upside though, is that the 36V lithium ion system runs the same whether the battery is full or 3/4 empty, unlike the old ni-cad system, and lasts about twice as long. That's the real shiney part of this sweeper over the 18V sweeper, the packs aren't much larger/heavier, but they have a LOT of power reserve.The vacuum function works as advertised, I was able to remove the intake, swap on the tubes, and vacuum up my garage without blowing debris everywhere. The impeller withstood small metal screws and such without failing, and it mulches up leaves and such, and has a zippered bag for dumping out later. The big tube for the vacuum locks into the intake without any additional support, so feels a bit flimsy, but worked fine.This sweeper, like the old one, is a bit short for a tall guy... there's not a lot of power, so you want the intake close to the ground, and it's obviously modeled for someone shorter than 6'0".There's a minor design flaw versus the older unit, the intake is now on the side (to better support the vacuum function), and because it's on the side, it'll suck in any looser clothing, such as the t-shirt and cargo shorts I usually wear, and block the intake. It's on the left too, so unless you're holding it in the left hand, you gotta watch out for it.Overall, very happy with the sweeper, mostly because of the increased power reserve, and of course the 36V system works fantastic for the string-trimmer & hedge-trimmer tools, which I'll review later on.

The title pretty much says it all; this thing is useless. It can't blow leaves more than a foot at a time on cement even when set to the highest level. I tried using it to move a pile of dry leaves out from under my deck and I might as well have turned a table fan on them for all the good it did. The 6-year-old B&D blower I bought this to replace sounds like it's about to explode and it still works better on level 2 than this thing does on 6!I thought the leaf vac would be a big help with the leaves that collect along my fence and in the river rock under my deck, but it barely picks up anything. It took 15 minutes of babying this thing to suck up the same amount of leaves I could have pulled out with a rake and run the mower over in 3. The vac burns through batteries really quickly, too, so if you try it (which I do NOT recommend), be prepared to do at least one battery change for even a small fence line. It's also very awkward to operate. I'm only 5'8", and the tube is too short to reach the ground unless I lean forward.Most of the leaves I deal with are maple (large but brittle with longer stems) and pin oaks (smaller but thicker). The pin oak it would sort of halfway pick up if I kept "patting" the tube down on top of them, but wouldn't chop them very well. The maple leaves would get stuck covering the end of the tube, so I was constantly scraping it trying to get them repositioned so they would fold into the tube and get sucked up. Then about every 5 minutes, it would completely lose suction and I'd have to stop and clear out a wad of stems jammed around the outside of the fan housing where there's a huge gap between the cheap plastic "blades" and the body.I'm returning this thing and looking for a different brand if this is how Black & Decker makes their products these days. HORRIBLE quality and lazy, inefficient, ineffective design.

I’ve had a Black & Decker LSWV36B cordless leaf blower (comes with mulch unit, but no battery) for about a month. I have found it to be very effective, within the published limitation, i.e., “Hard surface sweeper, not recommended for use in grass” (it has proven to be only slightly effective in grass, so, don’t get rid of your corded heavy-duty blower for big jobs and clearing leaves on your lawn). But the unit is great for quick and easy cleanup on driveways, sidewalks, patios, porches, etc., anywhere with a firm surface. And of course it’s much easier to use―within its limitations―than the traditional corded blower: “just grab it and go”; no cord to have to uncoil, then get tangled up in shrubs, and/or guide behind you, and then recoil again―all time-consuming and annoying; comparatively light weight; relatively quiet; the power adjustment from 1 – 6 conserves the battery; it’s smaller and easier to store. I’ve also found that I can use the blower several times before the battery runs out. The battery re-charge unit is compact and re-charge time is quite good.But a word of advice. I don’t think the model (which I have) with the Mulching Fan and Collection Bag attachments are worth it, although admittedly I haven’t used them yet, since I don’t see the blower having enough power for a good strong suction. And, as other users have observed, the air intake on the left side rather than the bottom (which must have been designed by a left-handed engineer who doesn’t actually do yard work, or is mean-spirited by nature) tends to suck your clothing in if you hold the blower too close to your body, but you learn quickly to hold it a bit away from you (no biggie); it’s also easy to use left-handed. All-in-all, I think the LSW36 (no mulch, battery/charger included) is an excellent product and I recommend it for quick, frequent light usage.