Pipeline 2023 included a nice expansion in OPE for Milwaukee Tool. One of the products is the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Backpack Leaf Blower (model 3009). Is this must-have lawn crew tool right for your shift away from gas power? I’ll walk you through what I learned during my testing period, including what kind of blowing force, runtime, and noise levels you should expect.
Pros
- Batteries have excellent airflow to reduce heat build up
- Comfortbale harness design
- Highly customizable fit
- Low operationg noise level
- Easy-to-read battery level and mode indicator on the throttle
- Nozzle clip for easier transportation
Cons
- Not as powerful as other Pro-focused battery-powered backpack blowers
Editor’s Note: Check out our best backpack leaf blower article to see our top picks.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel Backpack Blower Performance
Blowing Force
According to Milwaukee’s data, the blowing force exceeds what you would expect from a 60cc gas model. That’s lower than what the strongest backpack blowers are producing, but right in that middle range where many Pros are buying.
For airflow, you can expect up to 650 CFM along with 155 MPH on the air speed side of things. Milwaukee notes 20.5 Newtons as the top blowing force. On our force meter, it peaked at 20.5 Newtons, matching Milwaukee’s claims perfectly. We also measured in each mode. Here are the full results:
- Low: 13.5 Newtons
- Medium: 16.5 Newtons
- High: 20.5 Newtons
If you need a speed other than wide open throttle in any mode, you can either feather the trigger or engage the cruise control lever.
For some context, we measured 18.0 Newtons on the M18 Fuel Dual Battery Leaf Blower. Considering that model boasts 600 CFM and 145 MPH, we expected the Milwaukee backpack blower to produce more.
The controls are mounted on the throttle with both the mode indicator and battery levels easy to read, even in direct sunlight.
Runtime
There are a total of four active battery slots, and the blower uses two at a time. There’s room for all four of those to be 12.0Ah High Output packs, which is what Milwaukee recommends you use. Fully loaded, you end up with 864 watt-hours of capacity on board.
Your runtime depends on which mode you work in. We tested all three modes at wide open throttle. The results reflect how much continuous runtime we measured using four 12.0Ah batteries.
- Low: 62:06
- Medium: 38:58
- High: 28:38
With more than an hour of runtime in low, you can get a lot of work done, but you have to manage your power supply. If you’re coming from the world of gas blowers, it’s a behavior change. It’s nice to blow at wide open throttle, but if you’re willing to slow down a bit, you can get more than twice the runtime out of each set of batteries.
Noise Level
Milwaukee’s design team focused on noise reduction in the 3009’s development. One of the most obvious noise reduction elements is foam padding inside the upper blower tube.
Based on ANSI standards of testing noise from 50 feet away, the blower produces just 62 decibels. Compare that to Stihl’s BR 350 (63.3cc) that rates 74 decibels with a similar performance level. 12 decibels is a huge difference, both in perceived loudness and sound pressure level.
Even compared to other battery-powered blowers, that’s a low noise rating. More importantly, it’s under the 65-decibel threshold many communities are using as their noise standard for leaf blowers.
In terms of what you experience as an operator, here’s what we measured on our sound meter (A-weighting, slow response):
- Low: 75 decibels
- Medium:77 decibels
- High 83 decibels
For professional crews, the big takeaway here is that the blower is under OSHA’s 85-decibel threshold for hearing protection, so you don’t have to worry about hearing protection.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel Backpack Blower Design
There are a few interesting things worth noting about Milwaukee’s physical design. First, the battery protection comes in the form of a roll cage rather than the full enclosures that some backpack power supplies use. While that may increase the strike risk to the batteries somewhat, it allows for a lot of airflow around them to aid in cooling.
More of an aside than anything of major consequence, the top two batteries insert vertically, and the bottom two batteries insert horizontally.
We also noticed that there’s no exposed cabling running from the batteries to motor. The brushless motor sits directly below the batteries before the tube bends 90° and forces air out through the nozzle.
When it’s time to load up on your trailer, the nozzle clips upright, making the blower easier to secure.
Comfort
As a bare tool, the blower weighs 18.4 pounds. Your total weight depends on your exact battery loadout. If you stick with Milwaukee’s recommended 4 x 12Ah setup, the working weight is 32.1 pounds. When you compare that to models such as Greenworks Commercial’s BB361 (31.9 pounds) and Stihl’s BGA 300 (36.9 pounds), it’s not overweight.
If you’re not as concerned about runtime and want to drop the weight, working with two 12.0Ah batteries makes the total 25.2 pounds.
To help you find a comfortable fit, Milwaukee’s harness includes more than enough adjustability in the shoulder and chest straps for nearly any body size. Like most of the blowers we’ve tested in this class, there are no hip straps.
Moving down to the throttle, you can customize its position. Thanks to a quick clamp, you don’t need any tools, and the process only takes a few seconds.
You can also adjust the length of the nozzle, and it’s another tool-free operation. Loosen the collar, adjust the length, and tighten the collar back down.
Combined, all those adjustments allow for a highly customizable fit that’s more adaptable than I’ve seen on other backpack blowers.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel Backpack Blower Price
The blower on its own runs $499.00. If it’s a kit you’re after, that’s $1499, and it includes four 12.0Ah High Output batteries. Here’s the kicker—it comes with two dual port Super Chargers. That means you can have all four batteries back in the game in an hour or less.
Milwaukee includes a 3-year warranty on the tool.
The Bottom Line
The Milwaukee M18 Fuel Backpack Blower is an important expansion as Team Red looks to draw more lawn care and landscaping Pros over to the M18 system. It’s performance matches up well with mid-range commercial gas models. However, there’s still room to gain performance as battery and motor technology continues to improve. As a first step into the backpack blower class, Milwaukee is putting a solid foot forward. It’s going to be exciting to see where it goes from here.
