I spotted a new Bosch 18V cordless blower a few weeks ago, model GBL18V-71. Bosch hasn’t gotten back to me yet about a few questions, but there should be enough to go by for a quick discussion.
It’s said to be compact, fast, and powerful, with rated air delivery of 71 cubic feet per minute (CFM) and speeds of up to 167 mph. There are 2 speed settings.
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The bare tool blower bundle, GBL18V-71N, comes with a standard nozzle, a standard nozzle extension, a small diameter nozzle, and a debris-collection tube.
Debis collection tube? What the heck is that?
Hmm, high pressure air over an opening creates a vacuum. But that doesn’t seem to be what I’m seeing in the product photos.
Maybe it’s meant for blowing out holes, such as in brick or blocks, with the debris collection tube being a place for the dust to blow into, instead of out in the environment. But wouldn’t a compact cordless vac be better for such a task?
Aside from Bosch’s website, Acme Tool is the only other place I’ve been able to find anything about this blower, and all it told me that I didn’t already know was a price.
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Price: $79
Buy Now(Bare tool via Acme Tool)
Note: There’s no mention of what accessories you get, but the GBL18V-71N model number does match up, so you *should* get the attachments mentioned above.
Justin Herlocker
That first picture with the debris tube attached looks like that small adaptor is installed as well. My guess is the small diameter tube goes into the hole you just drilled in masonry and the debris tube just keeps all the dust from blowing everywhere. With the new silica regulations coming out thats about all I could imagine.
Richard
With regard to the debris collection tube, the manual says: “When blowing out bore holes, the drilling debris is blown in the direction of the operator. For this reason, it is recommended that you mount the dust collection tube 11 over the bore hole nozzle 10.”
Jim Suds
Here’s a video of the blower:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YP8_y8GmcA
It shows the debris collection tube being used when blowing out holes in concrete…like you said, I’d use a vacuum for this.
Hang Fire
Conventional vacuums and concrete dust are not a great mix.
fred
Your recent post about Prime Day elicited comments about what some thought might be deceptive advertising on Amazon’s part – quoting inflated or MSRP prices as the basis for calculating Prime Day discounts. I think that some of us agreed that English is a marvelous language for advertising copywriters – especially when it comes to phrases like “on-sale” , “reduced-price” and “discount”.
I see that ACME ( a retailer I like BTW) has added to this phraseology pantheon by advertising the price as “NOW: $79”. While precisely true, that its “now” at this price and is being offered below the “List: $158” the implication that “NOW” means that the price was ever something else seems dubious – especially since further down the page Acme says “arriving soon”.
The yeti
Looks like a much cheaper option than the 400 Canadian for a dewalt 40 volt blower . For my limited needs this might do the trick .
Chance
This tool is on a whole different level than the Dewalt 40V blower. The Bosch mentioned above is what is referred to as a job site blower, for clearing holes in concrete after drilling and general cleanup tasks. It is not in any way comparable to the 40V blower as far as performance. Dewalt does have their own job site blower though, it’s model number is DCE100B, it’s a great little blower and I use it for everything
The yeti
Ya I guess you are right this is a much smaller class of tool . Too bad
jtr165
yeah dewalt makes a ’20v Max’ item like this, it’s almost comically small when you see it in person.
These aren’t ‘OPE’ items. Not only is Dewalt’s 40v blower a completely different class of tool, almost all makers have 18/20v max ‘leaf’ blowers that are far more powerful, but overkill for the purposes of devices like this.
Austin
Once again Bosch is behind everyone else. Other brands have had a blower this size for a while now and more recently they all have larger blowers. All part of reasons I am in the middle of jumping ship from Bosch cordless
fred
That certainly seems to be true for their offerings in the USA.
But maybe they believe in the old Alexander Pope (not Pope Alexander) aphorism:
“Be not the first by whom the new is tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside”
The yeti
I really like Bosch stuff . My needs are more common than a specialty trade I suppose . I had the 18 v line of Bosch. Now the 12v too . 12v is nicer stuff for most uses lately . Not sure why they do not bring more stuff to market . A 12v glue gun . Would be nice .
chris
You could buy this on eBay for a long time from Korea and is authentic. All Bosch tools are basically available is you want it.
Luis Soria
Yeah, the korean version is identical to this one.
sp
I don’t see that “EC” lable on the tool. The designation of the tool suggest its brushed.
The overall design of the GBL18V-71 and its look (especialy the grip) remindes me Bosch tools from 6-7 years ago.
I like Bosch powertools and other products but Bosch’s rate of releasing brushless tools compare to the competition is kind of irritating..
chris
What other brand has a small brushless blower like this?
Chance
Milwaukee and DeWalt, maybe others.
Nathan
The Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, and Ryobi 18V jobsite blowers all have brushed motors.
Chance
Yes you are right, I missed the part where Chris was asking about BRUSHLESS blowers, thought he was just asking what other brands had a small blower like the Bosch.
Fyrestorm
I’ve found that a vacuum can’t adequately get the dust out of a hole drilled in concrete where a blower tip can. Mostly because of the caking that happens along the walls and at the base of the hole. What does work well is an elongated metal blower tip that can be put to the base of the hole and backed out a few times.
Pete
We drill with a vac, then blow out the hole while vacuuming, the wire brush the hole then blow and vac again.
We’ve found that blowing out is inadequate.
fred
Bosch has a blower for blowing out anchor holes – available for many years – cordless too like a similar tool from Hilti (3412836 – comes in Hilti red) :
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-T1854-Anchor-Blow-Out-Bulb/dp/B000AS7WPI
BTW – some of the anchor companies – like Red Head (ITW) sell wire brushes (hand and for use with drills and rotohammers) specifically for cleaning anchor holes. We had a number of these – which sometimes came for “free” when you placed a big order for Red Head anchors.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Red-Head-6-1-2-in-Heavy-Duty-Wire-Brush/3318358
https://www.amazon.com/Red-Head-Adhesive-Heavy-Brush/dp/B01M1PEVDS
Nothing too special about them – certainly can substitute other brushes for the same job
RC Ward
Every brand has one of these and they are all the same, just a different color.
fred
We bought (may have been bundled into a bigger purchase) one from Makita(BUB182) something like 7 or 8 years ago. I recall that the guys didn’t like it – probably because it was OK for things like dusting off the tools or some cabinets but not strong enough to clean up our mess (wood chips, plaster dust, sawdust etc.) on a client’s lawn or driveway. Just another case of not picking the right tool for the job.
Chad Brink
I have the Dewalt 20v version of this blower in my woodshop. It has basically replaced using my compressed air gun for anything. Great for shop cleanup and for blowing sawdust off projects and tools.
Chance
I just noticed this unit doesn’t have a trigger, it looks like it must have a slide switch on top of the handle. That to me is a big error and Bosch’s part. When I am using my job site blower I am constantly turning it on and off not only to conserve battery power but just because I don’t need it blowing nonstop as I’m walking around. The trigger makes that very easy to do, a slide switch would be very cumbersome and irritating.
Iron-Iceberg
Yes the switch would not be great. My Milwaukee has a variable speed trigger and I’m constantly changing the speed to blow hard or soft.
It works great on the job and also for blowing water out of creavisis when washing the cars.
OnTheWeb
Makita has had cordless blower forever and even lets you put the tube on the intake side and suck things up into a bag like a small vacuum.