Toro 51609 Ultra 12 amp Variable-Speed (up to 235) Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller

Disclaimer: I rated it 5 stars, but have only used it once- I just didn't want to forget to write an initial review. I will update if needed. Like most of you, I looked at a lot of reviews of different blowers. I read that sometimes the MPH rating wasn't as important as CFM- and frankly it all didn't mean that much to me. I chose this one because of the amount of positive reviews (720+) at the time I bought it. I borrowed my neighbor's Black and Decker blower/vacuum and was pretty impressed with it. I think it was 250 MPH rated and it really moved my leaves. The speed dial had two settings, low (I) and high (II). It was great. After I went online to review his and others, I realized there were quite a few that might be better and took a chance on this one. I took it outside this morning and it impressed the heck out of me. It rained last night and the leaves in my yard were all wet, but the Toro had no problems. It was easier to manipulate than my neighbor's and it moved all the leaves, sometimes using the lowest power level. After I got all the wet leaves into somewhat of a pile, I changed over to the vacuum and it really did great work. No issues at all. I knew it was going to go well when I first turned it on and the vacuum stuck to the driveway. Good suction. Putting it together was no harder/easier than my neighbor's, so that made me happy. The only thing that bothers me is that all of these blowers appear (according to reviews) have pretty weak bags. It was probably not a good idea to suck up wet leaves because I'm sure the bag, once it dries, will be that much weaker. My bad. I love it- so far. I think it was a great buy and it works fantastically on all speed levels.

I am very pleased with this electric leaf blower/vacuum unit! I got this primarily to vacuum up all the leaves from our various trees in our small S.F. backyard. The challenge, however, was being able to vacuum the leaves up, while NOT disturbing our existing black and white pebble groundcover. But the worries and concerns were all for not. Thanks to Toro's variable speed control feature, it made for really easy work here. Once I determined the appropriate power to use, the unit methodically and efficiently picked up ONLY all the leaves on top of all the black and white pebbles, totally leaving them again undisturbed!! Yes, VERY NICE INDEED. And, in terms of overall noise, it was very acceptable and NOT loud or painful whatsoever, particularly at the lower power levels! Was able to avoid wearing headphones or earplugs and just work through the effort no problem. Also, after throwing the Toro Catch Bag over my left shoulder (similar to a women's purse), the unit became remarkably light and efficient and very easy to maneuver around the yard. Overall weight of the unit was NEVER an issue. Also, after a bit of practice, I was able to effectively tie down and loop over the extension cord and power outlet, where the cord wasn't in the way or become a safety issue. Again, like everything in life, practice makes PERFECT!! In summary, this is a solid overall performer, made even better, given it's very reasonable asking price. I read all the reviews and based my purchase on them. And now, after having used the unit a few times thus far, I fully concur with everyone else! Highly recommended overall! Haven't had a chance to use the blower function as yet, but I'm sure this aspect works just as well. The Melcher function via the steel drive/cutter is very efficient at cutting down all the leaves to organic nothings!! ha ha.

For 2 years my wife and I raked leaves at our new home, which was a real chore and source of stress/procrastination -- one year we let the snow cover all the leaves in the yard. When spring came, it was even more of a mess to rake up as the leaves were waterlogged, and we had to remove them before they suffocated the new season's grass. I also wanted to compost my leaves. Before I got this, I had purchased an electric leaf mulcher. The mulcher was more effective at, well, mulching... but you had to move the device thing to each pile.. what a pain. This Toro blower/vacuum just blows everything off the yard and into the treeline. When the yard is clear, you can use the vacuum mode to chip away at the "wall of leaves" (places where the leaves would pile up due to small scrub growth). The Tori vacuum does mulch, but without a blade which has plusses and minuses (it really just crushes and shreds the leaves... good for composting but not fine enough to mix directly into garden soil like I was doing with the standalone mulch-only appliance I bought). A word about POWER... I bought the 235mph model. This thing has NO PROBLEM with worst case scenarios like blowing wet leaves off of wet grass. As you can imagine, driveway clearing is fast and easy. The handy dial allows you to control the blower force, which you probably need lower when blowing wet leaves off of mulch. On max speed this thing has no trouble blowing away mulch, actually. Not it's intended use, but I used this to remove some ground moss when the soil was wet. The moss just rolled off the soil and now I have a bare spot to seed (which is good... too much damn moss creeping into the shady part of the yard). NOISE... not too too bad -- it's FAR quieter than my neighbor's gas backpack model. I've used it without ear protection, but really you want some safety/shooter ear covers. What works almost as well are some headphones which completely surround the ear; then you can at least plug it into your phone or MP3 player. As this thing pulls 12 amps, you really want a heavy-duty extension capable of handling the current. Note that if you use a weak extension cord (or one that's too long) you will actually draw MORE amps out of your outlet (I'm simplifying things, but you'll lose power to resistance in the extension, and the motor will struggle to pull the power it needs). When shopping for an extension, be sure to "round up" and buy the beefier cable. I need 125 feet of extension to cover my yard, so I got two 12 gauge extensions here on Amazon (the extensions cost as much as this blower/vacuum, but everything I plug into that extension will potentially last longer). With a beefy extension, I have not tripped the garage circuit yet (being an older home, the garage sadly is equipped with 15A circuits so this is a concern). (and just to add WAY more detail than this review needs... don't go crazy and get the 10 gauge extension Amazon sells... I mean it would work more efficiently, but reeling or coiling it in will be like handling a garden hose filled with sand... a good workout I suppose). If you are 50 foot or less, 16 gauge is a little lighter to carry. OK, enough ADD banter. This is the blower you want. I don't care if you don't have outside outlets - just run it from the garage (I do!). Electric is far cleaner for the environment (which is important to folks with children), and you never have to mix gas/oil or run out of gas. No tuneups.

Powerful leaf blower that I use for just that, but also for drying off the car and also using the leaf sucker feature with bag collector to suck up leaves. I had the same model for about 10 years until the motor finally burned out. Love the variable speed and flexibility to either blow or suck and multch the leaves into a bag for use in the vegetable garden. Also like the amazing power this has over the battery ones.

Beware, this is a USA product not designed for the UK market. It appears to work off 120v not our 240v. It is a nicely made machine but sadly I have had to return it. Why Amazon are selling it through Amazon UK I am not sure.

Great power, just as advertised. Delivered in about 7-days so that eas alright.

Update, May 2017: Not only does this make sweeping the deck a 3 minute chore, but today I also used it to run off a family of 5 raccoons who tried to move into my garden shed. I complained that the machine is pretty loud, but today, that was exactly what I needed it to be! Original review: I like this so much, I bought one for my dad on Father's Day, then proceeded to clean up my parents entire deck and yard with it. Got a job that would have take 1.5 hours done in 20 minutes! I also have a rock garden and a moss covered pathway, and this is great for sweeping away twigs and leaves that fall onto it.

Amazing! I love this thing. Light weight, really strong blower and easy to maneuver. I like that it has a dial to adjust the intensity. We get a ton of leaves in our yard and this blower makes the job so much easier. The mulched works really well too.