Leaf Vacuums And Mulchers

Promotion Black & Decker LH4500 12 amp 2-Speed Electric Leaf Hog ...

4) Vibration is excessive, and can cause health problems

Bad news…the collection bag developed a hole and some tears the second time I used it. The bags run $15-$20 or so. If I had to replace one each season, I might not be so upset. But at this rate I’ll be spending more on bags every year than the initial cost of the blower itself. Unacceptable.

And this sucker is _loud_. It’s not really a problem for me since I wear good hearing protection while operating machines like this, but I do worry that I’ll annoy my neighbors if I use it frequently.

While it was easy to put together, the plastic tube that attaches to the motor housing fits poorly. Lots of dust and some other larger debris flies out of the mating surface where the pieces don’t meet tightly enough.

The biggest negative of this product _for me_ is that the vibration is excessive. What’s the big deal if it vibrates too much, you ask? Besides being uncomfortable to hold, it can actually lead to problems with the nerves in the hands and arms. There’s something called Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) that can develop with repeated usage of tools like this. I’m not exactly sure what happened in my case (I don’t believe I have ‘HAVS’), but twice when I used it my hands and fingers became numb for an extended period of time. By “extended period” I mean 2-3 days. Now I just set it on the ground next to a pile of leaves and guide the leaves into the tube. Works fine.

If I can find the receipt, I’m thinking about returning this due to the defective/low-quality collection bag. If I do so, I might try the similar Toro Ultra 12 Amp Variable Speed Electric Blower/Vacuum With Metal Impeller #51599 which supposedly is much quieter — and hopefully vibrates less as well.

I don’t think this Black & Decker is a bad product. It works great, and it does so without a lot of pizazz or polish. Given the price, I can’t really complain about how it performs. Obviously something about my physiology isn’t compatible with the vibrations it produces, but I don’t expect this to be a problem for most people.

I just purchased this unit today and used it for about 3 hours. I must say I am impressed. It works well as a blower, and I was particularly impressed with its performance as a vacuum.

I shredded 13 large bags of leaves. If the math is to be believed (16 to 1 reduction ratio) that would mean that I would have had to bag 208 bags of leaves. Obviously that is a little overstated, but it definitely did a good job.

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