Black & Decker BV2500 12 amp Electric Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher
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List Price: Our Price: $48.60 You Save: $52.02 (52%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Black & Decker BV2500 12 amp Electric Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher
Customer Review: 3rd time's a charm?
Summary: 2 Stars
These things are junk. They work great for a year or two and then the motor starts smoking, eventually dying. I have purchased 3 of these things. I'm throwing out the 3rd one today. Yes, they are cheap but at this rate, the landfill is going to be piled high with these things.Customer Review: 4+ stars actually
Summary: 4 Stars
My Yard: .25 acres when the leaves are down you cannot see the grass. small twigs and acorns and some pine cones.
I bought the orginal B&D design in 1997. I was looking for a blower but for $20 more I got the vacum combo to try. It worked ok and really saves the back but jammed quite a bit
I bought the new one this year because of design changes. Now for the price performance I highly recommend it. It clogged maybe 4 times in 5 hours use today.
You need to buy the garbage can hose extension to make practical use of the vac. The bag it comes with is too small. Put a 50 gallon plastic bag in a trash can on wheels and put on the B&D attachment from the garbage can to the lawn vac. This combination gives excellent price performance.
Customer Review: A Must for clean up
Summary: 5 Stars
This works great as a blower or a mulcher. I use it all the time for after lawn cutting clean up. In the fall for picking up leaves. I have the can adapter to mulch leaves right into the paper bags the that are now required. Put the bag in large can and just carefully roll the top of the paper bag down. This is a strong blower that holds it own against the gas powered blowers.Customer Review: A well-designed, ergonomic blower-vac
Summary: 5 Stars
I almost didn't buy the B&D Leaf Hog because of some of the negative reviews I read here but I'm glad I ultimately disregarded them. I did so because I went into the local home-improvement store and hefted one. It was so much more ergonomic than the competing Toro and seemed to be so much better designed, I took the plunge and I haven't been disappointed.It is extremely comfortable to use. B&D really thought the design out. Switching from blower to vacuum couldn't be more easily or quickly accomplished. It's quieter than I expected (95 decibels measured on the vacuum). It really does mulch well and provides a steady supply for the compost pile. And to address the negative comments:
Someone complained about the impellor wearing out because it's plastic. They can't make it out of steel because of spark and fire hazards and if it was aluminum, it probably wouldn't last much longer and in either case it would add considerable cost. Another bright reviewer complained about having to tie a knot in the chord because the clip in the handle wasn't adequate. Well, a quick overhand knot has worked extremely well since the extension chord was invented, and is used by professional tool users everywhere! Someone also complained about the bag coming off, but they never noticed the clever clip there for the chord to help hold the bag on. Someone thought the vacuum was inadequate but they're probably not realizing that it draws a lot of amps and requires the appropriate gage extension chord (I recommend at least 12 gage). I found the vacuum to be plenty powerful enough and I had to turn the blower to "low" because it was blowing the rocks out of my (desert landscape) yard! I can't directly address the long-term reliability since I've only had mine a month or so, but it seems well built for the price.
The bottom line is: The Leaf Hog is a well-designed tool with great performance that is worth the cost (think about it - it's the price of a dinner for two at a nice restaurant and people are complaining that it's not built of titanium and nuclear powered). It will probably last longer if you treat it with the respect a tool deserves. This is an extremely useful tool that anyone with a yard will be happy to own. Also, if you plan on vacuuming a lot of leaves, I recommend getting the BV-006 leaf collection system because the included bag is for smaller jobs (and would get too heavy anyway if it was bigger).
Customer Review: A word of caution
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased a B&D item like this a few years back. I don't remember the model. But I think what I have to say still applies as I've been in the store and tried out recent models.I'm 5'6" and no matter how much I adjusted the bag on the vacuum, I was dragging it on the ground. Imagine how my 5'2" neighbor felt! This thing was and still is designed for a much taller person. So I found myself dragging the bag on the ground, which created a crimp, which made the mulching a problem because the mulch wasn't free to blow into the bag.
You have been warned! Try this equipment on first if you're not 5'9" tall or taller! I suppose the designers decided that only the "average man" would use this equipment because it is not designed for a shorter person. I went to the local Home Depot and found that this design flaw still exists in the newer models.