Toro Ultra 12 Amp Electric Blower/Vacuum 51598

 (173 customer reviews)

I've used this for 6 months now. My primary interest was for its mulching of leaves, so I can compost them. I've run out of space in my woods, and throwing them away seems like a waste. I've used the blower too. It works great sucking up leaves. The pieces are generally chipped to perhaps half to 1 fingernail in size. As to how much it reduces the volume, I took a mostly dry slightly overfull wheelbarrow full of leaves - and it was reduced to a little less than half-full after running it thru the machine. So that's roughly a 2:1 reduction, not 16:1, as Toro advertises. It's good enough for my needs, in terms of composting. (Mulching the leaves adds an extra 40 degrees of heat to the composting process, in a compost tumbler, 160 vs. 120 degrees.)The blower works well too. The variable speed makes it easier to control where leaves go. I gathered leaves from one tree into a pile in 5 minutes, and vacuumed them up in another 10 minutes, filling (stuffing) one 39 gallon 'lawn & leaf...Read more

Corded blowers are a little less convenient than gas powered blowers but are lighter, cleaner and more powerful pound for pound. I bought this to blow grass clippings and leaves but have found many more uses for it. I no longer sweep the garage. The blower will clean ever nook and cranny in far less time. I used it to blow out a dryer vent that had become clogged with an old bird nest. I never vacuum my car anymore. I use a duster to break up the harder to remove dust and dirt then blow everything out with the blower. I use it to clean the leaves out of my rain gutters and blow off small branches from the roof. I blow out trimmings from shrubs. Spider webs? No problem. I even used it to dry my dogs. I'm sure I'll find more uses for it. I wish I could use it in the house but was inspired enough to buy cans of compresed air for around the house. There's very little in life that can't be cleaned with massive and sustained bursts of air. Great tool. Highly recommended.

For the frequent user of a blower, stick with the gas-powered one. I used a gas powered blower for 10 years on an infrequent basis. Mixing oil & gas, dealing with stale gas, and hearing loss are issues to deal with. I purchased this Toro 51598 electric blower about three months ago and have been nothing but pleased with it. The variable speed is a great feature for added control when "sweeping" out the garage. It's packed with plenty of power. It's far less noisy than a 2-cycle engine and it starts with a flip of a switch (every time).The one improvement I would suggest is making the cord clip a little friendlier for the 12-gauge extension cord. With the heavier cord I usually loop it through the handle. Not real stylish, but it works. Lighter weight cords are not a problem staying plugged in.