Yard Machine Battery

Review by BlownAway : Excellent!-Better than I expected!

I was originally planning to buy a GAS powered leaf blower. However, the glowing reviews that I read on this leaf blower (here and on other sites) made me reconsider-I'm glad I did! This unit is very light, well balanced, extremely powerful and QUIET! NOTE: This model has the METAL blower blades as opposed to plastic in many of the lower model # Toro leaf blowers (some people have reported breakage of the blades on those models due to small rocks and twigs cracking or breaking the blades). Spend the extra few dollars to get this model that has the METAL blades. Yes, you will need to deal with the hassle of an extension cord when using this tool, however I feel that it is LESS of a hassle in the long run (no fuel, no maintenance, no excessive noise or fumes, less expensive, leaf vacuum capability). Much less of an inconvenience than I expected. This Leaf blower is so powerful that all of my walkways, patios, and driveway are free of lawn clippings and leaves in less than 5 minutes time and I rarely need to go above half throttle. Oh yeah, the photo on this page is WRONG. You will actually get the RED colored unit (2nd revision maybe?) and it does indeed come with the leaf bag and vacuum tubing. IMHO this is a very well designed and engineered product - I was skeptical before I bought it, but I am very glad that I did.

Review by BBS, Bay Area, CA "BBS" : An excellent value in an electric blow and vac

I bought this Toro electric blow and vac in utter frustration after spending a small fortune on similar gasoline powered products. I use it as a vac several times per week and even daily in the Fall. I found that the very cheap gasoline blow and vacs start falling apart very quickly indeed as the result of poor and shoddy design so I moved up to the top of the line, Echo, which appears to be very well made and engineered. My first one, an ES211, did outlast its 2 year warranty, it had a starter assembly and cord replaced under warranty but then just wore out during the third year. The second ES211 lasted 18 months until something broke inside the engine and it wouldn't even rotate. The third one (a $290+tax ES231 heavy duty model) is just over a year old and overheats very quickly, smokes badly, and is melting the plastic grill surrounding the engine. The dealers lie and tell me that it's my fault and that the problem is lack of lubrication. As a lifelong, now retired, professional mechanical engineer and having owned 2-stroke engines since a teenager I have always used the correct gas/oil mixture in 2-stroke engines including motorcycles of course. The Toro Ultra Blower and Vac does everything I need. Let's list the advantages. It is amazingly light and doesn't strain your back lugging its bulk plus a heavy bag of leaves around the way a gas powered model does - this is very important and not to be dismissed as you get up in years. It always starts when you turn the knob - you sure can't say that about gasoline powered garden equipment. It converts from a blower to a vac very quickly without needing a screwdriver and undue force - Toro obviously corrected this problem from the prior model. It is very quiet compared with gas models - your neighbors will appreciate this. It doesn't have a spark plug or an air filter that needs frequent attention. It doesn't get dirty, grimy, and oily from gasoline exhaust and leaky carburetors and tubing. You don't have to buy expensive gasoline and oil and be required to mix and find a place to store a separate highly inflammable gas/oil mixture. The Toro has a cast magnesium impeller that handles the occasional twig or stone quite handily. The leaf bag is well designed, it disconnects easily and is a snap to empty. The vac suction and air blast from the blower seems equivalent to the Echo. Last but not least is P R I C E , my Toro was $69.99, at that price I could buy four of them for the price of one Echo ES231. Now for the only disadvantage I can think of. I use a 100 ft. 13amp. electric cord and reel. You sacrifice some ease of mobility because you have a cord dragging behind you all of the time - nothing in life is perfect I guess.

Review by T. Schindler "TDI diesel" : Tora Ultra: More than satisfied.

Having used a Toro blower before, I was not concerned about its ability to move leaves. What I wasn't sure about was the mulcher. For our acre lot with some 20 or more 100-year-old maples, it was either the mulcher worked or I would be spending a lot more on a garden tractor with a bag unit. Fortunately, the Toro mulcher has more than met my expectations. I blow the leaves into rows for mulching and fill the 13 gal. bag in two to three minutes. I get four bags in each of two 32 gal. plastic garbage cans that are hauled off to a compost pile. I've been forced by weather to do wet leaves but it is far better to do them dry. $65 vs. $2,000; now that's a very satisfying no-brainer!

Review by Doug : Toro Ultra 12 Amp Electric Blower/Vacuum #51599

I purchased this model of Toro Blower/Vacuum to replace an earlier Toro model. I like the upgraded design of the Mod. #51599 for the additional power and means of controlling the motor speed. The ease of changing over from blower to vacuum is a great improvement. I would rank this electric model in the superior category.

Review by OldAnalogGuy "OldAnalogGuy" : Could suck the ball off a trailer hitch!

We've had so many of the cheap, electric leaf-blowers/leaf vacuums that I finally decided to buy a decent unit and quit searching for non-existant parts for the cheap ones. This thing has a steel impeller -- this is the first thing that goes in a cheap blower with a poly impeller. The next seems to be the bag. Anyway, this Toro has a good impeller and a good bag (replacements redilly available locally). It has two other features that make it stand-out: A continuously variable blower speed and a handle that makes it well-balanced with whatever you're doing. My wife loves to do the leaf vacuuming (I have to empty the bags) and the Toro suction tube was too long, so I cut it off so she can stand up straight and vacuum. So far, this seems to be the best unit we have had. I have a good feeling that it will provide many years of service.