Customer Reviews

Toro Electric Super Blower Vac - No. 51591

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

After raking for years I finally broke down and purchased a blower Vac. I have always hated the sound of theses things and they always have seemed inadequate. Not this one. While calling it quiet would be far from the truth, it is less annoying than others my neighbors use.

The Blower was fantastic, almost too strong in some areas, although it does have two speed settings.

After blowing my leaves into a Huge pile I set up the Vac attachment and was moderately pleased with the results.

Don't expect to walk around your yard and suck all of the leaves up with this tool, even the big truck mounted suckers don't work like that. You need to feed this thing, and watch out for sticks. I found that it did indeed mulch the leaves into a 5 to 1 ratio, pretty good in my opinion. And when the occasional green stick got caught up in the impeller it was a synch to get it out.

Overall I rate this as a great buy!

After reviewing them all, I chose the Toro 51591. Here are the facts. The blower function is outstanding; one of the strongest on the market. It comes with high and low speeds. As a vac, not bad. But what do you expect for $60. If you just blow the leaves into a huge pile, the vacuum works fine. I read complaints that say it's too heavy, too loud, and it doesn't come equipped with a cord. Well, all blower/vacs in this class weigh about the same (6-8 lbs.), and they are all equally loud. Not as loud, however, as the gas powered units. And you need an extension cord anyway. The construction on this machine is solid, after all, it is a Toro. The attachments fit together easily and do not come apart during use. Switching from blower to vac is a snap. The only complaint I do have is the plastic fan. It will probably have to be replaced every other year. Most of the others I researched also used the same type of fan. But then again, what do you expect for $60. I do recommend this product to anyone in the market; you wont be dissatisfied.

I just got this blower. I am amazed the power it generates. After doing a lot of reading and comparison, I've selected this one for its high CFM and blow power. It's the highest over all electric models. TORO claims it has the most powerful blow than any gas or electric model. I have many tiny little berries fallen from the tree that are hard to sweep and even harder to get my driveway completely clean. With this powerful blower, I can get the job done in a breeze. I also like it has an adapter for the nozzle tip to concentrate the air to give a more powerful blow. This helps to clean tight spots very easily.

Prior to select TORO, I did consider the Black and Decker BV2500. I just didn't like the construction of the B&D. This TORO seems to be a more solid product. The only edge I would give to B&D is the blower/mulcher fan. It is made of a tougher and strong plastic than this TORO. Time will tell how much wear and tear the plastic blade/fan can take from the mulching. I've not tested the vac/mulch function yet so I can't comment on it. For far, I'm happy with my investment.

I love this blower/vac and have been using it for 2 full years now. The only reason it does not get 5 stars is because of the plastic impeller, and the fact that even the low setting can sometimes blow my wood chip mulch around with everything else (I understand the newer Ultra Blower Vac has variable speed setting and a metal impeller... Sounds like that one would be perfect).

Here are the products upsides:
1. Very strong blower easily moves a yard full of leaves in one pass into a single pile about 3 feet deep, and as big around as you want.
2. Blower is also perfect for clearing away rocks and rubble from your driveway. (Make sure you aim someplace you don't mind getting pelted with the smaller rocks, cause those suckers really fly!)
3. Mulcher takes large leaves that others don't. My neighbor rakes his yard because his vac won't take up the great big Sycamore leaves. He hates it when my Toro sucks them right up while he rakes away.
4. I have mulched wet and dry leaves. It is much easier to use on dry leaves, but I have never had any big headaches with wet leaves either.
5. It is also very good for drying large surfaces. I discovered this when I cleared out a large pile of old leaves from my patio. The old wet leaves were stuck to the concrete. This thing peeled the leaves right off the concrete, and started pushing the water away. After a minute or two of blasting, the wet area was already dry. It is also good at drying the wet leaves while you blow them around into a pile.
6. It is extremely effective at clearing away spiders, spider-webs, and any other buggy area. I once got a wasp in mid-air, the blast tore it to pieces. (I have never tried mulching the bugs, perhaps I will try that sometime for fun, without the bag on of course).
7. It is SO SIMPLE to convert from blower to mulcher. No tools needed at all. Just a click and your done.

Here are the products downsides:
1. Blower WILL blow away SOME of your wood mulch on the low setting. On the high setting, it will very effectively eliminate ALL of your wood mulch. Also, do not use near dry, loose soil unless you enjoy creating massive coulds of dust.
2. If you get the blower too close to the ground on the high setting, you will blow up chunks of sod and even rocks out of your rock gardens.
3. The plastic impeller WILL eventually break while accidentally mulching up a rock, twig, armadillo, or other hard thing (kidding about the armadillo). Mine lasted two years (just broke yesterday). I was able to easily find a replacement by looking for Sales and Service locations from the www.toro.com website. I called them and they have the part for $8. I am going to pick it up in a few hours.

I have been using this blower vac for a few months now and am really shocked by how well it works. I was a bit skeptical at first, but the blower changes very easily into a vacuum and vice versa. I use it to blow leaves into a pile then suck them up to use on my garden as mulch, bye bye leaves and bye bye weeds in my garden. The job of raking and sweeping leaves that used to take me hours, now only takes minutes. I can blow down my patio, suck up all the leaves and have the place looking great ten minutes before guests arrive. If you are like me and have a great backyard that you entertain in then pick this baby up and cut your work time by 50%!

Get yourself a long extension cord with this purchase also. The noise and pollution of this blower/vac is virtually non existent. I was shocked by how low the noise level was. I use the low setting for around other garden plants and when i really need the power switch it to high. Like another reviewer i had a small delay in shipping but it was worth the wait!

The Toro works well as a blower-it has lots of power, is not excessively noisy, and its weight is reasonable. It quickly and efficiently blows leaves in the yard as well as debris on the driveway and sidewalk. It used to take me 30 minutes to sweep the driveway and sidewalk, while I can clean them with the blower in about 5 minutes. The vacuum, however, is not as impressive. The vacuum is meant to pick up large, light things like leaves and grass. Its nozzle is too large to develop adequate suction to efficiently pick up dirt, sawdust, etc. In other words, it is no replacement for a shop vac. Overall, it is a good value.

I have used mine for 4 seasons now for 1/4 acre with heavy Oak and Hickory leaves. I use the blower for the large areas and the vacuum to suck leaves out of my bushes and from along the edge of my fence. The vacuum is just too slow and heavy (bag full of leaves) for anything else given the size of my yard. The bag zipper is not very substantial and has given me problems. The blower "spout" does not want to say on and falls off with anything more than a minor bump. The control for regulating the air flow keeps working closed (less power). I had to put a screw into the plastic to hold it open to get maximum air flow. The impeller on the inside is plastic and a wear item (it doubles as a fan and leaf chopper), yet Toro provides no information other than "See a Dealer" for getting a new one--try that at the "Warehouse Home Center"-type store most people (like me) by these at.

The blowing ability of this thing is great. However, we bought the thing to also vacuum. In vacuum mode, the thing is dreadful. If you vacuum leaves that are the slightest bit wet (always a problem where we live) the impeller chops them up but the resulting leaf/dirt/gunk packs into the sides of the blower housing. After a short while the gunk buildup reaches the plastic impeller and proceeds to gring it into oblivion. Finding a replacement impeller has been a nightmare. Just try to find one at your local dealer or on the web. It ain't happening. If you need to vacuum more than occasionally, do yourself a favor and forget the Super Blower Vac.

To be clear, I think my Toro super blower/vac is the best. The only reason for the deduction of 1 star is that the vac/mulcher has a hard time with sticks, and, come autumn, my yard is one part leaves and one part small branches. I've tried repeatedly to use the vacuum to limited effect, because small branches all too frequently gum the thing up. My opinion? If your lawn is mainly leaves and few fallen branches, this Toro machine will give you 5 star performance. If you have a problem with small branches, the blower will give you 5 star performance, but the vacuum will give you 3 star performance.

I wish I'd bought this Toro several months ago. We have a small yard in San Diego. Our next door neighbor has a huge ficus tree that sheds a lot of leaves in our yard. We already have 20 or so bags of debris stacked on the side of the house. I tried this blower out for the first time yesterday. In low power mode, it was able to push the leaves out of a cedar-chipped area without distuburbing the cedar chips too much. It's noisy, but not so noisy that you need ear protection. The vacuum mulcher seems to work well so far. Low power suction doesn't pull in too much, but high power works well. For a really large amount of leaves, it would probably be easier to rake, but for our small California yard it's perfect. I was concerned about the plastic impeller being able to handle all pea-sized seeds among the leaves, but so far so good. I'm not sure if the compression is really 10-to-1, but it definitely makes a difference. I haven't tried it with wet leaves, but in San Diego the leaves aren't wet very often so that's not a concern. The unit was easy to set up out of the box, and easy to switch back and forth between modes.