Black & Decker BV2500 12 amp Electric Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher
- Three-in-one blower, vacuum, and mulcher clears your yard of debris
- Clog-resistant vacuum design; condenses 10 bags of raked leaves into just one bag of mulched leaves
- Push-button switches from blowing to vacuum mode
- Dimensions: 24.1 x 10 x 15.2 inches (WxHxD); weighs 11.9 pounds; 2-year warranty
- Includes blower attachment, vacuum attachment, and leaf bag
With the Black & Decker Leaf Hog, you can clean up both the deck and the lawn with one reasonably priced and easy-to-maintain machine. This blower/vac is electric, so it requires an extension cord and an electric outlet to run, but there’s nothing else to set up or maintain. The 12 amp motor has considerable power for its size, more than enough to clear driveways or decks or blow off sections of lawn. At just over 7 pounds, the Leaf Hog is light enough to use for long periods of time, and it’s also quiet enough to use at any time of day. Switching from blowing to vacuuming is a snap–literally. The correct button took us a moment to find, but once you’ve located it, you simply depress it and remove the blowing unit, then attach the vacuum extension in its place. The extension has a bag for mulch, which attaches with a small clasp. When vacuuming, the unit mulches by sucking leaves through the fan assembly. Though this model, with its patented Vortex anticlog vacuum system, does a bette
List Price: $ 100.62
Price: $ 50.00
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Does what it says it does … only.,
I’ve had a Leaf Hog for about six months now, and it has performed as I would expect it to. I was looking for an inexpensive, electric chipper/mulcher as I’ve got a 1/8 acre yard and don’t have a need for a 25hp beastie. The Leaf Hog was the only thing that fit the bill and it does exactly what it says. For dry leaves and grass clippings, it vacuums them and mulches them nicely — my compost now holds a lot more debris than it used to (and is finally composting for a change). However, while you can easily vacuum _dry_ leaves and even small twigs, most wet debris (wet leaves, weeds, green sticks) has a tendency to plug it badly.
The other minor problem is that it was designed using the modern “all parts should have equal durability” mindset. More specifically, the plastic mulcher/blower part (the actual impeller/blower fan blades are _plastic_) is showing tremendous wear and is no longer sharp like it was originally. It would have been much better if this part was made of metal or at least had a metal edge.
In all, however, I’m quite satisfied with it. I was surprised it mulched as well as it does, and the bag is quite large — you can fill it enough so it’s uncomfortably heavy to carry for most people. It is cumbersome to maneuver in tight places, but for most tasks it’s just fine.
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|A well-designed, ergonomic blower-vac,
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).
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