Toro Rake & Vac 10.5 Amp 2-Speed Electric Blower/ Vacuum #51574

Great Item!

6/8/2009

This Blower/Rake and Vac works great. I love it, it made my fall cleanup a breeze. It is sturdy and easy to handle. It takes the work out of fall cleanup. Also it works great in the spring to take care of garden messes. I also used it to clean out the gutters.

Power blower

2/28/2009

It is very powerful.
At top speed, it blow things everywhere!
The Vaccuum function is good, but sometimes big leaves get stuck inside the tube.

Good blower, not a great vacuum

2/18/2009

This is a decent product. Blower works very well, especially on high. The vacuum is a little suspect as the suction power is a little weak. It will also clog up quickly and you have to reach in the intake port to clear the clog frequently. The bag is very awkward to hold. The bag strap continually falls off my shoulder and I end up just letting the bag hang there while I vacuum leaves.

don't overload it

1/15/2009

I have had the unit for about 2+ years. It is a very good 'blower'. For the first time in the 2 years I've owned it I decided to vacuum some leaves. There must have been a clump of wet ones that got sucked up into it. Within seconds the motor began to burn up. I noticed one of the blades had broken too. With the broken blade it caused it to be unbalanced and consequently did not function well. Conclusion: good blower but be wary of using it as a vacuum.

Toro Rake & Vac 51574--less vibration, lighter vs Toro Ultra 51599

12/31/2008

I needed an electric blower for a 9-unit apartment building, for sweeping the balcones, stairwells, patio and carports. I didn't need heavy lawn raking or mulching capability. I wanted one without exhaust fumes and as quiet as possible as I prefer not having tenants throw eggs at me, so gas blowers were right out. These Toros were top rated by Consumer Reports, and the local Home Depot had these two on display out-of-box. As a certifiable gadget-itis afflicted Star Trek fanatic, I was all set to get the fancier one... the red 51599 Ultra. The black 51574 was noticeably lighter though--6.5 vs 7.5 lbs. The Ultra had variable speed vs 2 fixed speeds....however the fixed speeds were not too far inside the extremes of the Ultra--roughly 5% above and 10% below...so it appeared I could trade off maximum quiet for maximum power roughly as well. I also didn't need the mulching capability of the metal impeller. Still, I decided to try them both.

For my application, the Rake & Vac had more than enough power even at the lower speed. Therefore the variable speed of the Ultra was cool, but not particularly useful. The vacuum function on both was fairly weak....I don't think I'd bother digging out and changing the attachments for vacuuming, manuevering this clunky configuration above the debris, unzipping the blower bag into the trash then storing the vacuum attachments then changing back to the blower attachment...it's faster just dustpanning blown debris into our wheeled trash bins. Both had approximately the same relatively tolerable whitish noise spectrum i.e. no irritating tones or whining, like some hairdryer-like blowers. It's a shame spectral diagrams of products' noise are not given by manufacturers...they make a big difference to users. They were also reasonably quiet, though I'd prefer quieter....the Toro website lists them at about 63dBA both at the lower speed...important for an apartment building. Additionally, hearing a blower speed vary is more noticeable than a constant speed...as anyone subjected to a gas leaf blower's operator constantly varying the speed can attest.

But the Rake & Vac's surprising smoothness clinched it for me. I vastly preferred using it...not only is it significantly lighter, but it had much less vibration. This gave it a quality, well balanced feel, vs the rough, buzzy, heavy feel of the Ultra. Looking at the Toro website, the 7.5 pound weight of the Ultra vs the 6.5 pounds of the Rake & Vac is mainly from the 12 amp vs 10.5 amp motor, with another 1 pound maybe from the metal vs. plastic impeller. I'm guessing the vibration could be a badly balanced metal impeller, or maybe just the larger motor.

As the Rake & Vac has more than enough power for my application, I might still try the lighter 4.6 pound Toro Power Sweep 51585, but I suspect it will have a whiny noise spectrum that might be quieter in the dBA sense but more annoying...

If you need that metal impeller or variable speed, you might prefer the Ultra...otherwise you'll probably prefer the lighter, smoother, cheaper Rake & Vac.