Tis the season for leaf clean up. I was blowing my leaves into piles and then
shredding them. The shredding is the
part that really lights my fire due to the 16x1 compression ratio. I can get the enormous pile of leaves down
to four 50 gallon trash cans and I don't need to bag. I was thinking to myself how amazing my Toro
blower was and how long it has given me good service. Arrgghh!
I should have realized that was the kiss of death as moments later it
died. Dead, gone to the other side,
non-functional!
After a suitable moment of silence I left is sit for the
afternoon in hope that it had overheated or "something". Well after testing on multiple outlets in
the futile hope that it was the extension cord or outlet, I concluded it was
truly dead.
I researched blowers.
My boys have gas powered ones that they love. Alas the infernal combustion engine and I
have a bad history. Every time I have
gotten a gas powered tool, it has died over what ever season it spent in
disuse. Adding Stabil, draining the
tank, etc, none of my hand held gasoline tools got through a season without
taking it in for service. My Toro
Blower on the other hand continued to blow (in a good way) year after
year.
I discovered that Toro still makes my blower! It is red not black but I can live with the
color change. The only upgrade I can
see is the metal impeller which is a smart upgrade when that is what does your
shredding. My only beef is that none of
the parts or accessories from my old one will fit on the new one. The new one made short work of the balance
of my leaves and looks to be as good or better than it's deceased
forbearer.
When throwing the box away from the original blower I found
the UPS shipping date on the box.
November 7, 2001 was the date.
That means that I got just slightly over twelve (count them 12) years of service for a $70.00 tool with
moving parts. Kudos to Toro for
usability and durability.
From the vendor:
Toro Ultra 3-in-1 blower, vacuum, and leaf shredder makes
completing yard work fun and easy
Move a substantial volume of leaves and debris with ease
with air speeds up to 235 mph and air volume up to 390 cfm
Variable speed motor for better control; rugged metal
impeller creates a fine mulch
Quick-Release Latch lets you convert your blower into a
vacuum in seconds without tools
Comes with power unit, blower tubes, vacuum tubes, and
vacuum bag; 2-year warranty
If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.
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