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

Toro Rake & Vac 10.5 Amp 2-Speed Electric Blower/Vacuum #51574
Customer Review: don't overload it

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.

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

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.