BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Leaf Blower, Leaf Vacuum and Mulcher, Up to 230 MPH, 12 Amp, Corded Electric (BV3600)

I've always loved Black and Decker products, and this one doesn't disappoint. It has great suction. It's held up well over the last year that I've had it. I like all the different attachments.

I use this both to clear clippings from the sidewalks and driveway, as well as to clear leaves.For blowing debris, this is a great tool. It's very powerful, and even cleared grass clippings that had been rained on and then dried out and stuck to the concrete. Of course it's loud, but not uncomfortably so. My neighbors have very "twiggy" trees, and it cleared sticks as thick as my pinkie finger from the sidewalk with no effort.As a vacuum, it's fun, but a little nerve wracking. The impeller is plastic, and there were lots of small twigs mixed in with the pile of leaves. When it sucks them in, the twigs make an awful sound when they hit the blades, but it never slowed or stopped. I am a little concerned how it will stand up come time to clean up the back yard (we have two large pear trees) given the plastic blades, but it seems sturdy so far.Changing from blower to vacuum is a little cumbersome, but that's to be expected since 100% of the weight is in the orange seen in the photos. As long as you're switching over either on a table, bench, car trunk, etc, it's very manageable with no effort. I thought it would be kind of a pain since it's electric, but it's nice not having to worry about gas or oil. I wouldn't have the same comfort level with a lawnmower, but for this, it's perfect.I'm also looking forward to using this in the winter, since we get a lot of dry, dusty snowfalls. Using the blower will help prevent the resulting icy patches.

I have changed my rating from 3 to 4.5 stars. The original review is followed by an update below.-----------------------------------------------------Original Review-----------------------------------------------------I bought this for leaf cleanup around the house.I figured I'd be able to use both the modes - the blow mode to move leaves, and the vaccuum mode to pick up leaves. Well the blow mode works great, but the vac mode is too weak to pick up leaves.To pick up leaves the open end of the vac nozzle has to be very low to the ground - 1 or 2 inches. Even at this height it struggles to pick up leaves. I'm not talking about wet leaves here, these were dry leaves I was trying to pick up.If you are looking for a vac, this is not it. It works great as a blower, but if that's all you are looking for you can probably save a few bucks by buying a tool that is blower only.I'll leave one more thought - I read a couple of other reviews where the tool failed to start. Mine wouldn't start after the first use either. After that I let it sit in the garage for a few days. I then was going to return it, but thought I would try it one last time. I plugged it in and it fired up. It has since started the couple times that I've used it... I'm hoping it does continue to start.-----------------------------------------------------One Year Update-----------------------------------------------------When I originally wrote the review I could not get the tool to vacuum leaves. I have since figured out that it was the bag that was causing me problems:Firstly, the bag is too small to do leaf pickup. It will fill up quickly, which means a lot of taking it off, dumping it, and putting it back on.Secondly, if the bag is not held at the correct angle, the intake into the bag will choke off. My guess is that the choking is why I had so much trouble with the vacuuming initially. I would also speculate and say this is one of the reasons for the reviews here that state that the tool fails after a couple uses.Because of the bag issues above, I bought the BLACK+DECKER BV-006L Blower/Vacuum Leaf Collection System. Paired with this tool I am able to mulch leaves into a 30+ gallon garbage can. This resolves both problems above. However, the airflow into the garbage generates a ton of dust. I would recommend some kind of dust mask when mulching.I can say that using the mulcher with the leaf collection system has saved me a lot of time. Far better than raking!

I have used this model for almost 10 years. It is excellent as a leaf blower but it really stands out as a mulcher. The metal ring that does the mulching is first rate and reduces leaves to a small pellet size. It will reduce a barrel of leaves to a bucket. The vacuum itself is very powerful. The only problem I ever had was the bag zipper broke. A new one was readily available at B&D for a reasonable price.This is a really good buy, especially at this price.