Side by Side Comparison of: Black & Decker vs Weed Eater

Have a lot of trees around the house. Big headache to blow them from back yard to front yard. Now with the 16:1 powerful vacuum and mulch, I can easily crash the leaves into a couple bags and move them easily. Very happy now.

This is a great blower for the average DIY homeowner. I use it primarily to clean off my roof several times a year, clear my deck off, and move leaves into a general pile. I never have to go above the lowest setting to meet my needs. A few months after having it, my mom bought one (she is not a yard working person or DIY person) and raved about how easy it was to use. The only disadvantage is that when in reverse to pick up debris, the debris goes through a fan/blade - this is not ideal if you have tiny rocks that might accidentally picked up.

this tool has changed our lives! I can't believe they finally developed this! I've been wishing for this forever! Believe it or not, we used to drag our shop vac around the yard to suck the leaves out of the shrubs because instead of mulch we use pine straw and it is impossible to blow the leaves out of the shrubs and away from the shrubs without having the pine straw just fly up in the air everywhere. Mulch is way too heavy and time consuming to use over a large area however, not so easy to get leaves out of. Fall/spring clean up every year was a nightmare and we couldn't even hire anyone to do it because nobody would deal with it. So, we literally used to have to drag the shop vac around and empty the damn thing every 5 minutes and it would clog and was a nightmare. This came in yesterday and my husband did the entire yard in 8 hours (versus multiple weekends) the unit never clogged once and although he did have to empty the bag, it is very easy and fast. We did also purchase the attachment hose for the trash can but that was a disaster. Not sure who did the R&D for that component but I seriously question if they actually even used it in real life because that was a joke unfortunately. Regardless, of the fact that we wish the bag were somehow capable of holding more, it is adequate and the tool is quite powerful and appears to be well made and well thought out and certainly worth the price!

Oh Yeah!!!! This is a great yard tool!! Works like it says. I had to wait until my husband was done playing with it so I could try it out. I wish I had this earlier when the leaves first started falling!!

I haven't always trusted B&D products as they always seem CHEAP and they lack power. This blower is amazing. Does everything I need and then some. I have rocks in my front yard and you can regulate the strength of the vacuum to pull up leaves but not rocks. Very powerful if you need it to be. Great buy

Can’t decide Toro or Black and Decker. Easy BLACK AND DECKER with the bag bar instead of zipper.
I am becoming an expert on Vacuum/Blowers. #1 Black&Decker(BD) lasted maybe 10 years. It was small, light and not very powerful. The on/of switch wore out on it. I repaired it myself several times and is was a Rube Goldberg of turning the machine on and off. A simple task designed in a complex manner. BD #2 LH5000, ooh what an improvement in the power department. I have pink clover ground cover and need to suck the tree leaves out of it. This would pickup stuff like hibiscus buds that fell off, that the old one would not. Just terrific, but it only lasted 3 years. I had sewn up the bag several times where it connects to the machine, put duct tape around it for added support. But in the end it was the on/off was the issue. There is a tiny slot that either the vacuum or blower pieces need to push it to allow it to go on. A safety switch Not too much in and not too little in though. Became a fidgety machine with a leaking bag, so I replaced it with a Toro.
Huge mistake, not only is the same rated wind power Toro not able to pick up what the Black and Decker could do, but the bags last weeks, not YEARS. I am talking bag one lasted maybe 10 uses, but was tearing after 2 uses. The zipper gave way and became useless. The next bag lasted 3 uses and the zipper broke. Toro is absolute JUNK. Thin bags with zippers from light spring jackets.
So the Toro lasted 8 months and is now permanently the blower and the new BD is the vacuum, so I don’t have to change the tooling. So get the BD and get the one with the bar on the bag instead of the zipper, because it will not break. Also, if you are dragging the bag on the ground it is the hard plastic instead of the cloth and zipper that take the abuse. You have to get the bag bar. The downside is after a few hours in the miserable heat the last thing you do is empty the bag, and it takes some strength sometimes to get the bar to slide off. Its okay to say FORGET IT. Go take your shower and empty the bag tomorrow. Mostly it is fine though. Its powerful and well designed.

I liked this "green machine" well enough to order another one for our farm up the road, along with the one I use here at my residence. It is so good to have a unit that meets and exceeds expectations, particularly regarding initial starting. Follow the instructions and it'll fire off. Also, and perhaps most important, my wife can start it easily. She can do herself, and doesn't have to call me to get it started. It's lightweight, and really moves some air. Fuel quantity is adequate for along work-time, before having to refuel. An excellent blower!!

Easy to use and about as light as they come. This blower has a nice vibration free handle and won't suck in your pant leg during operation. Feather light at only 8 pounds compared to the average 11 pound gas hand held blower. Plenty of power for around the house use. Love this little beauty.

I purchased this model nearly 5 years ago on Amazon.com on a Gold Box Deal for $60 thinking for that price I would just use it until I could buy a better unit. As it turned out, I liked the blower so much I never did upgrade. This blower is quite powerful for general home purposes, is lightweight and easy to use and has never given me a lick of trouble until today. I was blowing my deck and the unit was running fine until the motor started slowing down and then stopped. I yanked on the pull cord a couple of times in an attempt to restart it but apparently the motor is completely seized up and it won't budge. Anyhow, in spite of all the negative reviews, I am taking my chances on another one just like it. For the price, even if the new one lasts only 2 years it will be worth it.

Bought my second one last week.... simple start, choke till fires, move to second pos pull twice and move to full throttle works ever time. to go step further, i grabbed wrong gas can. Put straight gas in it. ran like chap till locked up. let it cool down put wrench on fly wheel and broke loose. then put right 2 cyl gas in and used two more years. I pulled rip cord out and did not feel like taking apart to fix. Gave to my son, he fixed it and using .....I got my new on and best of all... light enough my wife keeps in the garage with her Cadillac to keep all clean 5 star Great for all ages...even old guy like me!! Dale

Works good. I used a little more 2 cycle oil than recommend. I've used it, in total, about 3-5 hours...no problems. Starts up easy.

I'm very happy with this little blower. I got it refurbished (cheap!) but it runs just fine. I was worried it wouldn't be strong enough for what I had in mind. I haven't swept or anything this year and things were caked down pretty bad!It was able to blow away the caked on leaves, pine needles, and dirt clumps from my driveway. There were earthworms in the dirt/leaves, that's how bad it was, but it was able to get rid of it. It took a long time (two tanks of gas, for a long drive way) but it got it done.The deck was much, much easier. I also used it to clean my gutters, which were caked down with leaves (haven't cleaned them in 4 months). It took finesse but it was able to clean those, too. The trick was to start by pointing it at the bottom of the leaves then lifting the tip. Using this, it would clear out about 2 ft of leaves (that came out as a solid bar of leaves, they were so stuck together).Refurbished, I got it for about $50. It would have cost double that just to have folks come out and do it for me so even if it exploded tomorrow I'd be happy (it did A LOT of work for me; I've used a broom/hands before and it's a two day affair).I was going to get an electric one (they're cheaper) but I'd need many extension cords to go where I need to and the battery powered ones either aren't strong enough or only last 15 minutes. This was the cheapest gas one and I was really worried that it wouldn't be strong enough or break the first time I used it. I'm very happy with this blower.

Works as advertised, a bit heavy. Amazon sent me a recall notice from Black & Decker for a shield problem. I contacted B&D and they sent a replacement part in just a few days, very good service by Amazon and B&D ....Thanks

Am giving it one star momentarily because the package contained the wrong type VAC TUBE ASSEMBLY. After a lengthy call to Black & Decker's customer service, I was promised shipment of the correct component. It was left up to me to monitor the actual shipping from the B&S warehouse in ten days. I feel that this is not a businesslike treatment of a customer inasmuch as it's pretty close to the 30-day return policy at which time I would be faced with asking for an RMA. This is in no way a criticism of Amazon since they have no control over how the sellers handle their quality control.

If that part arrives and fits as promised, I'll add the other stars since I was impressed with the quality and heft of the BLOWER head and the force of the air jet. Without the vac tubing and bag, the unit weighs 7 lbs, 12 ounces. After 10 minutes of use that weight might be a problem for the elderly.

The only important con is lack of an on/off trigger forcing use of the other hand to control the power dialing knob inconveniently placed on the body of the unit rather than on the handle. During that short moment one does not have full control of the direction of the nozzle.

The instructions are sophomoric with more thought attached to legalese than a user's needs.

Finally, more importance should be given to warnings NOT to use a long, weak extension cord. A 16 gauge cable of any length should be discouraged while a 14 gauge, maximum one hundred footer should not overload the motor.

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EDIT:
JULY 3, 2016

As promised, here is my upgraded review. After receiving the proper part, I was able to use the vacuum feature and was impressed by its suction power. The top speed picked up the carpet on our deck and I had to reduce it and vary the angle of the intake tube. I deducted one star due to the inconvenient placement of the above mentioned speed control and utter lack of clarity of the instructions. The conversion from blower to vacuum is not intuitive and the scant drawings, apparently made by enthusiastic Kindergartners, are of little help. That said, I can recommend this well-made product to friends and family.

This unit is a really handy tool. I bought it strictly for suction of leaves, and it does a very good job. The leaves need to be dry, for wet leaves/dirt will wind up clogging the intake. I did have to unscrew the blade a couple time to completely clean that area out inside the machine. Only downside...the instructions were absolutely terrible. Black and Decker uses pictures (which I like) but there wasn't enough information on the page to see what they were trying to convey.

With about 10-15 min...I was honestly able to lay the pieces on the ground and piece it together no problem. I would buy this again in a heartbeat. I would also purchase another black back for that will be a failure point at some point. I will mention the black back used a slider part which when unslid...opens the entire bottom of the bag...allowing the contents to be dumped anywhere, and completely, and quickly. Very genious method guaranteeing closure of the bag.

Has definitely made it easier to tackle the leaves this year. I have use it numerous times to blow and mulch the leaves. It does a decent job of sucking in leaves and spitting out small pieces. Overall I would buy it again.

Pros-
-Nice blower force
-Easy turn dial for blower speed
-Attachments are quick to change
-Lots of straps to make holding it easier

Cons-
-Leaves can get stuck if you go too fast or if slightly wet
-Collection bag frays inside easily and clogs up- I've cut them multiple times and it still frays

blower and vac worked great,plenty of power.even mulched sweetgum balls and small twigs. only thing needed is padding for shoulder strap as bag gets heavy when mulching.

Amazing power for a small guy; perfect for basic cleanup after weekly mowing. My echo lasted me 10 years, but was expensive and sometimes too powerful for basic tasks. This is a great compromise.

Had this blower for 3 years. Is very light and powerful. Loved it while it worked. Going into the 4th year it was very difficult to start (even with new plug). Then the pull cord broke. For the money I just tossed it. Think of this as a three year piece of equipment - $30 a year.

This Weed Eater blower was not the first one I have purchased, more like my third. It is not the most well built blower but for my purposes it is adequate. It is powerful and most importantly to me, light weight. Being only 7 or 8 pounds is is just the right size for me to do my yard and gardens come leaf season. The carburetor is not adjustable so when it decides to quit on you there isn't much you can do about it. I am happy to get at least two years out of each one and will again purchase another when this one gives up the ghost. The light weight keeps me coming back to it and not replacing it with a better built blower.............

Living in Florida on a small lot that has a lot of hardscape and oak trees... I use this blower a lot. 12 months a year. I bought it in 2011 and I've used it heavily. Recently, the cord has lost some of its recoil, and I usually need to resort to the "hairspray trick" (a blast of hairspray into the carb right before pulling)... But, hey, three years of fairly heavy use, and it still runs. At under $80.Sure, it could be better, lighter, stronger... But it's practically disposable...

Ok, I think it's important to consider what you have to use it for before purchasing. I have a 50' by 100' lot in a shore town that has no trees. I strictly use this to blow the dirt and grass off of my sidewalk after I've finished edging, weed whacking, and mowing my yard. It worked great for that. I have a 5 year old and a 3 year old and when I take the time to landscape, I want to be fast and efficient, while maintaining a beautiful lawn. This shaves 15 minutes off of the time if you're interested in sweeping until it's spotless. Crank up this blower and you've done 15-20 mins of sweeping in 5 minutes flat. Well worth this price, I would imagine that if you have major leaf problems or you are a professional landscaper this is not the product for you. But if you have a lawn similar to mine, this is perfect. So much so that I was actually here to purchase another one, I lost all the contents of my shed in Hurricane Sandy, and I replaced everything but this item last Summer. I regretted it all Summer and I am correcting that in the Spring!

Too many times I read reviews of products that are expected to perform above and beyond what they're advertised to do. I really hate when that happens. This product is perfect for me around my house for what I need it to do. It blows well, period. On the starting issues others have mentioned, that is my only complaint as well. Pump the bulb only six times. People that break the throttle lever are ham-fisted. Be careful. The fuel filter/weight needs to be pulled out of the tank and re-inserted so that it sits on the bottom, not near the fill cap.In actual use the blower is comfortable and powerful. I never have to get above two or three notches on the throttle to get enough wind action to get the job done. Can't imagine needing any more than that.This device is NOT heavy-duty. It's lightweight and is a bit fragile but if you take care of it it'll last a long time. Store it inside and out of the sun to preserve the plastic, Well worth the cost.

love the idea but needs improvement.

Pros: 2 in1 tool, mulches leaves into a good size.

Cons: bag is hard to carry. I see why peoples bags rip so fast, it needs better support. It needs a shut off button. I sucked up a rock and it sounded like it was going to brake the inside of the machine. I wanted to quickly shut it off but I had turn the knob all the way down to do so. It needs better suction or a smaller hose attachment.it hard to suck up leaves inside pots and in tight areas. Its great if you make a pile and then suction them in.

Having a yard with a bunch of shrubs, I quickly got sick of trying to rake up tiny leaves - i needed a vac unit! Since this is a wired unit, the power is decent, but there are a couple cons that prevent this from getting a great review:

- The blade portion of the unit cannot be disassembled, and the plastic tube can quickly get clogged with anything viney (ivy) or damp (rotted leaf buildup). When clearing an area for the first time, I had to stop several times to try to clear out the matted up areas, which are too small for me to get my fingers into (after unplugging it -I'm not crazy!). The rotted leaves I could get, they were wet and became like mud inside there - however, it tangled up on some small branches (1/8 in diameter) from the shrubs I had trimmed. They were too long, I guess, and got tangled up inside the unit.
- There are three or four pieces you have to carry around to convert from a blower to a vac. There's nowhere to store these things, so you end up with a pile of plastic parts. Black & Decker should try to think of a spring-loaded cover that isn't removable, or some way to mount the pieces to the unit like a vacuum cleaner normally does.
- It does look a little too sci-fi-ey with the giant vacuum tube being shiny black and lines carved into it. I felt like I could paint it white and go trick-or-treating as the Flamethrower Stormtrooper from Star Wars: The Force Awakens in this thing.

Pros:
- it totally sucks. in a good way, usually (outside of the con above).
- the blower has a swivel attachment that really does help get matted up stuff off the ground.
- vacuum bag holds pretty well, easy to dump out the grinded up foliage. Reduces the room it takes up in the trash can quite a bit, so I can get more out of it.

It is indeed heavy - especially after an hour or manoevering over the lawn. I did not find the blower to be very useful - it blew leaves in many directions -= only some in the direction I intended! But the vacuum feature is very good,. You can set the motor to a lower speed and vacuum over mulched beds or light pebbled pathways etc and only pick up leaves. I found this very useful. Also I found that raking a lawn often caused the wet soil to break and I ended up raking leaves with grass. With this device this does not happen. You can increase the motor to a loud and powerful setting and pick up leaves off garden without disturbing the turf at all. I wish it wasn't as heavy. I wish the bag that collects the leaves - black one - was sturdier as after only a week, I can see this thing is not going to survive two fall seasons and I wish the strap for the bag was padded and broader - it is a very thin nylon strap and is not appropriate for the weight of this device, cutting into your shoulder after a short while. I do love the fact that the sucked up leaves can be chopped into small pieces and makes it easier to dispose of this small leaf mulch than the bags and bags of leaves I had to collect before...

Alright, the thing eats leaves and twigs that are dry. It also loves dirt and bark, which is a problem if the leaves are wet.

The dirt quickly turns to mud and cakes around the impeller. The suction dies and you are tasked with unplugging it with a stick or a screwdriver.

I'd still buy it again, but I try and only use it when everything is dry.

I only use it as a vacuum and mulch, sucking up leaves. I don't use the bag that came with it because I also bought the trash can attachment, blowing the leaves directly into the can. I gave this only 3 stars because I have cursed it a few times while using it. The vacuum tube dose not stay on very well, and when it falls off, your pile of leaves are blown all over the place. I am a 70 year old woman and this thing weighs a good 10 lbs. Imagine carrying around a 10 lb sack of potatoes, aiming it in a downward position! Gets heavy in a hurry. I secured my trash can to a dolly so I could move it around easier, but because of the size and weight of the blower, it is still pretty awkward.

It does do the job of sucking up and mulching your leaves. The mulching blade seems to be pretty solid and made of a metal material, not plastic. Over all, if mulching the leaves is your main desire and you are able to handle the weight, I would recommend this except for seniors.

Its OK, mine has a loud click to it now and then which may tell me its not going to last long.

just barely powerful enough. the kind that have the trigger to control the speed are better this one has a lever you have to slide with your other hand.

I would have rated it higher, but its difficult to start and not as powerful as I would like. It is lightweight and easy to carry around. Good price for the money.

I use this for my driveway and patios. This is my third one and they typically last only a couple of years. On the last one, the coil stopped working. after less than two years. It's a good size and weight for my use but if this one doesn't last longer, I'll go for a more expensive longer lasting model next time.

Bought one of these in 2010, great little blower that got the job done for a driveway and 1/4 acre yard. Everything ran great until the beginning of this summer when the pull starter mechanism came completely off the track. I paid to have it fixed and in another month it died again, this time my mechanic said the engine has no compression and isn't worth fixing. Buyer beware.

April 2013: After using this blower for 18 months, it started running hot, accompanied by being harder to start, and running with less power. Now it will not start. After spending hours inspecting exhaust, plug, fire, compression, and disassembling and cleaning carb, now suspect lean mixture due to carburetor diaphragm. Can buy carb kit for $10, or replace carb for $30. Going to try adjusting metering screws before buying kit, or new carb. Would not buy again. Will look at Stihl before buying next blower.Original review:Have been using Toro electric which is great blower, just got tired of lugging around 150' of cord. Toro blows stronger than this one; but, velocity is good enough to blow off driveway, and leaves in yard (but blowing leaves is much slower than Toro). Really like the user-friendly and colorful controls, as well as the easy pull start. It feels comfortable to hold too. Best thing though is when I absent-mindedly filled tank from wrong gas can, and ran it on straight gas, I was still able, after some effort, to get it going again. And, it seems just as good as before.

the vacuum feature is not easy. much easier to use a shop vac

very difficult to open leaf bag. machine is extremely heavy and after a few hours I had severe pain in elbows.
Product recall offered me a repacement part...but they never sent it. Apparently the blade attatchment falls off and has an risk of injury.

I bought this based on all the good reviews, but it doesn't really mulch live oak leaves, and it's not powerful at all compared to my old blower that broke. :( I'm disappointed, but it's too late to return it and it does partially work -- just not as well as the reviews made it sound. I'll attach photos of the leaves before and after "mulching" them with this mulcher... No difference really between the "mulched" live oak leaves in the tub and the leaves still on the ground. :( I've concluded that it's actually easier just to scoop up the live oak leaves and not attempt to use the mulcher. This seemed to work better on leaves from my crepe myrtle trees, which aren't as tough as live oak leaves.

If you are considering this a a leaf vacuum, don't bother. It simply does not have the power to handle more than the tiniest of jobs and you will be wasting your money. It clogs easily and can't handle small twigs and other common yard debris that you will typically will find mixed among the leaves. However as a blower it works quite well, but the on/off button is not ergonomically designed for quick shut off and requires a second hand.

I've used the for the spring and fall season now in CT. I read a few reviews prior to purchase and noticed that one review mentioned that the bag does not last long. That is absolutely correct. The bag is torn just with normal use. Very poor quality bag - I would not buy this item again, though I am now stuck with it, and looking for a replacement bag...

I've had the blower for two years for home use. Over time it's very much gone downhill as far as performance. The recoil for the starter cord will no longer retract the cord. That's a big issue in that you have to pull this starter cord several times to get it to start. Drips fuel from the carb so you need to be careful to not have it drip mixed gas onto your pants. This is the last season for this one. Next one I buy will be either Echo or Huskvarna brand. More money yes, but those perform and last for years.

Will not start. This will be the third one that I purchase over years and none will start.The only good thing is they are lite and easy to use.

Worked fine for 1 season before the pull-cord brooke. PITA to fix. Booooo

Can't seem to get it to run consistently. Have had to have it repaired several times. In fact, it's not running now?

This is not a quality blower, it's only advantage I see is its light weight. I use it seldom for two reasons, difficult to start, after following instructions, the starter pulley has locked up twice, requiring dis-assembly to repair, if you are lucky. I've had it four years now and used it very little and it is presently locked.

Here it is July of 2014 and it's dead. They seem to last only about 1.5 years. So I'm going out to look for another brand. I won't be buying another weed eater blower. It worked fine last week. Today, went to start and it won't start. I even gave it a shot of starter fluid, and it did no good. After 5 minutes, I gave up. I don't think it's getting a spark, and that's what happened to the last one that was a little over a year old. They seem to last until just out of the warranty period!

Tried for cleaning roof gutters, and even waited until leaves dried out. Good price suckered me in, but power of suction very disappointing. Finally went back to a 2.5 hp shop vac working off 10' stepladder using extension hoses to get the job done in this lifetime.

Cheap made. Way too heavy. BAD
My experience.

Received damaged product, but I won't return the whole item as only one part was broken. I want a partial refund or a replacement part

lasted one year stopped working at all not worth the money for one year

Owned original and was basically satisfied, but vac bag wore through. Purchased this newer model which claimed to address bag problem. The new unit clogs constantly. The impeller is smaller than the original, and the shape of the housing is such that there is a 2 inch gap between the impeller and the housing. This size of this gap shrinks around the perimeter, I assume to increase air velocity. But in the gap, mulched leaves collect quickly, to the point where no more leaves can pass through. They cake up and then rub on the impeller slowing it down. Have to turn it off, unplug, remove the impeller cover, and flick out the caked mulch with a screwdriver, because a finger can't get in there. So annoying!! Also, motor is not as powerful as old one, and smaller impeller. More mph, yes (made by smaller aperture) , but less air volume, so a net loss in usefulness. Blower does not work as well as old. I have returned new model, and just purchased replacement bag for old unit.

Blower dose not last very long before stops running. Bought one last year and would not start this year. Bought a new one this year and used it 16 times and now it will not run. Took it to a repair shop and was told to forget this product and get a good product. Flame arrester clogs quickly and will not run afterward. Too hard to start when its brand new. If you can get it to run, it works okay.

I had ordered this leaf blower to replace the identical model I had purchased through Amazon five years ago. It had a lot of power, and worked trouble free until it died recently.So, the price for the new blower being about what I had paid for my original, I ordered the same blower again.The new version has only about half the power of my original. It's hard to start and, though it does eventually clear the debris, it takes much longer.

I owned a 150 MPH Weedeater for years. Not too powerful but did the job and was lightweight. I wanted to get just a little bit more power without gaining too much weight. Since it was same company why wouldn't I think any different? This was 170 MPH and was still lightweight. The new 170 MPH is weaker than the old 150 MPH. So they changed their testing methods so they can falsely say it's more powerful.

Absolutely garbage! I used this one time and it won't start. This item is also NOT REFUNDABLE so be aware that if you buy it, your stuck with the piece of junk.

This blower was great for 2 months. Now it runs for 2 mins. than dies. I have googled all types of things that could cause this - and there is a lot of people out there with the same problem with this blower. I have tried everything recommended and still nothing works. This purchase was a complete waste of $.

I am very disappointed in the product. WIthin a week the weed eater power blower locked up and will not start. I used the oil and gas mix but did not prevent the lock up. I contacted Amazon who told me it is an issue for the manufacturer not Amazon. I am now fighting with Poulan to fix it. They told me to return it to the place of purchase since it falls within the guideline of manufacturer warranty. Amazon says no to my request.