So the Senior Compound Council - it was recommended that I could blow the leaves close enough to reach the corded vacuum mulcher machine. This sounded like a good plan to me.
I was able to keep it on its side at first to collect the mulch and then after it was nearly full I turned it upright to collect the rest. The Leafmate just slides up the bag to hold the opening and connection to the LeafPro. This system was able to reduce a 20-30 bag job to less than 5, and what took 3 people half a day of tiring work took me 1.5hrs of blowing and 2 hours of vacuuming and I was not tired at all. These three items cost me $140... a total win
https://www.greenworkstools.com/450-cfm-axial-blower-tool-only
So I ordered only the "tool" since today I actually ordered four batteries that should be compatible. One that comes with the mower as 6 amp-hour. One 3 amp-hour on clearance. Two extra 6 amp-hour batteries.
choose the Ultra Plus to do the work. About a minute into the job, I smelled burning electrical insulation, and the blower motor started to run slowly, and then stop. I have some experience with electronics, and suspected the speed control circuit had gone bad.
OK so those will also power the weed wacker that also comes with a battery (I think 2.5 amp hour?)
https://www.greenworkstools.com/40v-cordless-12-string-trimmer
3 amp-hour battery.
So that is plenty of batteries. Five batteries.
Now - this blower has a "turbo" button feature to blow the leaves out of the grass.
But since it's variable speed then on the lower speed it's not so noisy - for just cleaning up the road.
So their "mulcher" is out of stock. So I turned to a LOCAL company. I actually used to be close friends - and "dated" (we actually lived together a bit in the wilderness in Alaska) - a relative of one of their engineers.
He suspect that the third harmonics generated by the 51621 blower is so high that it tricks the GFCI into tripping. The instruction manual does not specify the harmonics content generated by the VFD and there is no mention that the blower meets IEEE Std 519.
OK I should have bought this locally instead of through the evil shipping warehouse. But the thing is that I kept not finding the tools stocked locally - I mean for the lawn mower. So I figured it would be the same for the leaf mulcher/vacuum.
Also the only chain that carries it is a chain that I've had too many not good experiences in. I suppose it's not much worse than any of the other big box corporate chain stores.
Anyway...
Also when I'm in the store - it's easy to get confused by all the different models and how they're spaced on the shelf. Here I can see that I ordered the "Ultra Plus" model
So what immediately "sold me" was their claim of shredding down 18 bags of leaves into 1 bag.
So I actually grew up with a huge lawn and so I have down a lot of raking in my day and bagging of leaves. So then at our other huge lawn location - a relative recommended using a huge tarp - even provided one for me. So then that was a big improvement as I could then just pull the tarp over to the compost pile.
But since the leaves were not shredded they never composted that easily or fast. Eventually they do compost. But I turned the leaves a lot to keep down on anaerobic growth.
So I always imagined a shredding device. I actually devised one - let's see if I can remember. I probably blogged on it. It worked pretty well as I recall. I think I used a saw?
Toro engineers did a great job of balancing the motor and impeller because the vibration really is minimal. That is my top interest because I have arthritis in my hands and the old blowers and weed trimmers caused me a great deal of pain. Not this one. The included oscillating attachment works better than I could imagine. I thought it would be a feature joke. Nope, it works quite well. Very clever guys. I thought the variable speed would be a feature joke
too. Nope again.
Anyway...
so now I need to get a
polarized, UL listed (CSA certified in Canada) extension cord recommended for outdoor use; 150 ft extension cord length with Minimum of 10 A.W.G.
The [Toro] plug-in is 2 prong, no big deal, but it is protected by a round end
That's the longest cord you can use.
So I figure that way there's less distance need to reach to this device by the other turbo leaf blower that is cordless. I explained my plan to the Senior Compound Council and they thought it was feasible - or actually it was half their idea as I stated. haha.
The few places where the plastic parts go together leak air (read blows dust all over you) really bad, I put some small beads of silicone around the edges where it seals and that solved the issue. In the mean time, i used my hand to keep dust from blowing up into my face where the piping connected.
OK so that really only leaves (PUN intended) - just the broadcast spreader and a hoe.
And a soil rake as well - I had the hoe and rake at the previous house. I didn't think I would need them so I donated all the tools to the charity fund-raiser DIY Habitat for Humanity place.
The on/off/adjustable speed knob/switch does not turn it off. It immediately turns on as soon as it's plugged in. The knob style on/off variable speed switch only has 2 speeds and can not be turned off by using the knob. Needs to be unplugged to shut off.
It's a common problem with leaf blowers and blower/vacuums. There is usually a rocker switch inside that gets grit stuck in the pivots for the rocker button. A little contact cleaner sprayed on the button will usually make it work again.
The Toro 51621 has the "shred-all shred ring" which is a plastic ring of teeth around the edge of the top of the vacuum tube. That ring caused me to stop every couple of minutes because tiny twigs would get jammed in them. It was very frustrating.
OK... I can get those locally but they're probably "seasonal" and so not in stock.
Still they had the leaf blower in stock. Let me check.
Wow cool they have a manual spike aerator. It's very expensive but looks very solid. It's hilarious how if only we had ungulates or ruminants - they would do the aeration and mowing and fertilizing - and provide food!
Lawns are really stupid. Oh well. haha.
Worked best when held almost 90 degrees to the ground aka straight up and down
-If you suck up some small sticks, and it looses suction, or gets clogged, shut it off, and give the bottom of the barrel a few taps while its spinning down, this was usually enough to clear any clogs. If not, you have to take the snout off and clear manually.
-Make sure when you adjust the shoulder strap, the bag comes out horizontal to the ground when its on, otherwise you loose flow.
-Don't let the bag get over half way full. Not only is it a pain in the shoulder, the machine is not running near its peak efficiency. The less it blows out the bag, the less suction you get. Don't be a hero.
-One rather useful technique not in the video (and if you have limited extension cord length) is to lay it on its side, and sweep a large pile of leaves near the inlet. Grab some gloves and scoop the leaves in being careful not the jam up the inlet. The pile will go away quickly and your shoulder will thank you.
-Once you have emptied your bag (only need to do this every 2-3 empties), leave the zipper open and turn it to full blast. This will clear out the inside of the bag much better than just dumping it or hitting it with your hand. You want as much flow as possible to get better suction. Turn it back off and zip it on up.
So I would love to aerate the grass also but we're way over budget as it is.
The backpack sprayer I paid for myself as I can use it to water the mushroom logs in the forest here - since I don't have a way to soak a huge fallen tree. haha.
The key is the shredder, it is awesome. This unit shreds the leaves so small that I’ll say it reduces the bags required from about 4 to only 1. Plus the nice Toro bag has a handy zipper on the bottom that makes putting the leaves in the bag super easy. Just beware of the weight of the bag because it will get too heavy before it gets too full. This is the best and most useful feature of this unit. I wouldn’t get a blower without this vacuuming and shredding feature. The hardest part of leaf cleanup was always the bagging and with the attached bottom zipper bag dumping process and shredder it is much easier and faster.
the Toro Ultraplus is the longer vacuum tube length and the heavy duty STEEL impeller blade. (Worx has a plastic or similar type impeller) This thing is TOUGH, and shredded my leaves and small yard debris into a fine granulated powder, and with my fairly small yard it picked everything up and the bag still had plenty of room left over ! If you have a really large yard I'd recommend getting something that will attach to your riding mower, but for small yards this Toro is fantastic !
OK so I can just attach the bag to the Greenworks mulching mower - to collect the leaves. haha. I forgot I could use the BAG function for leaves! So convenient. Mulching grass is good but mulched leaves "look bad" apparently. Hence the compost spray instead of the mulched leaves on the lawn. Like I said lawns are stupid. haha.
My only complain is the desire for a stronger vaccum/sucking ability. When the lawn is not too bad it has no issues sucking up the clippings, when it is longer, you might have to go over the same spot again. The worst part is that it is not really strong enough to pull up leaves and other lawn debris like little twigs. My previous gas mower would eat anything you ran it over so that your lawn was spottless by the time you finished. It does an ok job pulling these things up, but my lawn tends to be partially littered with half clipped leaves and twigs after the cut.
All in all I recommend it for its intended purpose, mowing the lawn and grabbing lawn clippings. Just do not expect it to handle denser lawn clips like hedge trimmings, leaves, twigs etc.
So good thing I ordered the Toro.
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