Product has worked very well. Starts easy and has plenty of power for my needs. However, I've used the vaccum only two times and already the zipper on the bag has come apart. For the kind of work this is supposed to do, the bag is not very heavy duty. It should last a season at least!! It's also very small which needs to be emptied frequently. It does a great job sucking up leaves and mulching them. As a whole the product has been good. Blower is powerful and the speed control lever is well placed and easy to adjust. But the blower tube is difficult to unattach and at one point require the use of a screwdriver to unclipped it. A poor clip design. For the price it's okay. If I had to buy another, I'd look at other brands to compare the above concerns. TROY-BILT BLOWER/VAC
My Homelite Blower finally quit after 10 years of terrific service. For some reason I decided to try a different brand. Maybe I didn't think 10 years was long enough.
The troy-bilt blows good but no better than my old Homelite.
And to blow that good it uses a lot more gas.
It is extremely loud! It probably should be outlawed. I have a 10,000 Watt generator that isn't as loud.
Instead of a variable speed trigger that you can operate with your finger while you hold it, it has a lever that clicks to about 4 speeds that you have to operate with your non-holding hand.
Plus the exhaust exits out the back making it easy to burn yourself unless you hold it out and away. And that is awkward because it is big and heavy.
It does start easy, but so did my old homelite before it died.
It is unfriendly to the enviroment and user!
The motor takes a minute or two to get up to speed, but once it does it runs smooth and has good power at the highest setting. Don't expect it blow wet leaves or even wet grass though. The speed control lever is my biggest complaint. It's big, and I constantly hit it with my knuckles, knocking the speed control down to the lower settings. Even worse the vibration causes the lever to bounce to the lower settings on it's own. This causes me to hold the lever in place with one hand, and the blower in the other.
The vacuum is powerful. On the lowest setting I was able to vacuum the leaves and pine needles from the flowerbed, leaving the lava rocks behind. The higher settings were powerful enough to suck up 1-2 inch size rocks (not recommended). I did not have any problems with the bag. The spring on the vacuum door is rather tight and it was difficult getting the vacuum attachment on with only two hands.
This is the third blower I have owned; one an electric and the other a 2 cycle gasoline powered unit. Compared to these, this unit produces far less wind. It is not convenient or easy to aim.
About the only good thing I can say is that it does start easily.
As a vacuum, it does not suck up debris like my old Craftsman. It is very cumbersome to convert from blower to vac. The bag is far too small. Most frustrating is the vacuum tube which frequently falls off during operation. If ever there was a good application for duct tape, this would be it!
I will be calling Amazon and/or Troy-Bilt to see if I can send it in for a refund. This is truly a piece of junk!
Just bought the blower and cranked it up according to the instructions provided.
It started easily like it said, and it idled relatively quietly while warming up, save for a slight metallic rattling noise which I couldn't figure out. The honeymoon was over shortly after this point.
I let the blower idle for a few minutes to let it warm up. When I pushed the throttle control to fast and began using it, the throttle control rolled back to slow/turtle speed.
I thought it would need more time to warm up, so I let it idle for a few more minutes.
Again, I moved the throttle to high speed and it went back to slow. This time I moved it back to fast and kept my fingers pushed against the throttle arm while I used it.
Cautiously, I let the arm go and it stayed in place, but only for about ten (10) seconds.
During this test period, I continued to hear the metallic rattling noise.
After continued attempts to keep the throttle arm in place I decided not to try my luck with the vacuum bag since I wouldn't want to soil other parts that I would be returning.
I do not recommend this product. Perhaps Troy Bilt has better models to consider, but I'm not going to waste my time.
Sears sells this same machine with their craftsman brand name on it. Thats what I got. I agree with some, the rope has a wierd pull that takes some getting used to and I question if it even helps starting much, since its such a little engine. As a blower I like it. But it is easy to keep hitting the throttle and changing the speed. ALL BLOWERS blow about the same. I like that there is no cord to limit me. Technique helps you move leaves. Blow them into a pile and then stick the nozzle UNDER the pile and lift to move them. And DUH! all wet leaves will stick to the ground. My biggest gripe is the capacity of the mulch bag. 10 to 1 my butt. Its about 4 to 1. It does mulch well and will even chop up thin twigs but you got to empty the bag so often and its cumbersome to do. I'm thinking of adapting this machine to a covered wagon that I can pull behind my tractor. I will use my tractor to blow leaves into a pile and then use the vac mounted on a wagon with a long flex tube to suck up leaves like landscapers do. I do find the vac very usefull around bushs and flower beds and other tight spots.
This worked for the 2-3 hours I used it in 2006. Now (2007) it refuses to start at all, despite all storage/maintenance performed. I've changed the gas, replaced the plug, checked for spark, cleaned the air filter, cleaned the spark arrestor, tried starter fluid, etc. Nothing. So I paid roughly $50/hr to use this in 2006, and spent about 3 hours trying to get it to work this year. - Purchased - Leaf Blower - Review - Troy Bilt'
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