Barracuda Super Blower Mulching Vac - Vacuum Electric Leaf Blower © 2006

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One of the handiest tools to have to help with garden cleanup is a leaf blower. I had an old gas lawn blower, but it was hard to start, took a special blend of gas which was not always on hand, and just generally a pain to use. So I decided to try an electric blower instead. After shopping around a bit, I finally purchased the Barracuda Super Blower Mulching Vac, manufactured by Electrolux Home Products in Augusta Georgia. It seems I made a good choice.

The first project for the leaf blower was to clean off our carport, sidewalk and patio in anticipation of a family party. The powerful blower made short work of this project. This particular electric blower has two speeds, 125 MPH and 150 MPH. This comes in handy, as the velocity can be toned down a bit around tender plants which might be harmed by the higher speed.

The Barracuda is also a vacuum/mulcher. Changeover is quick and easy, but does expose the only thing I don't like about this machine. It takes a screwdriver to release the catch to open the port which the vacuum tube attaches to. This is a bit of a pain, but it can be lived with. The area I chose to vacuum was a flower bed with Oak leaves which had been there since last fall. These were wet and packed, so would make a good test for the blower vac.

The Barracuda did a pretty good job picking up the leaves, grinding them into a fine, dark mulch, just right for pouring around flowers and shrubs. The old leaves did tend to clump up a bit, which caused a bit of a problem for the blower vac, but nothing major. It would work much better on fresly fallen, dry leaves. The collector bag has a handy dandy zipper at the bottom, making removal of the bag unneccessary when it is full. Just unzip the bag and dump where you want. The packaging claims a 16:1 reduction in mass. I have no way of measuring this, but it did seem to reduce the year old leaves pretty well.

The Barracuda Super Blower Mulching Vac seems to be a pretty good electric leaf blower. It would not be a good choice for the homeowner with piles and piles of leaves or other garden refuse, but would be for the average homeowner with some flower gardens, driveway and other areas which need leaves and small shrub clippings cleaned out. And it produces a fine quality mulch just right for use in flower and vegetable gardens. The two speed blower is a fine garden tool, the two speeds make it ideal for use on driveways or in and around flower gardens.

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