Getting the Job Done

My husband and I do a lot of yard work and we have used Electric Chipper/Shredders before and even bought a competitive model that claims to have 15 amps. But it just didn't have the power of the Eco- Shredder ES 1600. It is remarkably quiet and we have already used it many hours without a hitch. We use it often to mulch leaves and to shred smaller branches. We have a good size yard and this product has handled the work load well. My husband likes the fact it comes with an extra set of blades. We had a McCulloch and had a great deal of trouble finding replacement blades and it seemed to vibrate too much when used. I would recommend this unit to anyone looking for an electric model. More detail ...

Does what it was hired to do!

Bought this leaf blower to replace a B&D that went up in smoke the second time it was used. I was a bit apprehensive in my decision to buy another B&D but it was on sale and with the warranty I felt comfortable. Boy did I do the right thing! This thing really blows the leaves and vacuums them up really well. It even destroys small twigs in the process. I recommend this product to those who want a blower / vac that is powerful and appears to be designed well.More detail ...

Exceeds Specs

I have this pump handling my furnace and AC condensation. It's pumping straight up 6 1/2 feet and then propelling the water another 15 feet through flexible tubing in the ceiling before it begins a downward descent through pvc pipe. No problems. It comes on almost every five minutes when the AC is on. So far this pump has been perfectly reliable. More detail ...

Good for limited use

I recently purchased this and used it to cut two branches that were about 25 feet high. The first was no problem and I was shocked how easy it was. While cutting the second branch the chain got jammed in the branch when it was almost cut all the way through. It took me an hour to get it free but I learned the tricks to free it quicker in the future. The instructions say to stand way out to the side so that the branch does not fall on your head but the problem when you do that is when the branch starts to sag after it is cut about 2/3 of the way through it pinches down on the part of the chainsaw that is on the bottom half of the branch so you end up with the chain stuck in place with a half cut branch. I learned that it was more effective to cut from under the branch and get out of the way when it falls. Another review said that he used two people and that would probably be the best way to reduce your chances of the chain getting stuck and also to not get hit on the head. The tool has a "flipping" part that causes the chain to flip over to the sharp side going down and this works pretty well after a few tries. I think that this tool works better on thick branches (more than 4 inch diameter). This is because on the larger diameter branches the chain is not bent at too severe an angle. When you are almost done cutting through the branch the chain will be bending in a tighter area that I think that caused me trouble on a thinner branch. For larger branches the branch will snap before you get into such a tight area. Overall it's not the greatest tool but pretty cool to deal with those special cases where the pole saw won't reach. You should be aware that the cut will not be very clean at the bottom of the branch in many cases because you are cutting from the top and sides not the bottom. In any case I still recommend it since it costs a whole lot less than having a tree guy come to cut one or two unreachable branchs. But only expect to use it sparingly. More detail ...

Bad description on item

The description on the item is not accurate - there is nothing in the bottom and the cover simply hangs down proving less covering or protection than a simple plastic tarp.



Plus there is an essentially open side although held together with hook-n-loop there is a gap of about four inches on the front corners which you can't close tighter.



Very disappointed - 1 star is too high for what you think you are getting. This is the very first thing I've returned to Amazon in a very long time of shopping with them.



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One year later

I have a medium-size suburban house sitting on about half an acre.



In the past year I've used this to:

-clear the walks after mowing and/or trimming

-keep the garage floor swept out (great especially in the fall) and

-clear off my deck in less than a minute.



Great complement to the cordless trimmer in this family (the batteries are interchangeable).



Big plusses: light and simple to use; enough wind for small-to-medium jobs (get a gas-powered blower if you can't use a rake for your leaves) and enough battery power for about 10-to- 15 minutes of blowing.



Minuses: Battery life a little short; not good for year-round outdoor use in the north (you shouldn't charge this thing in temps below 40); no easy way to buy a charging station and extra batteries.



Be CAREFUL! This is does NOT necessarily use the same battery as B&D Firestorm products. Some Firestorm batteries are the wrong size and voltage. Others have a stub which fits into the handle; the compatible B&D 18v products look like a big fat black Advil tablet (sort of).



I will probably buy most of the B&D products that are compatible eventually. They seem to work for me.More detail ...

Learn the truth about "Dual Wattage" converter and don't get burned

This item offered here (PowerLine 0900-27 Global Power Travel Kit) is actually two different converters built into one package. At LOW setting (up to 50W) it uses a small AC transformer to convert 220V sinusoidal waveform into a 110V sinusoidal waveform. This is the preferred approach which works well for any low power appliance.



To handle higher power however the AC transformer must be made bulkier and heavier (around 20 pounds just for 1000W). This makes it impractical as a travel voltage converter for large-wattage appliance. Therefore at HIGH setting (50-1600W) this converter simply uses a solid-state switch inside to chop off part of the input 220V sinusoidal waveform. This is exactly how an incandescent lamp dimmer works. However its output waveform is highly distorted and is far from an 110V sinusoidal AC voltage.



A purely resistive appliance (such as travel iron or water heater) will work just fine regardless of different voltage waveform. But if you ever try to power an electronic appliance (such as TV computer or battery charger) with this distorted 220V waveform it will probably be fried in an instant! My advice is to stay away from this potentially destructive product - unless you are really REALLY careful about what to plug in.



If you have to bring electronic appliances with your oversea trips make sure they are rated for universal voltage of 100-240V AC. Power supplies for most portable electronics (laptop camcorder cell-phone electric shavers etc.) are already designed to accept universal voltage although some of them may require you to physically flip a voltage selection switch - check the user manual or the AC input plug of your appliance to make sure. If that is the case all you need is a set of plug adapters which you can purchase separately without a converter.

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performs as advertised

I bought this item a few months ago and I love it. Provides enough power to run my laptop and GPS at the same time (I have my GPS hooked up to the USB port and laptop hooked up to the AC port). I Have had no problem with it whatsoever. I would highly recommend it. More detail ...

Works fine... don't forget to oil it

I bought this because a professional arborist wanted $300 to prune the tree in front of the house. My job ain't as pretty but I got it done. The saw works great on large branches. Not so much so on smaller branches that flex so it can't get a bite and ends up leaving splintered ends. For the cleanest job you'd want to use a pole trimmer on the small stuff. I'm hoping the leaves will just grow back and cover my imperfections.



Two things you need to know if like me you're inclined to just charge up the tool and go to work. #1 the chain needs frequent re-tightening during the first hours of use. (A little wrench is included to do this... very simple.) #2 don't forget to OIL THE CHAIN... something that's self-evident to people who've used a big chain saw but not intuitive to the rest of us.More detail ...

The Unit I Had Wasn't Up To Snuf

I had previously purchased a Xantrex 851-400 inverter to run in conjunction with a marine battery so as to power lights for my jewelry booth at Art Fairs. I was very happy with it but when I decided to expand my use of lights necessitating a second battery and a second inverter for whatever reason I decided to try the Whistler PI-400W and save a whopping $7.55. Big mistake. The Xantrex will operate flawlessly for 2 days sucking enough juice out of that marine battery to operate 75 watts of CFL bulbs for 8-10 hours each day. The Whistler worked well for the first day but kick off after 2 hours of the second. The first time that it happened I rationalized that perhaps I hadn't fully charged the second marine battery but after making sure to test it again with both batteries on successive weekends I got the same result both times. The moral of the story is that Amazon does a great job of refunding your money during the first 30 days and don't get cheap when making your purchase. If you find a product that does the job well that you need it to do pay the man!More detail ...

The Unit I Had Wasn't Up To Snuf

I had previously purchased a Xantrex 851-400 inverter to run in conjunction with a marine battery so as to power lights for my jewelry booth at Art Fairs. I was very happy with it but when I decided to expand my use of lights necessitating a second battery and a second inverter for whatever reason I decided to try the Whistler PI-400W and save a whopping $7.55. Big mistake. The Xantrex will operate flawlessly for 2 days sucking enough juice out of that marine battery to operate 75 watts of CFL bulbs for 8-10 hours each day. The Whistler worked well for the first day but kick off after 2 hours of the second. The first time that it happened I rationalized that perhaps I hadn't fully charged the second marine battery but after making sure to test it again with both batteries on successive weekends I got the same result both times. The moral of the story is that Amazon does a great job of refunding your money during the first 30 days and don't get cheap when making your purchase. If you find a product that does the job well that you need it to do pay the man!More detail ...

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The Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 is a compact rechargeable source of portable power for AC and USB-powered devices. It will extend the runtime of mobile electronics such as an iPod BlackBerry video camera cell phone and can provide up to two hours of extended runtime for your laptop. The Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 has one AC outlet and two USB charge ports so you can run or charge multiple devices simultaneously. You no longer have to carry extra cords chargers and device-specific batteries.More detail ...

POWERLINE 0900-74 600MA UNIVERSAL ADAPTER WITH ENERGY STARMore detail ...

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32 in Lawn & Patio
  


• Color: Red


• Brand: Toro


• Model: 51599


• Released on: 2007-01-01


• Number of items: 1


• Dimensions: 10.00" h x
  20.50" w x
  48.00" l
  11.50 pounds
  

Features

• 12 Amp electric blower/vacuum provides power and versatility to tackle every clean-up chore


• Leaf shredder reduces 16 bags of leaves to 1 bag


• Rugged metal impeller and infinite variable speed motor


• Exclusive cord-lock system holds power cord firmly in place


• Powerful handheld blower delivers up to 235 mph of air flow

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Neuton CE 5.2 14-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Electric Discharge/Mulching/Bagging Lawn Mower With Removable Battery
I have owned this mower for over a year now. I have two large lawns including an area for my dog run which gets high sometimes because I don't mow every week. The major reason I considered buying an electric mower was that the gas rotary mowers I have owned always were hard to start after the Winter season. I saw an ad for the Neuton and a cordless electric seemed attractive. No cord to run over or move around.

RATING DETAILS
Here is where the Neuton earned points:

1) Its starts every time.
2) Its environmentally friendly. No exhaust and no noise.
3) Its lighter than my old steel gas mower (slightly).
4) No leaking fluids when you want to turn it over to clean or maintain the blade.
5) Not that I don't own and like many foreign produced items, but this is made in America (Vermont). It feels good to me to support our domestic market!

Here is where the Neuton lost a few points:

1) After the first year the battery seems to be losing some of its charging capacity. Where I used to get an hour and a half's life on a full charge, now I get maybe an hour. Note this is a lead/acid battery and not a more high tech variety.
2) The trimmer attachment works, but its not really that maneuverable. Keep your corded electric string trimmer and pass on the too expensive trimmer attachment.
3) It takes me two days to mow all my grass. Seriously consider buying the extra battery if you have a lot of lawn to cut.
4) If you expect this mower to be as robust as your gas rotary model, you will probably be disappointed. But since the gas mowers where I live no longer come with a variable throttle, you don't really lose that much power. I see Neuton has a newer, more powerful version now. I would probably have purchased that one if it were available at the time.  More Detail>>>>

Neuton CE 6.3 19-Inch 36-Volt Cordless Electric Discharge/Mulching/Bagging Lawn Mower With Removable Battery
I actually have owned the Neuton CE 6.2 model for over one season. The Neuton CE 6.3 is this year's model.

This is an excellent battery powered mower. It is very light without the battery, and it is around 70 lbs with the battery installed.

The mower is very quiet and is about as loud as a cooling fan. There are little to no vibrations from the motor, which is a huge positive for people like me who have issues with holding vibrating tools for long periods of time.

The battery does last for about an hour, but you should plan out your cutting route. Do not goof around, and you should be able to mow an entire 1/3rd acre yard in one charge. If you have a larger yard or you have a thick blade southern grass yard, then a second battery is recommended.

The motor is maintenance free. No oil or fuel issues like traditional gas powered mowers. The motor starts right away with a fully charged battery. During the winter season, I stored the mower, kept the battery on the charger, and the mower was ready for the spring cutting season with zero hassle or maintenance.

Since it does not emit exhaust and is quiet, mowing the yard is pleasurable. You can smell the cut grass instead of the exhaust fumes and you do not have to wear ear plugs. I do not have an issue pushing the mower since it is only 70 lbs, so I do not miss the self propelled feature. I have a bumpy, uneven lawn, and I do not have a problem pushing the mower. It is no harder than pushing a shopping cart, so most people should not miss the self propelled feature of other mowers.  More Detail>>>>>