Flymo PowerVac 3000 Electric Garden Blower & Vacuum | 3-in-1 Powerful Leaf Blower, Vacuum & Mulcher | 3000W

Bought to replace my old one which had given me many years of service

I bought this to replace a previous Flymo Garden Vac I had for 26 years and used hundreds of times before the motor packed up. I decided to stick with Flymo as I expect the quality to be high (though probably not to last for 26 years!)The previous one had a simple switch at the end of the nozzle to change from suck to blow so was very easy to use. The bag simply unclipped from the device and was easy to empty. It also had a very long lead (20m?) which allowed me to cover most of the garden.This unit feels heavier, not as good quality and to switch from suck to blow you have to remove the bag and attach a cover over the shredder blades as well as fit a different nozzle. All this is relatively straight forward but a bit of a faff to switch over compared to the last one I had. Also, the lead is much shorter so I now have to unroll an extension lead each time I use it.In order to empty the bag into our Green Wheelie Bin i had to remove it entirely from the device so unclip the hooks from the suction tube and remove the bag. I've now started to empty the bag into a trug which means I just have to unclip one hook and can leave the bag on the device. (I also suck the leaves out of the trug again which shreds them even finer and put them straight onto the garden).I probably wont use the blower that often as its difficult to switch , I may even but just a blower.In summary, it does what I need it for though not as easy to use, heavier and time will tell if its robust enough to last. My last Garden Vac didn't have a shredder and this is a big plus.Having said all this, all the other devices I considered seemed to have the same set up with regard to swapping from suck to blow.

So far so good. Have not tried it to vacuum up leaves as yet. We have so many leaves from so many trees that I would have to be emptying the bag constantly. Blowing the leaves into neat piles for collection in a wheelbarrow was easy. Perfectly powerful enough for our needs and will even shift wet leaves. A result as fallen leaves seem to be coated with strong glue given the difficulty in shifting them from the soles of shoes. Scrub them on a doormat for ten minutes and you still find that you have leaves clinging on for grim death until you walk on your carpets and then they decide it is time to drop off incurring wrath from your partner.

Great machine at a great price easy to use and dose a great job

It's okay. If you can get it a good price then worthwhile. I bought one last year for £38 and then this one now for £55 (read on for the reason why)Good points - mulches really well and quite effective as a leaf blower and sucker. Like any of these devices if you use them when it is a bit wet, they can get clogged up with mud so expect to do a bit of cleaning from time to time. This leads on to the negatives...Bad points - The model you get is not the model that is shown in the photo (I have attached to this review) and currently on Amazon's listing (Nov 2017) and (bizarrely) Flymo's website too. It DOES NOT have the quick change facility where you can swap easily from the vacuum to blower. It does have what they call a 'toolless' change but it does require undoing a screw (albeit with a thumbturn) and trying to locate the accessory (suction pipe or blower grill) on to a threaded connection. This is not difficult but it is a faff as you have to twist a giant tube holding the heavy body still. On the model I bought last year which looks like the picture attached, you released one by just unclipping it and then pulled down the blower grill (which you can see doubles up as the handle). As the blower grill is permanently attached you cannot lose it. On the new model it is a separate item. I will probably put it 'safe' in my shed somewhere and then spend half an hour looking for it next time I need it. A backwards step in design and naughty to show the old model on their current adverts. Note, the other photos DO represent the correct model. Hopefully by the time you read this, Amazon will have deleted the incorrect image (I writing to them next).Second negative, my collection bag was eaten by some mice in my shed (anecdotally this seems quite common). I thought 'annoying' but fine, I'll buy a new one. Quick check on Amazon, Ebay, other sites and Flymo's official spares show and a replacement one costs between £55 and £67.So yes, you guessed it, I ended up buying a new PowerVac instead. I now have one for blowing leaves and one for suction so the change issue is not such a problem. However, it is a disgraceful rip off for Flymo to charge anything near that price for the bag and so wasteful that you cannot economically repair something so simple. If Amazon sell the whole thing for £50 or so, Flymo must make them for at least half that cost so what is the real price of the bag - £2-£3 (or maybe it is gold plated on the lining?). Sell it for a £10 and people will buy spares! I would.So protect your bag!!!!

Good quality, lots of power with very efficient blower. Vac is also excellent and shreds leaves into little pieces. Very happy with purchase.

Easily assembled, a light weight unit went blowing leaves/ dirt obviously becomes heavier when adding additional parts to use as a vac . It's a fuse in my opinion not having a simple lever to change direction of air flow and having to assemble/ disassemble every time you want to do something.

The machine is bulky, heavy, noisy and cumbersome. The long power cable takes a lot of unwinding and stowing back.It is ineffective at gathering hedge trimmings and leaves. The device becomes blocked as soon as it encounters anything but the odd dry leaf. It does not pick up leaves well, the suction is inadequate. The wide tube gets snagged on corners and so forth.The bag needs cleaning out after use, a time consuming job.Save your money and buy a good rake, a bag and some gardening gloves. The rake is cheap, light, virtually silent in use, takes up little room and does the job of gathering leaves and trimmings effectively. You just have to put it away when you are finished.Raking is good exercise too, whereas the Flymo will frustrate you and cause backache.