- Three-in-one blower, vacuum, and mulcher keeps your yard and driveway neat and tidy
- Handles even wet piles of leaves; 240 MPH blow speed and 385 CFM air volume
- Two-speed switch gives you more control around garden beds
- Weighs 15.4 pounds; 2-year warranty
- Includes a Leaf Blaster nozzle, vacuum attachment with tube, leaf bag with zipper, adjustable shoulder strap, and air concentrator
Product Description
Powerful 12A electric motor with a blowing speed of up to 240 mph allows more power for removing matted leaves and blowing large piles of leaves. 385 cfm air volume for maximum vacuuming and mulching. Metal mulching impeller has a 16:1 mulching ratio andAmazon.com Product Description
The Black & Decker Leaf Hog Electric Blower/Vacuum adds versatility and power to your tool collection. As a blower, the Leaf Hog can generate up to 240-mph air speed to clear matted leaves or sweep hard surfaces. Switch to the vacuum function, and the mulching mechanism devours and deposits up to 16 bags’ worth of debris into the included rear bag.
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 The mulching mechanism can reduce debris that would have filled 16 bags enough that it fits in the single rear bag. View larger. |
Clears All Types of Debris
Sweep your patio, workshop, or walkway clean, or use the 240-mph air speed to make quick work of wet, matted leaves in your yard. The Leaf Hog has a dual-speed switch to decrease air flow when you’re working around delicate flower beds, patio furniture, or automobiles in your garage.
Gather and Mulch Leaves and Trimmings
The Leaf Hog converts easily to a 385 CFM lawn vacuum when you want to collect loose leaves, twigs, and grass clippings. The internal mulching mechanism grinds everything down, compressing as much as 16 bags of debris down to one. The included bag detaches easily to empty your mulch in flower beds, gardens, or compost piles.
Lightweight for Comfortable, All-Day Use
An included shoulder strap adds extra support when you’re using the Leaf Hog. Weighing in at just 8.1 pounds makes the blower/vacuum light enough for anyone to use for extended periods.
Low Noise Levels from the Environmentally Friendly Motor
Power comes from a 12 Amp motor than runs on electricity–no need to mix oil and gasoline when you’re ready to work. The electric motor greatly reduces the roar that’s common with gasoline blowers to protect your hearing and reducing noise pollution.
The Electric Leaf Hog Blower/Vacuum is covered by a two-year warranty.
What’s in the Box
Leaf Hog Electric Blower/Vacuum, tube with LeafBlaster nozzle, vacuum attachment with tube, leaf bag with zipper, adjustable shoulder strap, air concentrator
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| A powerful motor and intuitive, ergonomic features make this lightweight blower/vac easy for anyone to use. | ||
Black & Decker LH4500 12 amp 2-Speed Electric Leaf Hog Blower / Vacuum with Leaf Bag
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5 Responses
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.
Rating: 5 / 5
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 6:34 am
I wanted to love this Leaf Hog. For the first day I owned it, I did love it. The honeymoon is now over though, and not everything is quite as rosy as I thought. Here’s where we stand:
Pros:
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1) Mulches leaves very effectively
2) No significant problems with clogging
3) Lightweight, easy to maneuver
4) Easy to switch between blower/vacuum
5) Inexpensive
I primarily bought this to help me turn leaves into leaf mulch. It does that quite well. I now have nearly 2 cubic yards of well-shredded leaves to use as mulch and throw in the compost pile. I thought it was simple to put together, and it’s easy to operate.
Cons:
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1) Collection bag is of very poor quality
2) Motor is obnoxiously loud
3) Some parts don’t fit well
4) Vibration is excessive, and can cause health problems
Bad news…the collection bag developed a hole and some tears the second time I used it. The bags run $15-$20 or so. If I had to replace one each season, I might not be so upset. But at this rate I’ll be spending more on bags every year than the initial cost of the blower itself. Unacceptable.
And this sucker is _loud_. It’s not really a problem for me since I wear good hearing protection while operating machines like this, but I do worry that I’ll annoy my neighbors if I use it frequently.
While it was easy to put together, the plastic tube that attaches to the motor housing fits poorly. Lots of dust and some other larger debris flies out of the mating surface where the pieces don’t meet tightly enough.
The biggest negative of this product _for me_ is that the vibration is excessive. What’s the big deal if it vibrates too much, you ask? Besides being uncomfortable to hold, it can actually lead to problems with the nerves in the hands and arms. There’s something called Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) that can develop with repeated usage of tools like this. I’m not exactly sure what happened in my case (I don’t believe I have ‘HAVS’), but twice when I used it my hands and fingers became numb for an extended period of time. By “extended period” I mean 2-3 days. Now I just set it on the ground next to a pile of leaves and guide the leaves into the tube. Works fine.
If I can find the receipt, I’m thinking about returning this due to the defective/low-quality collection bag. If I do so, I might try the similar Toro Ultra 12 Amp Variable Speed Electric Blower/Vacuum With Metal Impeller #51599 which supposedly is much quieter — and hopefully vibrates less as well.
I don’t think this Black & Decker is a bad product. It works great, and it does so without a lot of pizazz or polish. Given the price, I can’t really complain about how it performs. Obviously something about my physiology isn’t compatible with the vibrations it produces, but I don’t expect this to be a problem for most people.
Rating: 3 / 5
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 7:58 am
I just purchased this unit today and used it for about 3 hours. I must say I am impressed. It works well as a blower, and I was particularly impressed with its performance as a vacuum.
I shredded 13 large bags of leaves. If the math is to be believed (16 to 1 reduction ratio) that would mean that I would have had to bag 208 bags of leaves. Obviously that is a little overstated, but it definitely did a good job.
I was working with damp leaves that were kind of wet on the bottom of the piles, so it was a little slow-going, but the unit did not clog much at all. Clogs were easily remedied by popping the pick up tube off (no tools required) and pulling out the debris. The unit handles small sticks and whatnot easily as well.
A great buy for the price.
Rating: 4 / 5
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 8:42 am
I purchased the Black & Decker LH4500 Leaf Hog back in September of 2008 when the leaves began to fall. It is now Jan 2009 and I hope the leaves are finally all down.
I was initially very suspicious of this Black & Decker product having been bitten by poor quality in other products, but my rating of this product is excellent. It really sucks up and shreds the leaves. I use it both to pick up piles of leaves and to suck leaves from the tops of my junipers where they are a pain to rake. It is really powerful and has no problem sucking up and munching both leaves and twigs.
The leaf bag while initially very confusing is really a great design that allows you to quickly empty the bag and to reseal it. As usual, the manual for the product sucks, but once it is assembled, it is easy to use.
Pros: Does what it says. Easy to use extension cord retainer. Easy to empty bag. Very powerful leaf vac and very powerful leaf blower.
Cons: Difficult to switch between vacuuming and blowing. Until you have done it a few times, it is very confusing and the manual is no help at all. I hardly ever switch it from vacuum to blow, but that is just me. The shoulder strap for the bag is too narrow and cuts into my neck. I nearly threw away the bag closure when I assembled the unit because I could not figure out what it was for. Also the bag closure while easy to use requires a lot of hand/arm strength to remove it. I found that spraying it with silicon spray made it easier to slide the plastic over the bag. Also, silicon spray makes it a lot easier to remove/assemble the leaf bag from the engine and also to remove/assemble the vacuum or blower parts.
Annoyances: There is no way to put the Leaf Hog down without it falling over completely making it difficult to pick up again. It would have been nice if there was a way to put it down so it was easy to pick up again. This may be a small matter when you are 20, but bending over gets more difficult once you pass 60.
Notes: Because the blower and vacuum parts are separate pieces it is easy to lose track of where you have stored them. The variable speed control works well, but is a bit of an overkill. I find I use it only on the highest speed.
All, in all, I am happy with the product, but time will tell if the quality is there.
Rating: 5 / 5
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 10:05 am
Used this twice and let me tell you this thing is strong and tough. I never got my leaves done so fast and it handles wet leaves with out a problem. Chops up small twigs too. This is by far well worth the purchase. I bought the Toro 43 gallon collapsable bin which works great. I also bought the BV-006 attachment for this but it does not fit it. I contacted B&D and they are shipping an attachment for the LH4500 to me asap. The attachment will be included in future boxes of the LH 4500.
Rating: 5 / 5
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 10:13 am