The Toro 51619 Ultra is currently one of the most popular leaf blowers/vacuums on the market. Powerful, easy to use, durable and with a speed adjustment dial as a nice plus.
Pros:
- Good power
- Speed adjustment dial
- Quality unit, durability
Cons:
- a few complaints about the trash bag
Key specifications:
- Air speed: 250 mph (adjustable)
- Air volume: 350 CFM blower, 410 CFM vac
Note: This video actually shows the 51621 version, but the only difference is the additional oscillating nozzle.
Electric = Easy to Use and Lightweight
Toro 51619 is a reasonably priced 12 Amps electric leaf blower – reliable, effective, but what the users mostly praise is its power. Of course, the gas powered units are on a different level but when compared to other corded models, it’s one of the top.
Plus it’s very easy to use, you just plug it in and start, no additional starting procedures or maintenance like with gas machines.
It’s lightweight (so easy to handle even for women or seniors), not extra loud, the only limitation is the electric cord which gets tangled or caught sometimes and forces you to work in a proximity of an electric outlet.
Powerful Blower
The blowing capabilities are simply awesome (for an electric unit) – it gets rid of all kind of leaves and debris and can be used even for roofs or gutters. The efficiency is lower when dealing with wet leaves, but that is expected.
Also, there are two inserts included (they slide down inside the blower tube) – the Power insert and Concentrator (for corners and crevices).
Variable Speed Control – an Excellent Feature
Users really love the possibility to change speed which can be applied both to the blower and vacuum, just by turning a nice big dial – easy to do even when wearing gloves.
It’s extremely useful in many situations – for example when cleaning the flower beds (to remove leaves but avoid damaging flowers) or when you want to blow leaves and dirt off your driveway without sending gravel away as well.
Vacuum and Mulcher – Good But With a Few Disadvantages
The 51619 offers a vacuum as well – the conversion doesn’t take long (but longer than the Black+Decker BV 5600 for example) and you don’t need any tools for that. It works quite efficiently (more slowly with wet leaves of course), the new metal impeller definitely helps – it shreds some leaves that the older plastic shredder let through and almost doesn’t get stuck, even when sucking accorns or some occasional pinecones.
The overall process works nicely – blowing the leaves into several big piles, then switching to vacuum, sucking them in and unloading the mulch into a nearby barrel or bin – the trash bag unzips at the bottom which helps a lot.
However, there are mixed opinions about the bag’s quality – some users reported it started to tear around the connection piece or that the zipper broke after a few uses or started splitting.
Comfortable Handling
As we already mentioned, the unit isn’t heavy – after a while it gets a bit tiring but nothing you couldn’t handle, there will be no back pain even after a longer session.
Plus the placement and design of handles is very good and enables many different holding positions.
The situation gets slightly worse when vacuuming because the trash bag gets quite heavy – fortunately a shoulder strap comes with it and helps to distribute the weight.
Conclusion: If you want quality and powerful leaf blower with vacuum and mulcher (and for a good price), the Toro 51619 Ultra would be a great choice for you. We can definitely recommend it.
On the other hand, gas powered blowers are still ahead in power – so if you need a heavy duty unit which you can use independently on electric sockets, they are the way to go.
>> Read more or buy the Toro 51619 Ultra here
Specifications:
- Brand: Toro
- Type: Electric, corded
- Air speed: 250 mph (adjustable)
- Air volume: 350 CFM blower, 410 CFM vac
- Vacuum:
- Weight: 8.5 lbs
- Warranty: 2-year full
- Amp: 12 Amp
Frequently asked questions:
Are there any accessories I should buy?
If you don’t have a long extension cord yet, you’re going to need one. The blower is 12 Amp which means for 50 feet you can use a 16/3 safely, but if you need a 100 feet cable, the 14 gauge would be better to prevent overheating.
Is there any maintenance needed?
No, the motor is an enclosed unit so no maintenance is required. Just clean the machine from debris and dirt.