=== The Black & Decker GW 350 ===


Leaves as they do look beautiful in a forest, it's something I hate in my own garden and around the house. I know there are worse things that can happen, but it can be annoying cleaning them up. For that reason we bought a few years ago the Black & Decker blow and vacuum GW 350.


The machine comes in a heavy large box were you of course get the machine itself, two vacuum and blow tubes, a collecting bag, a carry strap and a manual. Everything you really need. After mounting all the pieces together, which is very easy to do and explained in the manual, you can already use the device.


The machine works very simple. If you want to use the machine to blow, you simply apply the blow tube to the machine and leave the collecting bag off. Of course when you want to use the machine to vacuum then you attach the vacuum tube and also the collecting bag for the leaves. The machine has two speeds which you can control at the top of the machine. It has a three button control with the options: off, fast mode and slow mode. The fast mode is more for when the leaves are a bit wet and sticky but normally the slow mode is just fine to use and makes less noise. It has an 1800 watt motor which is powerful enough.


A big advantage of this machine is the shredding blades while using the vacuum option. This really reduces the volume of the leaves. According to the manual it reduces the volume from 10 to 1. The collecting bag has a capacity of 35l. The machine doesn't have an indicator for when the collecting bag is full but you will quickly notice when the vacuum power decreases.


The machine is easy in use and is quiet light so for me it's no problem carrying him around the garden but when the collecting bag is getting fuller, of course it's getting heavier. The handle is comfortable and makes it easier to carry around. A big plus is that the vacuum pipe has a kind of scraper at the bottom in order to scrape of the wet leaves that are stuck. It's quiet handy but be careful with the wet leaves because that makes the collecting bag very messy and sticky.


Overall a handy machine. The only problem for me is the noise it makes. You don't need protection for your ears but it's really loud so it's also a great machine to annoy your neighbours on a Sunday morning. Overall four stars for me.