It's gardening time again: Well, when the rain stops long enough for the ground to dry up a bit so that you can get out and cut the grass, trim the bushes, weed the flowerbeds and the rest.
For me, as I'm not really a big gardening fan, doing it more out of necessary than pleasure, mainly as the wife tends to go on about how the garden needs tidying up so many times it's easier, and quieter, to get out and do the tedious jobs.
But one thing I really really don't like about gardening is raking up all the 'dead' grass and leaves that are left behind. So this is were a lovely little gadget has made my life in the garden a lot easier, although when I say little, it's not really that little.
Anyway, this gadget I am talking about is in fact called a garden vac, which may sound like I take the vacuum cleaner outside to clean up the debris but it's a special kind of vac that is designed just for the garden and not for your indoor carpets, (although I've not tried it on indoor carpets as yet, but maybe one day).

This particular garden vac that I have been playing with recently is actually from that well known company who are best known for the rather bright colour of the casing that most, if not all, of their products come in; that colour being orange... yes you've guessed it, the company is Flymo with this product being the Flymo Garden Vac 2700 turbo.

It comes in a long box and when you open it you'll instantly see that it will need to be put together. But in the box there is the main unit itself, being made of a sturdy orange plastic with a little black 'knob' on the top of it, which I will go into more detail about later. Then there's a black contraption which looks a little like a welders mould, only I would weld near it as it's made of plastic and will melt in no time at all.
Then, in the box, there is a black bag, which looks a bit like one of those bags for life you get from Asda for a pound, only this one's black.
Also, there a handle with two bolts and two plastic covers and finally there's six little straw like cutting blades, plus a strap so that you can carry the entire unit with ease.
And there's a leaflet, instructions and the usual bits and bobs so you can register the device to activate the 12 month guarantee.

The thing it doesn't have is the little wheel to attach to the front so that you can roll it around instead of carrying it... this is a disgrace as you have to buy this as an extra, which is diabolical really as the image I saw had the wheel attached to it and I assumed that the wheel would be with it... but it wasn't and I'm not too happy as I'm having to carry this now instead of rolling it. Disgraceful and surely false advertising in my eyes for sure.
The wheel itself only cost around a tenner but for me it should have come with this vac, even if I had to attach it myself.

Putting it together..!
This may look a little daunting, with the bits being dropped loosely in the box, the bolts and paper work in a plastic bag. But when you get the few bits out and have a quick look at the destruction booklet, although this booklet could be a bit clearer, you'll see just how easy it is to assemble.
The bolts slot into the two grooves on the side, with the adjustable handle slotting over the top and held in place with the two plastic caps.

Then it's a matter of getting the black bag attached to the frame which attaches to the main body. This is best done when the frame is not yet slotted onto the main body as I found it simpler to get the little slots on the tops of the bag to fit over the catches on the frame. But once done the frame then locks onto the main unit with a click, pushing it on at the front first then locking it into position at the rear

That's it, you're now ready to plug it in and get sucking, or even blowing, or maybe even both if you really want to.


The machine itself...

The entire orange unit is just over a metre long, from the start of the 'mouth' to the end of the handle, and 140mm wide.
The trigger is house underneath the handle, which allows for both and easy reach and continuous pressure to keep the machine going without losing any grip. Also, just inside this handle, there is a little 'gap' with a space for the wire to slide through and catch onto a small knob, which helps keep the wire safely away from anything on the ground.
The second handle, which is adjustable by loosening the side plastic locking screws, pushing the handle into the position you want, then relocking the plastic screws, is pretty sturdy indeed, allowing you to move the machine around with ease as you suck or blow the leaves and stuff in you garden.

Inside the machine there is a great way to help 'mulch' what ever you're vacuuming up in the garden. This is done using a simple plastic flexible rod which spins away, chomping at the leaves, twigs and grass that is sucked up, chomping it into a finer more compost like material instead of a wheelie bin full of large pieces.
These plastic rods are quite strong and can last some time as long as it's only your basic garden waste that it is dealing with, but if it tried to chomp on anything harder, like a can or even a stone then there will be a lot of flexible plastic splitting and flying around inside the bag. But don't worry, you get some spare rods and they are only a few quid for a dozen more.

The machine is controlled by the 'T' shaped knob in the top of the unit, which has arrows on it to let you know which way is suck and which way is blow, but when you have pulled or pushed the knob back or forwards it clunks into position and stays there.
The trigger is on the underside toward the rear, or more the end which is opposite the nozzle area.
The nozzle area is shaped like a rectangle on it side, which is half covered by a piece of plastic. This piece of plastic moves up or down when you pull or push the knob, and this is how the blow/suck is chosen.

NOTE:
If you purchase the wheel for this then you simply slot that onto the front of the nozzle, clipping the side sections of the wheel onto the sides of the vac.


What about it's power..?
This is has an astonishing 2700watt motor and it shows, especially when it's on the blowing action, managing to send leaves, bits of paper, cans and, god forbid, dry dog poo, flying down the garden at a rate that is near equivalent to a jet fighter taking off, (alright, maybe not that powerful but it doesn't half have a kick in it). Sadly though the sucking, or 'vac' action falls a little short, considering the power under the hood, but it can still suck the eyes out of a midges head if it gets too close.

Is it easy to use then..?
In a word, Yes.
It couldn't be easier in fact.
You simply plug it into the mains, put the strap around your shoulder, grab the handle on the top and the handle at the end, then slide the T bar to either suck or blow, then just pull the trigger and away you go.
That's it, the machine will do the rest.

It can weigh a bit, especially if the leaves and stuff are wet and the bag gets a little too filled, then it can weigh a bit much. The shoulder strap does take a bit of the weight off your arms but as the strap doesn't have any form of comfort, such as a padded section to stop the material digging into your shoulder, the strap can begin to feel uncomfortable after a while. But, if you do what I did and take the padding off something else, such as an old rucksack, or even a guitar strap, then the comfort of this vac strap can be made a lot better.

So how do you make it lighter..?
You empty the bag of course, which in itself is as easy as unclipping the black catch on the rear, which should release the plastic casing that the bag attaches to. Then simply empty the bag where ever you put your garden waste and simple click the plastic casing back into place, which slots in at the front then locks in at the rear.
Once you've done it once you'll see just how easy it is to do and the second time you'll do it a lot easier.


So how much will this cost me then..?
Well, for the sake of less raking, which leads to less back ache and more time to sit and admire your beautifully manicured garden; or is manicured the right word..?. The cost of this sucker/blower is a mere £60.00, or there abouts, with the wheel selling for another tenner.

Is it worth it..?
If you have a lot of leaves and dread the autumn season, or maybe you tend to mow the grass quite a bit and hate raking up the grass, then yes, this is worth the money as it should last quite some time. Plus, as it does a great job slicing all the garden waste into what can only be described as 'mulch' it saves on space in your wheelie bin or even your 'composter' at the bottom of the garden.

In all, some one said that 'the future's bright, the future's orange' and with this time and energy saving device that saying could go well with this.


© Blissman70 2012