We took a chance and bought this Black & Decker BV4000 since there were limited reviews we could find on it. We have been very happy with it.

Operation:
The machine is of a decent size but the weight is very reasonable and the handles are big and easy to grip. The unit includes an adjustable shoulder strap to help with the weight. For the electric cord there is a smart little fork system that clamps around the cord end to hold it in place, I really wish my other electric power tools had this feature! The fork does a very good job of holding the extension cord in place. It does not make it impossible to pull the cord out but is very rare that I do pull it out and I have to be pulling on the cord pretty hard. The unit has a two speed power switch that allows you to select a low or high speed. I find the low speed handy when cleaning out the flower gardens when I don't want to suck up or destroy the plants. The switch does have a little bit a rubbery feel to it that concerns me about how it will hold up. The machine itself runs very quietly especially compared to any gas powered tools.

Vacuum:
We use this unit 90% of the time to vacuum and let me say up front it does not suck leaves up as well as our push cart gas powered vacuums but that is expected being hand held. Keeping the above in mind this thing really does an impressive job sucking up leaves given its size. The tube is plenty big to not get clogged and about the only thing that slows it down is a thick stick or small rock. The problem is usually easily corrected by turning it off and then back on. We probably have close to 20 hours of solid use on it this year and plastic impeller is in very good shape showing little signs of damage. The other thing we are impressed with is how well it mulches as it vacuums. I am not sure if it is truly the 10 to 1 ratio but it is probably at least 7 or 8 to 1. This is very handy in our town since we have to haul leaves to a town compost area.

Bagging:
The 1.5 bushel bag that comes included is nicely designed to allow easy emptying. In my case I am dumping the leaves into a utility trailer to take to the compost area but it is just as easy to empty into a bucket. The bag seems to be well made with a U-shaped opening that just slides into the machine and locks in place. Probably the biggest negative to the bag is it fills so quickly especially on big piles of leaves. I really don't think a bigger bag is the solution since once this is full you realize it weighs a good amount.

This brings me to one of my most favorite features about this machine. You can purchase a hose that will plug into the bottom of the vacuum and feed out to a mesh bucket cover, Model BV-006. This feature is an optional add on accessory but worth the money. This add on accessory allow you to fill up your regular trash bucket with leaves which gives you a good long run time before you are full. I find this very handy when I have a nice big pile of leaves I want to mulch down. I still use the included bag for smaller jobs or job I want to be more mobile but this 8ft hose allows you to work through the big piles efficiently. I don't understand why more companies do not offer this same feature, this is a great idea. The one negative here is the adapter which is included with the machine to allow you use the hose and bucket collection system is not really well engineered. it holds to the machine with two big plastic loosely fitting loops and holds to the hose with a twist and lock connector. Problem is both sides of this adapter are not particularly strong to stand up to the pulling you are bound to put on the hose so they come apart. This was easily fixed with the handy man's secret weapon, duct tape. Since the quick tape fix I have not had any problems.

Blower:
I have gas powered wheel blowers that are the best I can compare this too. This machine does have a claimed 230 mph blowing speed which I do believe it does but what I am learning it that it is not just speed but volume of air you can move and that is where my gas powered wheeled blower excels over this. The hand held blower does a good job and it does beat raking the leaves but I wish for more volume of blowing air. What I notice is for lighter leaf blowing it works well but if the leaves get too deep (maybe 10" to a foot) it is not as effective. I am use to being able to make big piles and then pick them up. This is not a really huge concern for us since we really are interested in the vacuuming of this machine. One nice feature about the blower attachment is there is an attachment you can use on it to direct the air and it gives you the 230 mph air but if you want a little more volume but a little less speed you can take this attachment off.

Conversion:
They really did a great job here. There is a nice big button that you push to release either the blower or the vacuum attachment. Putting it back together is as simple as putting either attachment on an edge and then snapping it back in place. The attachments lock into place securely. The shoulder strap also moves depending on which way you are using the machine.

So why 4 and not 5 stars? The adapter for the hose is cheaply made, too bad with such a good machine. Also the rubbery switch gives me some concern as to how long it will hold up with the rubbery feel to it.

Recommended: Yes