Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State Reviews

Bought this thing 1 month ago and it barely started the day I bought it. It has not started since. The ONE day I have actually used it...it consistantly would "die". The hose attachment didn't work for me at all...clogged easily. I could not regret this purchase any more. Don't waste your money. Buy anything but piece of equipment.

Every homeowner with trees needs one of these.  Instead of raking and bagging leaves for a week every fall, I can do the same job in one weekend.  The machine just pulverizes leaves and the vac attachment is great for clearing out flower beds. 

My only dislike is that the bag fills too fast.  I guess they could make a bigger back but the extra weight of more leaves would make the machine hard to maneuver.

I know this is marketed as a leaf vac, but it can be used year round!! I have two young children and I use this at least once a month on my lawn and poured concrete patio to ensure that the children have a safe and clean surface to play on. I have used it on the largest Oak Leaves that you can imagine down to dethatched grass. It can pick up alot. But there are some limitations. It would be unreasonable to think that it would pick up larger sticks or 4 inches of leaves at a time. It is a great help with picking up most acorns and if you have some small branches/twigs on your lawn you can use the...

I am 60 years old and have been mowing lawns and disposing of leaves since I was 12.  I have used Lawn-Boy, Toro, **********, Honda, and most recently Craftsman power equipment.  This 6.5 horse power propelled yard vacuum is by far the worst engineered piece of power yard equipment I've ever used.  While it does vacuum dry leaves very efficiently, it is most user unfriendly.  Only a fully grown man has the strength to pull-start it.  Once full, the bag is extremely heavy and difficult to empty unless you are dumping it loose onto a pile on the ground, Otherwise, you have to literally hand-pull...

Just finished my second season with this yard vac, so thought I would weigh in.

By wayt of background, I have nine very large deciduous trees on or adjacent to property -- lindens, beeches, tulip poplars, birches. In years past I have hauled as many as 15 full-size pickup loads of leaves to the yard waste site. I get a LOT of leaves.

This yard vacuum has been great. I use it to vacuum drives and decks, scoop leaves off yard, and vacuum leaves from around shrubs. Shredded leaves now go into a compost bin and create some great compost. I also use the chipper to take care of small blowdown branches....

A couple of weeks ago I found a 2003 model of this vacuum at a garage sale; in mint condition I should add.  The seller said he used it for a season and that was it.  The machine worked fine he said but he preferred having a lawn service take care of his dirty work.  He wanted a 100 bucks for the vacuum but I talked him down to 75 since it didn't start.  A couple of days later I dropped it off at the repair shop to see how much more money my 75 dollar investment was going to cost me.  After about a week and 67 bucks it was fixed.  Once I picked it up I took it over to a buddy's house to test...

This lawn vac works great for the average home lot up to 1/3 of an acre. Over that size you would need a more commercial vac. I would advise anyone using it to empty the bag when it is half full. If you use the hose atachment it works great as long as you work slowly and the leaves are dry. It really saved me a lot of raking, bending and time.

Bought a 3 year old version of this vac from a guy that barley used it.  After dropping and cleaning the carb this thing is purring like a kitten.  Plenty of power.  The only annoying part is it's self propelled.  The option adds weight, rob's power and makes the machine slower than just pushing it.  All in all a great machine.  I attach the blower piece and blow all the leaves to one side and then I go into vac mode to suck them up.  We also use this machine to clean the street and parking lot at our Church Feast.  It also matches the color scheme on my Craftsman Yard Tractor and Lawn...

Got this the other day,and used it yesterday for the first time.All can say is,I love it !!! works great.The bag,as far as emptying into a lawn bag,can be a very big problem,it spills all over.To get around this problem,buy a 30 Gal square garbage can,drill holes on doth sides,put the lawn bag in,and use bungee cords to secure the bag in the garbage can,then you can dump the main bag into it with less problems.This will save you lots of time. 

Bought reconditioned at sears outlet for about 425.

Nothing was reconditioned, must have been a return, got it home-leaves,debris still in bag/ impeller. Changed filty oil, set plug,cleaned air filter. Be prepared ! Its a monster to start ! Big engine & large-round impeller at the end of that crankshaft. No primer bulb does not help. Warms up quick with little choke & yes it does drink gas as expected.

You will NOT get the 8:1 ratio reduction in leaves as claimed. I say about 5:1 to 6:1 is more honest. The bag is as bad as all the reviews say it is. Not able to empty in a yard waste bag. You will...

Purchased this lawn vacuum last year. It's supremely power full and will make your leaf clean up a breeze. I did not have to use my rake even once this year. It's important to blow  the leaves into a pile first. It's starts very easily, normally on the first pull. Runs smoothly and is very reliable. Fantastic for the drive way and walk. -Throw your rakes away!

There is Not a clutch between the engine and the shredder blades, so when starting you are not just turning the engine over but all of the working parts.  Is like starting a car facing uphill in gear towing a trailer.  The only way I am able to start this is by spraying starting fluid directly into the air intake.  My wife has Never been able to start this on her own.  This has to be one of the worse designed lawn and garden units of all time.  IF you do get it started it works great, just has promised. 

The Craftsman Yard Vacuum is a time and back saver with the added plus of having a source of indigenous mulch for the garden. I have hardwoods and evergreens and it is easy to vacuum up and mulch the leaves for the main mulch bins and pine needles for mulching the acid loving plants. I have found that it helps the vacuum to lower the deck one setting when mulching pine needles as the needles tend to weave themselves into the thatch. 

At first, I had trouble starting the machine after it had sat in the garage for the winter, but then I figured out a possible problem. I removed the mulch bag by...