Latest reviews about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

mogin12 says "4-in-1 does not shred. bought less than 30days/15%restock fee" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

mogin12 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:15:11 GMT

We purchase the Craftman 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum system. The vacuum worked, though it did not shred.

Sears repair serviceman says no broken parts, and could not agree on the term meaning of "shredder"

After testing the machine and visibly seeing that it did not shred the leaves, he would not write on the sevice report that the machine did not shred though he did state "nothing broken, not shredding good per tech."

He stated that we may return it because of Customer Dissatisfaction."

Have to pay a 15% re-stocking fee.

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KevininAlexandria says "Terrible Customer Service, Goodbye Sears!" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

KevininAlexandria — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:47:34 GMT

I purchased this lawn vacuum specifically for the hose attachment. When I went to open the box and assemble the unit all looked well. Well it's not. The hose is coming apart, the plastic is not well made and when I flex it any the holes(defect in manufacture) in it are starting to tear apart. It's stll brand new, probably a defective hose. I called to request a hose, but they won't just send me a hose. I have to bring the entire thing back to the store so that they can look at it, take the hose, and then special order the hose. After that, I will have to return to the store in 2-4 weeks to get the part. Otherwise they want $117 plus shipping and tax from me to replace a defective part that they failed to inspect. Once I get a good hose, I'll let you know how the rest of the unit works.

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llbtb says "Get the Service Contract" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

llbtb — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:44:00 GMT

We used our Sears Yard Vac once, cleaned it up and stored it over the winter. This fall it doesn't start and the service center stated it could not be repaired. No returns after 30 days, so they gave us a new yard vac - which we expect will not last either. The service contract is the only hope that we'll have one working for the duration of the contract. No exchanges for a good mower or anything.

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CraigTX says "Avoid This - Use a Rake" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

CraigTX — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:48:35 GMT

We purchased this product today ... December 23, 2011. The rationale was to reduce the 4-times-a-year raking job from two people to one person ... my son. This product failed that test ... and miserably. The flaws are numerous, starting with the fact that this machine does not pick everything up ... even on the lowest height setting. I'm talking about dry leafs on our front lawn. It doesn't do much better picking the stuff up in the driveway. The bottom line is it doesn't save time. Also, quality control appears to be lacking on this product. For example, after the first start-and-stop, the throttle lever had slipped and was giving a false reading on its position ... took a while to figure out it was set on "stop," but indicating "turtle" (RE. slow). Anyway, I set my son loose on the yard and then called the house a couple of hours later ... didn't get an answer. Once my wife did pick up the phone I found out that shehad joined him outside to help with the manual raking since this......

JVCincy says "LawnMan Yard Vacuum works great." about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

JVCincy — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:18:31 GMT

The Craftsman was out-of-stock, so we bought the YardMan, which seems very similar but missing the hose vacuum capability. Our backyard butts up against a large wooded area, and 6-12" of leaves is not uncommon after the initial leaf fall. An 4-6 hour raking effort is now accomplished in less than a third of that time with the vaccum.

I've had no problems disconnecting/emptying/reconnecting the bag. Overall it is pretty simple to assemble and operate. I like the manual choke, but requires a bit of tweaking to restart once it is warmed up.

Would highly recommend.

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gbhome04 says "Craftsman 1900cc 4 in 1 yard vacuum system" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

gbhome04 — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:38:19 GMT

Only used it twice now but like it so far. Picked up large piles of leaves with no problems.

Hope it continues to do as well next year. Recommend a dust mask while using it due to a large about of fine dust that gets thru bag.

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1040Man says "Yard Vacuum saves hours vs raking " about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

1040Man — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:36:50 GMT

I would definately buy this machine if you hate wasting time raking leaves. Although it does use more fuel than an ordinary lawn mower, this is no lawn mower. Instead of spending six hours raking leaves, I spent two using this vacuum. Hose was handy in sucking up leaves near house and in flower beds. Bag does get heavy considering it chopped eight bushels of leaves down to one. A few minor assembly issues that upset me initially but a screwdriver made everything work fine. I did not use the 30wt oil provided as the instructions said below forty degrees the engine would be hard to start. I use synthetic multi-visc in all my outdoor machines and they start easier and seem to last much longer. The gas useage issue many mention is minor, even to a certified cheapskate like me. The self-propelled feature is very nice. Buy this - you will thank me later....

jstuartmc says "Craftsman Yard Vacuum works just fine..." about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

jstuartmc — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:01:43 GMT

....I don't know what everyone is complaining about. Skismskasm and NorCal have it right. It does pretty much what it claims to do. Compared to my now-dead Deere walk-behind mower-bagger, this unit is fabulous. It may not be an 8:1 reduction, but I figure that I have had to empty the bag at least 1/3 fewer times than in previous Falls. Sure I'd like the tank to hold more, but that's Briggs and Stratton's design. It starts better than the Deere or the Toro I have.The bag has an interesting method of folding the rear opening, but those who can't figure it out after a try or two, probably shouldn't be turned loose around power tools anyway. I can see where emptying the leaves into yard bags would be difficult, but I don't have to deal with those where I live. I'm 6', and I wish the handle was angled higher for a comfortable grip, but my 44" Toro walk behind has the same design angle. Oh, and there aren't any cup holders, either, dang it! Aside from that, I'm quite pleased with this unit, and...

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DisappointedinUtah says "The yard vac does not have enough suction, hose nozzle is crap" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

DisappointedinUtah — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:29:43 GMT

I hoped the unit would have more suction. Starting is not a problem, engine starts on first or second pull with proper choke setting. The hose nozzle broke where the handle attaches in a few hours and one of the bag closure snaps fell off. This unit lacks the quality I expect from the Craftsman name.

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f00lio says "Very good tool that reduces my overall leaf cleanup every year." about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

f00lio — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:02:24 GMT

I bought this yard vacuum last fall to facilitate the leaf clean up. I have a 1/3 acre yard that has 15 or so large, mature maples, oaks, ash, tulip trees. A pretty good mix. Before I bought this tool, I spent hours of back braking labor raking and bagging what would usually turn out to be 100+ compacted 50gal trash bags of leaves. Since purchasing the Craftsman yard vac, I bet I spent a grant total of 6 hours all fall dealing with the leaves and only created about 25 bags worth. The work was very easy too.

The toughest part about this machine is figuring out the best way to tranfer the leaves from the catch bag to a trash bag. I found that having a minimum 50-55 gal trash bag worked best. Dettach the catcher, flip it over, open the back, stretch over a trashbag, flip back over, and shake out contents. I got it down so that I could do this in just a couple minutes with almost no spillage. Before I learned this technique, I was getting frustrated. But, now it's all good....

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NorCalLawnService says "Worth every penny" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

NorCalLawnService — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:09:05 GMT

I own a lawn maintenance business I can tell you this lawn Vac is a real time saver. Sure the bag could be a little bigger, and it does suck a little gas but for the money you will not find a better product for driveways and leaves. The hose attachment works great, this lawn Vac has truly helped me be more productive. I would highly recommend it. I have a bit of advice when emptying the bag, but a 9x12 painters tarp and dump the shredded leaves on that instead of trying to put it bags....

mark1015 says "Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

mark1015 — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:00:10 GMT

I bought this unit last month and have used it a couple of times so far and it works fairly well, although I'm not sure if the hose attachment works as efficiently as I was hoping. This system is much quicker at sucking up leaves and debris from my azalea bed than using a hand blower. It could use a bigger gas tank as it empties out fairly quickly. So far it has worked well. I've not attempted wet leaves which other reports indicate it doesn't really pull up. This unit is self-propelled and so takes a bit of the work out of manuvering it around....

skizmskazm says "I love this machine!" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

skizmskazm — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:16:35 GMT

I have a lawn care business and this leaf vacuum is just what the doctor ordered!

It has enough power to pick up dry leaves but not rocks...believe me, nothing can efficiently deal with wet leaves or grass so I didn't expect it to.

The bag is well designed and holds a large amount of chopped up leaves. About a pick up bed full in one bag! I can fit aver 10 times more leaves in my pickup bed! Now that's efficient! I always have to haul the leaves away so that's a big deal! It can be heavy but the fact that it holds so much is more important to me because I don't have to empty it as often. If you take the time to actually learn how the bag is supposed to fold up, it's quite easy and doesn't leak at all.

If you pick up the leaves in stages, before they get too deep then it will work as designed. Otherwise you have to be patient....you just have to use some common sense with it.

The suction hose tends to be a little weak but if it were stronger, it would pick up rocks and damage the impeller....

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Porchfan says "Craftsman 190cc 4in1 Yard Vac" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

Porchfan — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:16:12 GMT

After pulling the machine out of the box & setting it up the thing, it started on the first pull. However, when engaging the self propelled rear wheels, I noticed only the left side wheel was spinning. The rear axle was spinning over to the right wheel but the wheel was not spinning. My son and I took the right side rear wheel off and noticed it was not assembled correctly and the plastic wheel cover on the inside was pinched to the frame. After about 10 minutes of working with it we got it working. This could have been caused by shipping. I suspect it was this way right out of the factory.

It worked pretty good sucking up the leaves. However, It did not work as well getting acorns off the ground even if you lowered it very close to the ground. When you do that, be careful manuvering up and down hills because the front shround tends to get stuck on the ground periodiclly when first hitting an upslope. More of a annoyance than anything.

It definately is a gas guzzler. I did our front...

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Valkman1 says "The Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum is disappointing!" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

Valkman1 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:33:55 GMT

I live on a 1 acre property with lots of trees and shrubs. I bought this machine to ease clean-up of leaves, pine needles and shrub clippings. Although the machine works fair on sidewalks, driveways and the yard, it's very poor using the suction tube in the gardens. The suction tube constantly plugs, and the small branch chipper is only fair. The plastic suction manifold on the front is cheap and easily damaged. The bag is very heavy when full and hard to work with. It goes through gas very fast, and has a tiny tank. Very disappointed in Craftsman and the machine. Using this seems to create more work, not less. The only real positive is it's self propelled.

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Derive says "Bag logistics terrible" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

Derive — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:23:07 GMT

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JusttheBasics says "CRAFTSMAN 4 IN 1 YARD VACUUM" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

JusttheBasics — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:12:19 GMT

If you have leaves, then this is the machine for you. We just moved to a house with lots of trees and it seemed like the previous owners hadn't raked for ever. Well I was just overwelmed with Trillions of leaves and decided to try out this crafstman leaf machine. This was the best move I could have made. It made the job seem so easy and I was done in no time. Thank you Craftsman, couldn't have done it without you....

farmerella says "The yard vac system does a good job of picking up the grass." about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

farmerella — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:18:32 GMT

The vacuuming system works well. It picks up thin and thick layers of grass. The bag holds a significant amount of grass, opens easily, but is difficult to dump. Although it is self-propelled, it requires strength to turn....

Rondog79 says "Great piece of equipment" about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

Rondog79 — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:49:45 GMT

This vac does everything it says. Started on the first pull. The chipper is very handy, and the hose has awesome suction. A bit of advise is to play with the wheel settings. If you are using it on a driveway it will have to be at the lowest setting, when you are doing your yard raise the wheels up just high enough to get the job done. When I bought this, I was almost expecting to have to load it back up and get my money back because of some of the negative reviews, but I am very happy that this tool exceeded my expectations. I only wish that it had a larger gas tank. I could almost get my front and side yards done on one tank.

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JRScoggins says "Craftsman 4in1 Yard Vacuum is a decent machine, some weaknesses." about Craftsman 190cc* 4-in-1 Yard Vacuum System- 49 State

JRScoggins — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:19:39 GMT

Pros and cons to this machine: I sucked up several years worth of leaves out from under two massive red-tipped photinias and some holly bushes with the hose. Worked great and chopped the leaves up nicely. The hose did clog a few times, mainly from deeper leaves being a litte wet and trying to suck up too many at one time. Usually clogged where hose attaches to machine. Disconnect hose; pull out clog; reattach. In the yard: If the leaves are fresh or sitting on top of the grass, the vac works well. If the leaves (pin oak for example) have gotten down into the grass, it's not going to suck them out; you're going to need something more, like some sort of dethatcher - or a rake. Works good on the walks and driveway. Sucked up pecan tree fronds quite well off the driveway, although they don't get chopped up much and become packed in the bag so you have to use your hand to get the fronds out initially. Vac worked ok on magnolia leaves, but hose was useless. Magnolia leaves get caught in......