Mountfield BE2800 Garden Vac Blower

This was used 4 times it then vibrated badly and smoked,the Mountfield /contact formc went unanswered twice,absolutely no response.AVOID

It is alright if you can buy it at the right price as I did, but shop around and try other makes BUT not Ryoby which is Chinese and everything like this coming out of China is made DOWN toa price!

I liked the ease of use but there is something in the design that allows leaves to block up the blower tube.

This machine is not a genuine Mountfield. It is manufactured by BandQ under license, although it does not say that anywhere on the packaging. I found out as the bag connector broke (it is very flimsy). A call to Mountfield said that they did not support spares for this item as it was not manufactured by them but by B&Q. I felt defrauded by this. I bought the machine on the back of Mountfield's quality reputation. I would not have bought a B&Q made machine if I had known. Although spare bags are available, there are no spares for other parts, including the black plastic connector.

So how good is the machine? Terrible! It blocks very easily, especially with wet leaves. The bag is too small and it is very heavy. I would not recommend it, neither would I buy anything with Mountfield's name on it as now I have no trust that it is actually made by them. B&Q were very unhelpful, no spares are available. Buy at your own peril.

Bought from B&Q May 2011 for £60. Blower and vac very good. However, bag a disappointment. First it is small and capacity lower than expected for the size of machine. Second, I found it very difficult to get the bag on and off. Third, despite only using it to pick up leaves from my drive, I was covered in dust. Finally, after putting it on the second time, the plastic fixture on the bag broke so it would no longer fit onto the machine. In hindsight, it would have been helpful to know the capacity of the bag before purchase.

Bought this from loacal B&Q for just £25 on offer. Thought I could take it back if no good but pleasantly surprised. Very powerful 2800 watt vacuum blower. I use it for getting leaves off pebbles and gravels. Sucks the leaves up without the gravel. Did not want to pay much for something only used 5 or 6 times a year.

Pro - cheap and efficient, I use it on its lowest power and works fine. Bag is easy to empty. Will dismantle for storage if needed.

Con - very noisy on high power, ear protectors advisable. Very heavy about 6.5 kg - may be too heavy for a lady to use easily